Top Directors Serious About 3D - You know that famous photo of an entire movie audience all wearing those cardboard 3D glasses? Well, we may be seeing that blast from the past again soon if Hollywood directors the likes of George Lucas and James Cameron have their way. They are promoting new advances in digital cinematography, postproduction and digital projection which may make 3D a mainstream moviegoing experience. Hi-res digital projectors must be used, but they can be inexpensively modified to handle 3D. For one thing, separate synchronized reels of film for the left and right eyes are no longer required. For another, not only new productions but already-existing films can be successfully converted into the two slightly offset images required for 3D. The disappointing aspect of the new process is that moviegoers will have to wear the retro red & blue Anaglyph cardboard glasses which play havoc with the color spectrum on the screen. However, backers of the new 3D claim the glasses don’t cause the headaches associated with former Anaglyph 3D efforts. (Polarized or liquid crystal glasses - such as used in IMAX 3D presentations - is a more advanced but more expensive alternative.)
Digital Electronics Sales Sagging - Six major electronic component manufacturers in Japan showed poor earnings for the last quarter, indicating that sales of digital home electronics have slowed. However, it is felt that the market will grow over the next year or two. There has been a global decrease in sales of DVD players, but an increase in global sales of plasma displays.
FCC Decision on Cable Boxes Disappoints CEA - Consumer Electronics President Gary Shapiro stated: “We are disappointed by the FCC’s decision to allow cable operators to maintain their monopoly on cable set-top boxes for an additional twelve months...additional time to further entrench their monopoly...Once again, Americans are tied to the limited choices, premium pricing and questionable customer service that have become a hallmark of consumer complaints about their cable providers.”
Singer-Pianist Bobby Short Dies - The nation’s best-known cabaret singer and a standard feature at New York’s Cafe Carlyle, Short was 80. He began performing in vaudeville at age 12, played for three presidents in the White House and was named a National Treasure.
March 23, 2005 
