Wednesday, November 25, 2009

LIGHTSPEED DESIGN WRAPS IAAPA DEBUT OF DEPTHQ® POLARIZATION MODULATOR FOR SINGLE LENS HD 3D PROJECTION


Lightspeed Design, Inc. completed a successful debut of the new DepthQ® Polarization Modulator for single lens HD 3D projection solutions at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo (IAAPA) in Las Vegas, Nevada. The new modulator was paired with the DepthQ® HD 3D Projector to demonstrate small applications and the Christie® Mirage Projector to demonstrate large theaters.

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Friday, November 20, 2009

NOEL PAUL WRAPS PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY ON NEW HD 3D MOVIE "ANNIE GOES BOATING" FILMED IN DEPTHQ® STEREOSCOPIC


Noel Paul, a Seattle local, has wrapped principal photography and is in post production on his new HD 3D movie "Annie Goes Boating". The movie was filmed in DepthQ® Stereoscopic using Red video cameras. Noel said that they are moving toward festivals and a trailer will be online soon.

Lightspeed Design, Inc. donated the 3D camera rig and DepthQ®Capture™ software for the DepthQ® Stereoscopic process to support up and coming 3D filmmakers.

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Photo by Devin Coldewey


Photo by Chona Kasinger


Photo by Chona Kasinger

Wednesday, November 04, 2009

LIGHTSPEED DESIGN TO DEBUT POLARIZATION MODULATOR FOR SINGLE LENS HD 3D PROJECTION AT IAAPA EXPO LAS VEGAS - BOOTH #5456


BELLEVUE, WA – November 4, 2009: Lightspeed Design, Inc. announced today that it will debut the new DepthQ® Polarization Modulator for single lens HD 3D projection solutions at the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions Expo (IAAPA - Booth #5456) in Las Vegas, Nevada, November 17-20. The new modulator, available in two sizes, will be paired with the DepthQ® HD 3D Projector to demonstrate small applications and the Christie® Mirage Projector to demonstrate large theaters.

The new DepthQ® Polarization Modulator electronically switches the polarization orientation of light passing through it. In combination with a polarization-preserving screen and a single-lens stereoscopic 3D projector, the modulator enables high-brightness, low-ghost viewing using lightweight & comfortable passive 3D eyewear. The DepthQ® HD 3D Projector with the small modulator can produce image sizes up to 9ft. (2.74m) wide. Larger HD 3D projectors with the large modulator can produce image sizes up to 25ft. (7.62m) wide.

Chris Ward, President of Lightspeed said “Until now, single lens 3D solutions with passive eyewear have been cost prohibitive for all but major Digital Cinemas and the biggest theme park attractions. The DepthQ® Polarization Modulator, packaged with either the DepthQ® HD 3D Projector, Christie® Mirage or other comparable 3D projectors, allows Lightspeed to provide high quality, professional, flexibly priced, single lens HD 3D for large or small theatrical eCinema installations, 4D attractions, dark rides, museums, simulators, scientific & industrial visualization and academic institutions. We are currently in development of a larger modulator to accommodate upwards of 12,000 ANSI Lumens for even wider screen images.”

Advantages of the DepthQ® Polarization Modulator include:

Viewer Comfort
  • Passive glasses are very lightweight
  • Single-projector eliminates asymmetry between eyes
  • No bulb differences (intensity and color temperature)
Ease of set-up
  • Modulator placement is simple and forgiving - just set it in front of the projector
  • No time-consuming alignment
Lower Cost/Maintenance
  • No moving parts
  • Less hardware than two projectors
  • Passive eyewear is inexpensive
Options for Viewing
  • Creates circular or linear polarization (pre-configured)
  • Passive polarized glasses are available in many styles – paper, plastic, wire-frame
Versatility
  • Available in two sizes: Small, for projectors with apertures <2.75 inches (69.85mm), and Large, for projectors with apertures <7.12 inches (180.85mm).
  • Enables a wide range of applications - from theme parks & commercial 3D theaters to scientific & industrial visualization
Flexible Pricing
  • Pricing model reflects application and use
The DepthQ® Polarization Modulator is manufactured by LC-Tec Displays AB in Borlänge, Sweden, a company with extensive experience in developing, manufacturing and bringing to the market novel LCD products based on emerging technologies. The modulator utilizes a unique combination of separate liquid crystal elements bonded together, enabling both high polarization efficiency over visible wavelengths from 400 to 750 nm (predominantly achromatic spectral response) as well as fast transition switching speeds (<0.5ms at room temperature) between polarization states at frequencies such as 120Hz, 144 Hz (maximum 400Hz). Efficient, high-speed switching between the eyes ensures bright, low-crosstalk, flicker-free operation.

The system includes both the liquid-crystal modulator with its mounting and its control unit. A standard sync output from your graphics card or projector is supplied to the control unit, which then conditions the signal to match the modulator’s required input. The optical window is also heat-tolerant and can operate at temperatures up to 75 degrees Celsius.

Lightspeed Design, Inc has been granted the exclusive worldwide rights to market & sell the high speed liquid crystal Polarization Modulator devices manufactured by LC-Tec Displays AB for stereoscopic 3D visualization products. Private label sales agreements are available to qualified Original Equipment Manufactures.

Please contact sales@lightspeeddesign.com.

For more information go to http://www.depthq.com/modulator.html


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About LIGHTSPEED

Lightspeed Design, Inc., headquartered in Bellevue, Washington, USA is one of the world's premiere designers of stereoscopic 3D (s3D) presentations, projection, and image-processing software technologies and has been a leader in stereoscopic 3D for over sixteen years.

Products and services include surgical display technology for stereoscopic robotic surgery, portable HD 3D projectors, stereoscopic video capture and playback software, custom installations and support, and 2D/3D production and design.

Further information at http://www.lightspeeddesign.com or contact Mr. Chris Ward, President at sales@lightspeeddesign.com or +1-425-637-2818.

About LC-TEC DISPLAYS

LC-Tec Displays AB, with headquarters in Borlänge, SWEDEN started operations in 1992 and has extensive experience in manufacturing and developing liquid crystal devices (optical-shutters & custom LCD’s) on an R&D, prototyping and volume manufacturing level. Its 270 square meter modern clean-room facilities houses an STN-LCD manufacturing-line possessing a high degree of automation. This allows for both high volume manufacturing together with good product quality and yield.

DepthQ® is a registered trademark of Lightspeed Design, Inc. Christie® is a registered trademark of Christie Digital Systems. All rights reserved.

Press contact:
Chris Ward
Lightspeed Design, Inc.
+1-425-637-2818

Friday, October 16, 2009

ABSOLUT TECHNOLOGIES TAKES THE DEPTHQ® HD 3D PROJECTOR ACROSS BRAZIL ON THE AUTODESK ROADSHOW TOUR



Salvador, BRAZIL - September 2009: Absolut Technologies, Brazil's leading developer and supplier of 3D interactive virtual reality systems, chose the DepthQ® HD 3D Projector to showcase their technology on the Autodesk Roadshow Tour across Brazil.

Marcio Aguiar of Absolut Technologies said "People were amazed that a single projector was creating a 3D image of such outstanding quality. For many, it was the first time they had seen this."

Absolute Technologies is a re-seller for the DepthQ® HD 3D Projector and the new DepthQ® Polarization Modulator.


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Monday, September 21, 2009

LIGHTSPEED'S POLARIZATION ROTATOR, DEPTHQ® HD 3D 4K PROJECTOR & FLASH BASED DEPTHQ®s3D WebPlayer™ FEATURED IN THE "LARGE DISPLAY REPORT"



September 2009 - Lightspeed Design, Inc. has 3 new products featured in the September 2009 Issue (Volume 7 - No. 9) of the Large Display Report, a subscription based, monthly newsletter covering Technology, Product, Market and Business News and Analysis for Large Area Display Systems, Components, and Supply Chain. Articles posted below with permission of Insight Media www.insightmedia.info.

Article abstract- PDF of the entire article.

400 Hz Polarization Rotator Comes to US

Arthur Berman and Matthew Brennesholtz


3D projector supplier Lightspeed Design (Bellevue, WA) and LC-Tec Displays AB (Borlänge, Sweden) have signed a new agreement that grants Lightspeed the exclusive rights to market and sell high-speed liquid crystal polarization rotator devices manufactured by LC-Tec Displays AB for stereoscopic 3D visualization products.

LC-Tec Displays developed a new type of liquid crystal polarization rotator that is capable of switching the polarization of a projected image at a speed of 400 Hz. Drive voltage is a 24V square wave. With the optional input polarizer, the system can produce two orthogonal polarizations output from unpolarized input light. One major application of the device is to be used with an unpolarized projector to produce 3D that can be viewed with either linear- or circular-polarized passive viewing glasses.

An engineering prototype of the new polarization rotator was demonstrated at the recent SIGGRAPH 2009.

Also launched at SIGGRAPH was a new high-brightness Lightspeed Design - InFocus DepthQ HDs3D stereoscopic projector. Ward said top level specifications for the new projector include:

• WXGA (1280 x 720/120p)
• 4K ANSI lumens
• 120 Hz page-flip S-3D
• Centered lens, two-axis lens shift
• VGA and HDMI input
• Keystone/pincushion/barrel distortion correction


Article abstract - PDF of the entire article.

Anaglyph 3D: Problems and Solutions

Arthur Berman

Recent Developments

Lightspeed Design (Bellevue, WA) has developed a flash technology for anaglyph delivery. In an email exchange with Chris Ward, the president of Lightspeed, we learned that this is not an ordinary red/blue or red/cyan mix but, rather, an improved mix that the company has been working on for about a year. Both the flash delivery container and anaglyph process are reported to be special. A video containing a demonstration of images presented in the new anaglyph mode is available online. The password: depthq.

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DEPTHQ® HD 3D PROJECTOR AND NVIDIA® 3D VISION™ SUPPORT NEUROBIOLOGY RESEARCH OF 3D MOTION PERCEPTION



Drs. Bas Rokers (pictured below), Alex Huk and Larry Cormack, Neurobiology researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, are utilizing a DepthQ® HD 3D projector along with NVIDIA® 3D Vision™ to present their studies of how the human brain perceives 3D motion. "We perceive motion in three dimensions, even though each eye only receives a two dimensional image. How does our brain combine the two images into a 3D percept?" Click How the Brain Sees 3D for a YouTube video illustrating this concept.

For more information about their research and to see demonstrations of percepts of 3D motion, go to http://web.austin.utexas.edu/rokers.

For the University of Texas at Austin's official press release, go to http://www.utexas.edu/news/2009/07/21/brain_3d_motion/.

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Tuesday, August 11, 2009

LIGHTSPEED DESIGN ,INC. & LC-TEC DISPLAYS AB SIGN AGREEMENT



BELLEVUE, WA – August 11, 2009: Lightspeed Design, Inc, USA and LC-Tec Displays AB, SWEDEN are pleased to announce today the signing of a new agreement that grants Lightspeed the exclusive rights to market & sell the high speed liquid crystal Polarization Rotator devices manufactured by LC-Tec Displays AB for stereoscopic 3D visualization products.

LC-Tec Displays AB has developed a new range of Polarization Rotators capable of switching the polarization of a projection-image at ultra-high speeds of 400Hz. The polarization rotator can be used together with a high-speed projector and polarization-preserving projection-screen in order to create high quality stereoscopic images using either linear or circular polarized passive viewing-glasses.

Products based on the Polarization Rotator will be commercially available from August 2009. Further details of the agreement are not disclosed.

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About LIGHTSPEED

Lightspeed Design, Inc., with headquarters in Bellevue, Washington, USA is one of the world's premiere designers of stereoscopic 3D (s3D) presentations, projection, and image-processing software technologies and has been a leader in stereoscopic 3D for over sixteen years.

Products and services include surgical display technology for stereoscopic robotic surgery, portable 3D DLP® projectors, stereoscopic video capture and playback software, custom installations and support, and 2D/3D production and design.

Further information available from www.lightspeeddesign.com or by contacting Mr. Chris Ward, President & CEO at chris.ward@lightspeeddesign.com or +1-425-637-2818.

About LC-TEC DISPLAYS

LC-Tec Displays AB, with headquarters in Borlänge, SWEDEN started operations in 1992 and has extensive experience in manufacturing and developing liquid crystal devices (optical-shutters & custom LCD’s) on an R&D, prototyping and volume manufacturing level.

Its 270m2 modern clean-room facilities houses an STN-LCD manufacturing-line possessing a high degree of automation. This allows for both high volume manufacturing together with good product quality and yield. LC-Tec Displays AB has extensive experience in developing, manufacturing and bringing to the market novel LCD products based on emerging technologies.

Further information available from www.lctecdisplays.com or by contacting Dr. Stephen Palmer, Managing Director at palmer@lctecdisplays.com

The following images are from the first live demonstration of the new High-Extinction Circular Polarization Modulator (engineering prototype) at Siggraph 2009.





Tuesday, July 28, 2009

INFOCUS® DEPTHQ® HD 3D PROJECTORS UTILIZED IN VR IMMERSION ROOM AT THE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA AT LAFAYETTE

LAFAYETTE, LA – July 31, 2009: Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and co-inventor of the CAVE™ Virtual Reality Environment, has incorporated three InFocus® DepthQ® HD 3D Projectors into her design of a new VR Immersion Room that she and her team of researchers built at the University of Louisiana for a collaboration with the Human Research and Engineering Directorate of the U.S. Army Research Lab.

The InFocus® DepthQ® Projectors create stereoscopic HD 3D video images on the walls of the three sided VR Immersion Room while an omni-directional treadmill, which serves as the floor, allows research subjects to travel non-stop in any direction through the virtual reality 3D world. The system was built to create software tools to enable studying the cognitive load on the dismounted soldier (on foot) in highly stressful, rapidly changing scenarios.

The goal is to determine what kind and how much information ground troops take in, what distracts them and how they choose which pieces to pay attention to in life and death situations. Dr. Cruz-Neira, and her team, developed the software architecture to create the scenarios in which the soldiers are immersed as well as to collect data from the soldiers through bio sensors and motion capture.

Dr. Cruz-Neira said “We were looking for technology that provides acceptable
resolution and image quality at literally one tenth the cost of previous designs. After our initial test and evaluation, we were pleasantly surprised by DepthQ’s performance and decided to design the overall system with these projectors. Eventually, we plan to add a fourth wall and additional projector to this system.”

For more information about the team or the project, go to http://create.louisiana.edu.

Dr. Carolina Cruz-Neira is the W. Hansen Hall and Mary Officer Hall/BORSF Endowed Super Chair in Telecommunications at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and the Chief Scientist of the Louisiana Immersive Technologies Enterprise (LITE). A pioneer in the field of Virtual Reality and High Performance Computing, her accomplishments include the design of the CAVE™ Virtual Reality Environment, the CAVE™ Library software specifications and most recently the Open Source VR Juggler API.

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About Lightspeed Design, Inc.

Visit Lightspeed at SIGGRAPH 2009, Booth # 2034.

Lightspeed is one of the world's premiere designers of stereoscopic 3D (s3D) content and technologies, and is a trusted supplier to the most discerning clientele. DepthQ® is Lightspeed's precision s3D technology brand, encompassing a range of products and services - from our single-lens HD 3D projectors, to custom 3D systems engineering and integration, to our high-definition DepthQ®Capture™ and DepthQ®Player™ software, to streaming 3D IP video technology. Clients include Pfizer, Intuitive Surgical, Microsoft, Harvard & Munich Universities, US Army, NASA / JPL, BAE, DreamWorks SKG, and Walt Disney Animation.

Lightspeed's headquarters are in Bellevue, Washington, USA. Visit us at http://www.lightspeeddesign.com or contact us directly at sales@lightspeeddesign.com.

About InFocus Corporation

InFocus is the industry pioneer and a global leader in the digital projection market. The company's digital projectors make bright ideas brilliant everywhere people gather to communicate and be entertained - in meetings, presentations, classrooms and living rooms around the world. Backed by more than 20 years of experience and innovation in digital projection, as well as 245 patents, InFocus is dedicated to setting the industry standard for large format visual display. The company is based in Wilsonville, Oregon with operations in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit us at http://www.infocus.com.

Press contact:
Chris Ward
Lightspeed Design, Inc.
+1-425-637-2818

DepthQ®, DepthQ®Capture™ and DepthQ®Player™ are registered trademarks of Lightspeed Design, Inc. InFocus® is a registered trademark of the InFocus Corporation. All rights reserved.













Tuesday, June 23, 2009

LIGHTSPEED RELEASES THE NEW DEPTHQ® FAMILY OF STEREOSCOPIC HD VIDEO SOFTWARE



SEATTLE, WA - June 24, 2009: Lightspeed Design, Inc. announces the release of its new DepthQ® family of stereoscopic software for state-of-the-art capture and playback of HD 3D media. DepthQ® HD 3D software has been successfully serving hundreds of professional clients in corporate, entertainment, medical and industrial applications since 2002. That software has now evolved into the new DepthQ® family of stereoscopic software -- DepthQ®Capture™ and DepthQ®Player™.


What makes this product the best of its kind? Simply that DepthQ® is the only 3D software package capable of low-latency (66ms), real-time monitoring with simultaneous capture, highly efficient GPU image processing and smooth, high resolution media playback. Lightspeed's experience in 3D display technology and filmmaking, combined with their deep understanding of stereography and image processing, led them to develop their own toolsets to capture, process, configure, and playback HD 3D imagery with greater flexibility, efficiency, and accuracy. Lightspeed's unparalleled features, set DepthQ®Capture™ and DepthQ®Player™ far above the competition.

DepthQ®Capture™

DepthQ®Capture™ is a powerful software solution for the precise capture, recording and monitoring of stereo 3D video from two simultaneous camera inputs (Analog, HD-SDI, HDMI, FireWire or USB) at dual HD resolution. Features include low-latency, real-time monitoring, a camera alignment aid and visual overlays to assist in optimizing your 3D effects for various target playback screens.

DepthQ®Capture™ captures your two independent camera video sources, concatenates them together as an above/below image to preserve sync, processes the result - applying any scaling and compression required - and then serves the final stereo data as a single data stream to any 3D (or 2D) monitoring device at the required resolution, frame rate, and encoding standard for that display.

DepthQ®Player™

DepthQ®Player™ is a feature-packed software solution for the high-quality playback of stereo 3D movies from a standard PC. Easy to use and designed from the ground up as a professional product, DepthQ®Player™ combines efficient code architecture and superior throughput for high-bandwidth playback of either locally stored or URL-accessible stereoscopic movies, as well as 3D streaming IP video (MPEG2-TS RTP/UDP).

DepthQ®Player™ delivers the most comfortable-to-view stereo 3D experience possible, and allows cost-effective viewing of high-resolution stereoscopic media in a wide variety of environments – from remote 3D viewing stations, operating rooms and conference rooms to 3D cinemas, museum exhibits, portable theaters, motion simulators, corporate events and trade shows.

Features include:
  • Flicker-free 120 Hz stereoscopic 3D video
  • Input Formats – above/below, side-by-side, interlaced and more.
  • Output Formats – Page-flip, DLP checkerboard, dual output, interlace and more.
  • DepthQ® Alignment (real time X-Y stereoscopic parallax adjustments)
  • Time Dependent Event Editor (IN/OUT points, Parallax changes)
  • Time Code Capability
  • DMX-512 Control of External Devices
  • Cg GPU Image Processing (cornerstone, edge sharpening, contrast, brightness, etc.)
  • Depth Reference Marks
DepthQ®Player™ software uses Microsoft Direct Show infrastructure working with codecs like Windows Media Player, MJPEG, MPEG-2, and H.264 and is compatible with NVIDIA GeForce 3D Vision and NVIDIA Quadro.

DepthQ®Player™ is available in three configurations: Lite, a free-to-download evaluation version incorporating a subtle watermark, with restricted playlength and functionality; Standard, a licensed commercial version at 720P resolution per eye; and Pro, a licensed professional version at full 1080P resolution per eye.
___________

Download DepthQ®Player™ Lite, test drive it and tell us what you think. Go to: http://www.depthq.com/player.html.

For more information go to http://www.depthq.com/software.html.

About Lightspeed Design, Inc.

Lightspeed is one of the world's premiere designers of stereoscopic 3D (s3D) presentations, projection, and image-processing software technologies. Bellevue, Washington, USA. http://www.lightspeeddesign.com or contact sales@lightspeeddesign.com or +1-425-637-2818.

DepthQ®, DepthQ®Capture™ and DepthQ®Player™ are trademarks of Lightspeed Design, Inc. All rights reserved.


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