Fox Searchlight has produced a virtual reality experience to promote the film “Wild” starring Reese Witherspoon. The three-minute, 360-degree sequence features Witherspoon as her character in the film as she takes a break from a hike in the woods. Fox Searchlight is planning on showing “Wild – The Experience” at the Consumer Electronics Show and the Sundance Film Festival next month. The immersive experience is compatible with Samsung’s Gear VR. Continue reading Reese Witherspoon Stars in ‘Wild’ Experience for the Gear VR

Virtual reality developer Jaunt has created a new app for Google Cardboard that allows users to experience performances by musician Jack White in a 360-degree, stereoscopic 3D virtual reality experience. The app, called “Jack White: THIRD-D,” is part of Google’s rollout of a new page in its Play store dedicated exclusively to content for Cardboard. Google claims that it has shipped more than 500,000 Cardboard devices as the demand for virtual reality has risen. Continue reading Jaunt Releases New VR Music Experience for Google Cardboard

According to insiders at LG, the company’s new 8K display has been airlifted to Las Vegas for next month’s 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show. LG Display engineers will accompany the prototype to its CES booth. Codenamed “Mabinogion,” the 55-inch display features a resolution of 33.2 million pixels, more than 20 display driver integrated circuits, and a brightness of 500 nits. LG Electronics (LG Display’s largest client) is rumored to be adding an 8K TV to its UHD lineup next year. Continue reading CES 2015: LG Expected to Unveil its New 55-Inch 8K Display

Dolby, the top brand in theater sound, is poised to launch its premium, large-format theater experience called Dolby Cinema. As a potential new competitor to today’s large-format leader IMAX, Dolby Cinema will feature special design elements such as its Atmos sound, signature entrances to reflect the movie being projected, and the highly anticipated high dynamic range process, which allows for a greater dynamic range of luminosity, resulting in whiter whites and blacker blacks. Continue reading IMAX Rival: Dolby Cinema Puts Focus on High Dynamic Range

DreamWorks Animation is working on new technology that will bring its pre-rendered CGI films to virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Rift and Gear VR. To support headtracking, the company has developed “Super Cinema” technology that pre-renders the entire 360-degree image so that no matter which way a user turns his/her head, the frame is already generated. This technology would allow consumers to have an immersive VR experience even on lower-end hardware. Continue reading DreamWorks Developing 360-Degree Rendering for VR Films

Technicolor’s Rennes Research & Innovation Lab is a 193,750-square-foot facility located in France’s version of Silicon Valley — Rennes’ Via Silva eco-city. Initially launched by CEO Frederic Rose in 2012, the facility grouped colorists, researchers and engineers together at one site. Today, teams at the R&D lab are working on a host of technologies for content creators and consumers related to virtual reality, augmented reality, stereoscopic video, 3D audio, the Internet of Things, and much more. Continue reading Technicolor Imagines the Future at Research & Innovation Lab

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg imagined that the Oculus virtual reality technology his company acquired would eventually go beyond gaming — and it looks like that trend is already taking shape. Developers from a wide variety of industries are working on new apps for the Oculus Rift that could be used by stock traders, educators, psychiatrists, astronauts, filmmakers and others. The Oculus Rift is making VR more accessible because of its relatively low cost and growing variety of content. Continue reading Oculus Rift Virtual Reality Technology Not Just About Gaming

HP is planning to release a 3D printer in 2016 that the company claims will perform up to 10 times faster than today’s 3D printers. Primarily targeting large industrial companies, the printer is expected to be more affordable than models currently on the market. HP also announced a new all-in-one computer system called Sprout, with a 3D scanner as its most innovative feature. Sprout, available November 9 starting at $1,899, is a design-oriented system that includes a projector, camera, and touchscreen. Continue reading HP Unveils Design-Oriented Computer, Plans for 3D Printer

The 2013 horror indie “Banshee Chapter,” produced by Zachary Quinto and directed by Blair Erickson, is the first feature film to be released on Oculus Rift headsets. San Francisco-based Jamwix is making the movie available for free via its website. Jamwix’s Chimera software was used to convert “Banshee Chapter,” which was already shot in 3D, into a virtual reality feature. The digital studio is using the project to promote how Chimera can transition films into an immersive VR experience. Continue reading ‘Banshee Chapter’ Becomes First Feature Film for Oculus Rift

German company Zeiss, known for its optics tech and premium camera lenses, is developing the VR One, a headset that uses a smartphone’s display, accelerometer, and gyroscope to give users a virtual reality experience. It is similar to Samsung’s Gear VR for the Galaxy Note 4 except the VR One is $100 cheaper and is an open project so that developers can help design the product. Currently, the VR One is compatible with the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S5, but more phone tray options are coming soon. Continue reading Zeiss Builds a $100 VR Headset That Works with Your Phone

Google may lead Andreessen Horowitz and other investors in a $500 million round of funding for Florida-based hardware and software maker Magic Leap, according to sources. The company is working on a new 3D experience that is more advanced than current virtual reality and augmented reality technologies. Magic Leap has released very few details about its “cinematic reality” tech, but it is most likely going to involve super high-resolution 3D images projected from special glasses. Continue reading Google to Lead Investment in Magic Leap’s ‘Cinematic Reality’

Christopher Nolan fans and moviegoers interested in the upcoming “Interstellar” can get a sneak peek at the galactic world through a 3D virtual reality experience. Participants will get a chance to wear Oculus Rift headsets and virtually explore the film’s spacecraft, which took two months for the team at Framestore to recreate. The Oculus Rift Interstellar Experience is hitting select AMC IMAX theaters in New York, Houston, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. before the film opens November 7. Continue reading Oculus Rift Interstellar Experience Coming to IMAX Theaters

Artec, a Luxembourg-based 3D scanning company, began shipping 3D body scanners that capture every detail of individuals before allowing users to order mini replicas of themselves. The Shapify Booth, featuring multiple rotating scanners, captures the image in around 12 seconds. During a one-week test, 1,000 people were scanned so that replicas could be created. The results led to the Walmart-owned U.K. supermarket chain Asda to purchase 10 booths, which cost $180,000 each.  Continue reading Artec Ships 3D Body Scanning Booths for Replicas and More

The Entertainment Merchants Association will hold its Digital Media Pipeline on October 8 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Celebrating its sixth year, Digital Media Pipeline is a one-day B2B event that brings together thought leaders to discuss digital delivery of home entertainment. ETC’s Phil Lelyveld will be a featured speaker as part of a next-gen technology panel. ETC community members are invited to attend the conference at the discounted EMA member price of $295. Continue reading EMA to Hold Sixth Annual Digital Media Pipeline Next Week

Higher dynamic range in both the cinema and CE viewing experience was a recurring message yesterday at Con-Tech: The 2015 Preview Seminar. The NAB Show and the International 3D and Advanced Imaging Society held a seminar on content and technology trends including 4K production, color gamut, HDR and new workflows. The event, hosted by Paramount Pictures, featured panelists from companies such as Barco, CableLabs, Disney, DreamWorks Animation, Film Magic, Lionsgate, RealD and Technicolor. Continue reading Con-Tech: 4K Production, Color Gamut and High Dynamic Range