You know you’ve arrived as a serious technology when someone proposes an industry-wide standard should be established to deal with its manageable deployment.
3D proponents, therefore, were probably beaming with pride when they heard that Panasonic is proposing a 3D HD standard that would make 1080p content compatible with existing Blu-ray Disc, HDMI and MPEG standards.
Panasonic said it also will bring Hollywood into the fold for discussions on motion picture 3D standardization, and would like to get a standard finalized before the end of 2009.
Panasonic’s ambitious short-term goal? To start building and shipping 3D-capable plasma HD sets by 2010. Panasonic, as well several of its competitors, said at CES they believe the near-future leap to 3D HD will be similar in importance to the entertainment industry as the jump from analog SD to digital HD. On Feb. 1, Panasonic will open a facility in Los Angeles whose primary purpose is to create 3D HD Blu-ray discs.
Also, Panasonic used CES to unveil what it called the world's first portable Blu-ray player (DMP-B15). The player features an 8.9-inch WSVGA LCD and a 3-hour rechargeable battery for 1080p viewing. The small device can also be connected to a large-screen home HD screen (via HDMI) for Blu-ray viewing.
No MSRP listed yet for the DMP-B15, which could begin shipping in North America and elsewhere this spring.
Last year, the Consumer Electronics Association and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) announced separate plans to develop 3D standards.
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