Viewing and 3D software

[zak forrest]

I'm getting the Panasonic 3D plasma today and I want to start turning still frames (and possibly 2D motion) into 3D

- Any software recommendations for making 2D stills or motion into 3D ?

 

[Jason Goodman]

Zak,

The process of "converting" 2D into 3D is a complex one and results will vary based on your source material, skill level and available software tools. If you've got access to 3D animation software like Maya, Lightwave 3D or the open source Blender, you may do better rendering out true stereoscopic stills from something like that. You might also try a google search for stereo photos. The final "easy" option would be to use a single camera moving horizontally at a fixed rate with a still subject. As your camera moves left to right, subsequent frames can be used as left and right eye images for a 3D pair.

I don't own the Panasonic but have used pre-production units so I'm not sure how the commercial model may or may not vary. The Samsung, JVC and Hyundai sets all generally want a single HDMI input in side by side format. So regardless of your source, your left eye 1920x1080 image gets horizontally squeezed to 960x1080 as does the right. Put them next to each other in a single 1920x1080 video (put the left image on the left and the right image on the right) and play it out your HDMI device and it should work. Be aware that if your player doesn't have HDMI 1.4 or isn't a "3D compatible" device you may need to mess around with 3D settings on the TV's remote to get everything configured properly.

Jason Goodman
CEO
21st Century 3D New York
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