Panasonic bets heavily on 3D

A P2 camcorder for stereoscopy, a compatible HD 3D plasma monitor and a work cabinet in close collaboration with Hollywood for the development of stereoscopy demonstrate the brand's interest in the third dimension.

Working at a data rate of 200 Mbps based on the AVC H.264 Intra-frame codec will be a reality in less than a couple of years thanks to the new AVC-Ultra codec. The importance of this codec is great since, in addition to doubling the current rate of 100 Mbps in high definition solutions at 1080p, it will allow for the moment to continue working at 100Mbps but with a double signal: that is to say... in stereoscopy. At the moment, Panasonic has already announced a Full HD 3D solution through the use of a curious P2 camcorder with two lenses and simultaneous recording on two P2 HD cards. When displaying the images captured by the camera, Panasonic has a 3D Drive system capable of reproducing the two Full HD signals, creating the corresponding 3D effect for both eyes with more than acceptable color reproduction and great clarity of the scenes, even with characters or objects moving at high speed. Furthermore, by working on a solid state, the need for heavy dual-composition collection equipment with an 'almost artisanal' configuration is avoided. This camera will provide great flexibility in a compact device that is much easier to handle than the cumbersome proposals with two cameras that have existed until now.

From a consumer point of view, Panasonic has also long been showing great interest in 3D developments, as demonstrated by the presentation in October last year of the first Full HD 3D Home Theater based on its 103-inch plasma screen and a Blu-ray solution. To channel all these efforts, both with regard to the broadcast market and its relationship with the Hollywood industry, Panasonic created in February of this year the Advanced Authoring Center, a working group that will be part of the so-called Panasonic Hollywood Laboratory. One of the most immediate objectives is the development of 3D Blu-ray titles. But before distributing, it will be necessary to produce, and for this reason, Panasonic is betting heavily on solutions that will lose the respect that the industry has with respect to complex 3-D filming. The new P2 HD 3D camera may be the solution.