3D Meets TV Audiences in Super Bowl

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Wed, 02/11/2009 - 19:00 -- Nick Dager

By Michael Karagosian You have to admire Jeffrey Katzenberg’s dedication.  He made a big bet on 3D and he continues to stand behind his commitment in creative ways.  His recent dance with Intel PepsiCo and NBC broadcasting 3D advertisements to televisions around the US during the Super Bowl game (that’s US-style football if you’re outside the US) was history in the making.  For those not familiar the annual Super Bowl game is the most watched television program in the US.  Of course the headliner ad was a 3D trailer of Dreamworks’ Monsters vs Aliens the long-awaited 3D blockbuster set for release March 27.   The advertisements along with the next evening’s episode of NBC’s sitcom Chuck were broadcast using ColorCode 3D technology (http://www.colorcode3d.com).  Readers may recall an earlier article about Trioviz which utilizes a similar (and dare I say possibly more advanced) process.  ColorCode 3D delivers a 3D image that can be viewed as 2D without glasses.  Jeffrey famously described the 2D compatibility in Time magazine: If you don't wear 3D glasses and you have three beers it'll look like everything else you're looking at.   Notably the 3D images presented by such processes are not equivalent to those projected digitally in theatres.  Processes such as ColorCode 3D and Trioviz produce slightly compromised but still effective 3D images that can be displayed on any television. If you missed the Super Bowl game you can watch the 3D version of the Monsters vs Aliens trailer at: http://www.colorcode3d.com/gallery/ and the Pepsico Sobe ad at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kg-p5Xsct4Y&fmt=22.  You’ll need ColorCode 3D glasses to view these which can be ordered online at http://www.colorcode3d.dk/group.asp?group=13 for under $10 per pack of eight glasses. The ColorCode 3D glasses used for the Super Bowl and Chuck broadcasts were freely and cleverly distributed by means of cardboard kiosks in grocery stores.  Audiences-in-waiting scarfed them up.  Leaving things to the last minute I ran out the morning of the game to pick up my set only to find that my local grocery store had run out.  Luckily another store a short drive away still had a few in stock.   The passive glasses were printed four to a sheet requiring viewers to cut them out and fold for wearing.  The glasses sported the logos of Intel Monsters vs Aliens Sobe and NBC.  But notably nowhere could the ColorCode 3D brand be seen.  Instead Intel’s InTru3D brand was printed on the glasses.   What’s this new brand from Intel?  At present Intel doesn’t have a play in the 3D market.  Its CPUs notably are not in either Playstation or Xbox game systems and certainly are not needed to view Blu-ray discs.  But Intel plans to introduce a new graphics chip later this year code-named Larrabee that will introduce 3D capabilities.  Will these chips exclusively include special code for preparing ColorCode 3D images?  Not necessarily.   Competitor Trioviz says that it also has been in discussion with Intel.  Trioviz already has a software development kit that gives game developers the ability to present 3D images on any display without special hardware (other than glasses).  Most likely both companies will offer code sets that run on the Larrabee chip.  Intel in turn will put its new InTru3D brand to work in its strategy to steal market share from graphics chip competitors nVidia and AMD’s ATI.  nVidia and ATI already have 3D game strategies of their own on the market. Just as 3D is the value-add for digital cinema 3D is the latest in cool features for graphics chips.  And on it goes.  3D in theatres.  A 3D first on television.  3D for games.  If it’s a fad it certainly has one heck of a run. Michael Karagosian is founder and president of MKPE Consulting LLC a Los Angeles-based consultancy in the entertainment industry.  Visit his company at http://mkpe.com.