Audio News for May 24, 2011

by | May 24, 2011 | Audio News | 0 comments

New 3D Technology from Samsung & RealD – The two firms have teamed up to offer a new full-resolution 3D technology to consumer electronics makers. It eschews Samsung’s active-shutter glasses and instead builds the active-shutter technology into the 3D display screens, allowing the use of RealD’s circularly-polarized 3D eyewear – similar to what are handed out in 3D theatrical showings. The left and right eyes are blocked about 120 times a second, as with the shutter glasses (which are heavy and require expensive batteries), but at the display rather than in the glasses. The full up to 1080p resolution is maintained to each eye for a brighter, flicker-free, immersive 3D experience from a wide viewing angle, and there is no degradation of image quality in 2D mode. The competing new FPR (film patterned retarder) 3D displays depend on a static film overlaying the display, and cut the resolution to each eye in half. (LG, Vizio and Toshiba sets currently use the FPR technology.) 3D Director James Cameron is on RealD’s board of directors, and says their display technology will set a new standard for home 3D.  The new technology will first appear on 23 to 27-inch displays and PC monitors in early 2012, and 55-inch HDTVs after that.

New York City Opera May Fold
– The New York City Opera has been a pillar of American culture for decades, offering affordable production and fostering the careers of young artists, but is threatened by a dwindled endowment and a possible strike of singers and production staff.

Tech Problems Dog Met Opera Wagner Productions
– A 90,000-lb. revolving platform is central to the Met Opera’s productions of Wagner’s Ring Cycle operas. It has 24 metal planks which morph into different shapes, and has broken down regularly, including last Saturday when it held up the live production of Die Walküre – which was also being telecast live to HD theaters and radio outlets around the world. It also malfunctioned at the opening night of Das Rheingold last Fall and was the cause of one of the divas tripping and falling on her derriere.

George Solti’s Archive Given to Harvard Music Library
– The Loeb Music Library at Harvard is the recipient of a large part of Sir Georg Solti’s hundreds of marked scores, and recordings for British Decca from 1947 thru 1997, as well as broadcast recordings going back to 1937 and including the Met and Royal Opera performances.

HP Pavillion Desktop PCs Offer Surround Sound
– The new HP Pavilion consumer desktop PCs feature powerful processors and graphics plus innovative technologies like Beats Audio and HP LinkUp to offer consumers the latest in sound and convenience. A powerful audio experience is assured by built-in support for multichannel surround sound.  HP also introduced the x2301 23-inch LED backlit monitor, which is only 9.8mm thick, and has high-dynamic contrast ratio, full hi-def resolution, glare-reducing technology and fast response time.

Brazil Now a Global Center for Consumer Electronics – Surveys show that Brazilian consumers are outpacing the rest of the world’s consumers in electronics usage and spending. They have the highest consumer electronics ownership and spending in 15 product categories. 40% of Brazilian consumers plan to buy HDTVs this year compared to 25% internationally, and 20% intend to buy 3DTVs this year compared to 12% internationally. 55% of Brazilian consumers bought a mobile phone during the past year, vs. the international survey average of 32%. International companies looking to enter Brazil will be doing so not because it is a country where low cost manufacturing or outsourcing of software design can be done, but because of its internal market and its base as a hub for the growing Latin American market.

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