BERLIN--In
2011, Sony plans to join the small set of companies that offers
laptops
that can display
3D video and games at 1080p resolution.
The company showed off prototypes of a forthcoming Vaio laptop at the
IFA electronics show here Wednesday, models that come with a "
3D
" button
and active-shutter glasses to separate what the right and left eyes
see.
"
3D Vaios will debut next spring," Howard Stringer, Sony's chief
executive, said in a press conference touting
3D technology and
Sony's
commitment to it. Sony also touted other
3D products and content at the
show.
The protoypes shown at IFA use "frame-sequential"
technology that
rapidly cycles the full screen between left-eye and right-eye views,
with blank screens in between each to reduce the "crosstalk" that can
reduce
3D image quality.
That means the laptop must be able to display
video at 240 frames per
second to keep up with a 3D rate of 60 frames per second. Sony wouldn't
reveal whose graphics chip is used in the system. Sony's also cautioned
that the ultimate products may be different from the prototypes it
showed.
The
3D Vaio comes with a 3D button to set it
for use in 3D mode. Otherwise, it behaves like a normal
laptop
with
1,920x1080-pixel resolution.
IFA, like electronics shows before it, has become a showcase for
3D
technology. Many people are indifferent or even hostile about the
technology so far, or at least unwilling to pay the necessary premium,
but it's also making steady inroads across the electronics and computing
industry.
Sony also announced at IFA that some existing Blu-ray players and
PlayStation 3 will be retrofitted with new firmware making them 3D-capable.
Among 3D game titles Stringer showed were Tumble, the Sly Trilogy,
Mortal Kombat, Virtual Tennis 4, Killzone 3, Super Stardust HD, The
Fight, Motor Storm Apocalypse, and MLB baseball.
For those who want a really big screen experience, Sony announced a 3D
video projector, the WV-90. It will use the same active-shutter system
as Sony's Bravia TVs, meaning that the required glasses will work across
the line.
The entire press conference was displayed live on a large screen above
the stage. Sony opted to use Real D's 3D technology, which today is
found in many movie cinemas.
Panasonic, which also tooted its 3D horn at IFA,
opted instead to use an array of 54 of its own plasma TV screens. Sony,
it should be noted, also sells digital cinema projectors and high-end
3D cameras, including some used to shoot the movie Avatar.
Sony, unlike some of its competitors, is a content company. Here, the company plans to tackle 3D aggressively, too.
Sony's prototype Vaio laptop with 1080p 3D display is designed to show 3D movies or games.
Sony also plans to launch its own
3D TV channel, Stringer said, with content to include natural history,
children's programming, science, and motion pictures, Stringer said. And
Sony Pictures plans several 3D movies soon: "Resident Evil Afterlife,"
"The Green Hornet," another "Spider-Man" sequel, and another "Men in
Black" sequel.
"Being shot in 3D doesn't automatically guarantee success," Stringer
said. "What counts is how well you tell a story. A hit is a still a hit
is still a hit--except in 3D it's a bigger hit."
And then there are the staples. Sony plans to release by the end of 2010
a Blu-ray disk of highlights of the
World Cup soccer tournament,
Stringer said.
from
: cnet
and 
