by Derek Dellinger
Commercial 3D continues to open up new vertical markets for integrators and manufacturers, even as residential 3D entertainment pushes awareness of the technology.
"This InfoComm is the first one with 3D everywhere," says Blair Parkin, managing director for Visual Acuity, a media and technology consultancy from Brighton, UK. "We've gone from accessory to core presence."
"By now technology has evolved to launch 3D applications at new price points, with brighter images," says Mike Levi, president of Digital Projection. "3D opens up new markets — education, medical, museum installations — beyond just entertainment."
Though 3D has been launched and hyped in the entertainment world on multiple occasions before the current push, according to Levi, it's now here to stay for commercial applications, where he believes there is more opportunity for high-end 3D.
"For home uses, there's primarily just one application. 3D in the commercial side has so many vertical markets to be taken advantage of. And at InfoComm this year, we're seeing a lot of those specific applications."
Adam Neale of 7thSense Design, Brighton, UK, is already looking toward the push for higher resolutions.
“Standard definition doesn’t exist in this world anymore,” says Neale. “What we're seeing is a focus on resolution and quality. Whether it’s image projection, or LEDs, or whatever it might be, we're seeing that our customers want uncompressed, high resolution imagery. They want the absolutely best experience.”
7thSense Design is exhibiting at InfoComm this year with projectiondesign, where the company is demonstrating a 6-channel dome and active 3D projector.
Visual Acuity’s Parkin believes that, while 3D is becoming ubiquitous — with manufacturers now expected to make 3D models of their products — demand from clients hasn't quite caught up with industry expectations.
