Through the terms of the global licensing agreement, Marchon3D will distribute its RealD-compatible 3D glasses in cinemas, retail locations, e-commerce sites and through electronic equipment manufacturers worldwide. Marchon3D’s parent company, Marchon Eyewear, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of eyewear and sunwear, will market designer 3D eyewear and a prescription 3D lens directly to eyecare professionals. Marchon Eyewear currently distributes its products in over 100 countries, with regional headquarters in New York, Amsterdam, Tokyo and Hong Kong.

“RealD is committed to providing moviegoers with a premium 3D viewing experience. Marchon3D has developed a new breed of 3D eyewear that raises the bar, allowing moviegoers to experience RealD 3D with glasses in a design and fit all their own,” said Joseph Peixoto, President of Worldwide Cinema at RealD.  “We understand that just as movie selection is a reflection of personal taste, some RealD 3D fans want a choice of 3D eyewear that fits their personal style. Marchon3D has brought a new level of fashion to RealD-branded 3D glasses.”

Marchon3D eyewear features a portfolio of patent-pending circular polarized 3D lens technologies that stand apart from all other premium 3D lenses due to unique, curved lens designs. The lenses are inserted into premium-style frames that offer wearers superior fit, comfort and an outstanding 3D viewing experience. Additionally, the 3D eyewear provides top performance not only in RealD-enabled theaters, but also with compatible passive-system 3D televisions, laptops and monitors. The company has the ability to make passive 3D eyewear for any specification, and is already working with leading cinema, TV, computer and electronics equipment manufacturers globally.  A key feature of the new eyewear is that the lenses also block 100 percent of UVA and UVB rays and can be used as sunglasses.

“Marchon3D has the ability to design and produce advanced eyewear with significant fashion enhancements that together produce the highest quality 3D viewing experience,” said Al Berg, Founder of Marchon Eyewear.

Zack Snyder’s “Sucker Punch” may not be getting a 3D conversion, as MTV productions can’t seem to find a 3D conversion house that can finish the project properly in the time frame (which translates to “we don’t have the money in the budget”).  Anything can be done properly in any time frame if studios are willing to front the cash and not take short cuts.

Transformers 3 is also going to be in 3D, as we all have known.  But instead of shooting 3D, they are opting for conversion.  Which makes sense since 70% of it is CG anyway and will have to be converted regardless.

Co-produced by Parallell Cinema and Innoventive Software, Stereo 3D Filmmaking: The Complete Interactive Course is the only alternative to expensive, long training sessions to learn stereo 3D effectively today.
Contents:
• 125 minutes of course shot in live-action stereo 3D: we explain a technique, you see the result.
• Dozens of animated diagrams
• 4 hours of Expert Insight Series from the famous 3d experts behind Alice in Wonderland, Coraline, Monsters vs Aliens, G-Force and many others
• 20 progressive and interactive exercises designed in the optically-accurate Stereo 3D Virtual Studio – based on award-winning Frameforge Previz Studio technology used by the Sony 3D Tech Center and James Cameron’s Director of Photography Vince Pace
• The Video-FAQ of Stereo 3D: experts answer the big questions of Stereo 3D
• The Stereographer’s handbook with a summary of the course
• The Stereo 3D Shooting Guide for easy reference on set

The package is available for around $400.

The RaceBuddy3D service is an online broadcast of special camera angles from the Coke Zero 400 race that requires you have a 3D computer, NVIDIA 3D glasses, IE7 or newer browser, Silverlight plugin-in, and at least 3.5mbps of bandwidth. Check out the full requirements on NASCAR’s website.

The production will consist of two 3D feeds, one that focuses on different camera angles around the track and another that focuses on pit crew action.  The event starts at 7:30 P.M. Eastern Time on July 3rd.  So if you happen to have the nVidia 3D shutter glasses for your PC, it is definitely worth checking out for free.

Lenovo’s Y560d features a 15.6-inch, high-definition 16:9 widescreen. Besides showing 3D content, the TriDef software can also convert 2D videos and photos to 3D.

The laptop also includes Lenovo technology for combining solid-state drives and hard disk drives within a notebook. Such systems use an SSD for faster boot up to improve performance of frequently used applications.

The Y560d is available with up to an Intel Core i7 processor and Advanced Micro Devices’ ATI Radeon HD5730 graphics card. The system is also available with a Blu-ray disc player, and integrated 802.11n Wi-Fi is available as an option.

The Y560d, which will ship with Windows 7, is scheduled to be available by the end of the month. The price is expected to start at $1,200.

The film, also known as the “worst movie ever made” due to its numerous continuity and production gaffes, has become an iconic sci-fi cult classic due largely to its reputation for being so bad. It was christened “worst movie” back in 1980 by Harry and Michael Medved in their book “The Golden Turkey Awards”, when they claimed to have found the “holy Grail” of bad movies. Since then, the movie has become very popular.

“Being dubbed “worst ever” was the probably the best thing that ever happened to this film,” said Greg Passmore, president of PassmoreLab. “That label started a cult following, where it gained a massive fan base, with me included. It may be known as the “worst movie”, but it’s about to get best conversion treatment available. I am delighted to convert the original film into 3D using our proprietary technology.”

As campy as it is, “Plan 9” is now widely considered to be legendary B-movie director Ed Wood’s masterpiece, albeit a bad one. Both he and the film gained more notoriety after they became the subject of Tim Burton’s 1994 film “Ed Wood”, with Johnny Depp starring in an angora sweater in the title role.

“Our studio has a definite indie feel to it – a little alternative and off-center — and we are absolutely drawn to cool and unusual projects,” continued Passmore. “That was a big reason we converted Romero’s ‘Night of the Living Dead’ last year. And that’s exactly why we are converting ‘Plan 9’, because we love cult films, and we take great care with them.”

“Plan 9 from Outer Space”, was written, produced, directed and edited by Wood, and was originally shot in black and white over 50 years ago. It was restored and colorized by Legend Films in 2006, and will now be converted, frame by frame into full 3D, using Passmorelab’s proprietary conversion technology. It is Legend Film’s colorized version that is being used for the conversion, which will take over 6 weeks to complete at a cost far greater than the film’s original $60,000 production budget.

“Converting film demands great attention to detail, especially with a film this old. Rest assured, audiences will be able to enjoy the same film they have always known — complete with the 73 or so production flubs — except now they will see those wires, strings and wobbly flying saucers in spectacular 3D,” smiles Passmore.

3D conversion is emerging as an incredible opportunity for content owners worldwide, and by employing PassmoreLab’s proprietary technology, it can become a very cost-effective way of repurposing previously viewed material.

“3D continues to penetrate new distribution channels as an industry, and conversion is a big part of our business. All the great films we love in 2D can now be converted into 3D seamlessly to attract new audiences and find new revenue streams,” said Steve Glum, PassmoreLab’s head of Branding & Distribution. “Plan 9 from Outer Space, Now in 3D!” is the original film, the granddaddy of all bad movies, and we think audiences everywhere will have a great time seeing it in 3D.”

“Plan 9 from Outer Space, Now in 3D!” will be seen in select US theatres in limited release and on VOD on various network locations later this summer.

• Wipeout H (full game): Experience the adrenalin rush of navigating the twists and turns of futuristic racetracks at breathtaking speeds like never before.
• Super Stardust HD (full game): Experience asteroids fly past you as you navigate the deadly battleground — only a battle on a cosmic level will save the indigenous life below from destruction.
• PAIN: The stereoscopic 3D content will include the Downtown area and tutorial along with three modes, including two new modes created specifically with stereoscopic 3D in mind, Alien Toss and Ice Breaker.
• MotorStorm Pacific Rift (demo): MotorStorm Pacific Rift in stereoscopic 3D puts you in the driver’s seat of a buggy for a one track, single player race around the deadly Kanaloa Bay for a dangerously real battle against ruthless opponents.

It looks like a nice little 3D machine, although more powerful laptops are on their way and 3D Blu-Ray capabilities will become more and more common after the discs hit the market.  It is pricey, as expected, rolling in at $2700.  The downside is the resolution.  For a 1080p 3D machine, the resolution isn’t quite what you’d expect.  But it is a “first on the market” device, so I’m sure there are improvements on their way.

This poor guy, Satoshi Miyazak, was mentioned in the article as spending 2,000 Yen per month (not as large as a number as you think, look up a conversion before you condemn the guy) on cable adult channels and is quoted:

“I want to try it out,” he said. “I need something dramatic to justify replacing my TV. This could be the motivation.”

Ultimately, 3D televisions are going to depend on content to help push sales.  The reality is that the adult industry will likely have flooded the market (no strange pun intended) with adult 3D Blu-Ray titles before there is enough regular 3D content to fill a days worth of programming.  This is what happened with HD and definitely how the DVD market became popular.  Whatever your moral opinions are for adult content, they don’t factor in, there is a strong demand, and that demand drives technology.

We here at Third Magazine actually got to attend a 3D adult production (R-rated content) the other day and speak with the producers.  There is a lot of content in the pipeline (again, no pun intended) and as soon as the 3D Blu-Ray authoring is more accessible (right now it is dominated by two companies) the titles will be flying out.

We can’t say much about the production we attended yet, but we will be reporting on it soon.  So keep checking back!

All-in-one options will become more popular, since updating a computer piecemeal to 3D standards requires a new monitor, video card and glasses.  The big issues will be the same that may plague 3D television; standard specifications.  Will nVidia shutter glasses be compatible with all the new types of hardware that hit the market?  Hopefully, manufacturers have the foresight to keep some sort of base standards.  If not, this could definitely hinder the 3D industry overall.

3d PC’s have already hit the market with the ASUS G51J-3D 3-D Gaming Laptop. Pick one up and check it out. It’s pretty reasonably priced.