Panasonic’s flagship TVs are the VT25 series which were launched at the CES 2010. The VT25 will feature a premium range of plasma TVs which unlike their counterpart LCD screens will be able to display 3D content at a much faster rate resulting in spectacular 3D images. As expected from Panasonic the 3Dtvs come packed with technology and gadgets including a Neo Plasma display, anti glare technology and 1080p 24fps when watching 2D content.

VT25 3D TV

Similar to other brands Panasonic have chosen to use active 3D technology for their 3D TVs thus users will need to wear active shutter glasses to view 3D content. There will however be a 3D bundle package with the TV which will include a Blu-ray player (DMP-BDT350) and a pair of active 3D glasses.

The VT25 series will come in a range of screen sizes including – 50 inches (P50VT25), 54 inches (P54VT25), 58 inches (P58VT25) and a whopping 65 inches (P65VT25). Overall Panasonic have certainly delivered with their new range of 3D Tvs and we cannot wait for their next instalment.

SEARCH FOR PANASONIC 3D TVs

Both the men and women’s finals on the weekend of 2-3 July 2011 will be shown in 3D marking the 125th anniversary of Wimbledon. If you are salivating over the idea of Andy Murrray volleying a ball into your lounge then this is one for you. HOWEVER to enjoy the 3D conversion you’ll need a 3D TV, glasses as well as subscription to the BBC HD channel. If all this is a little costly then you could watch 3D tennis at your local cinema.

Critics to 3D have condoned the fact that only a tiny fraction of TV owners in the UK (some 300,000) own a 3D ready TV and thus it’s a waste of tax-payers money. At Totally-3D however we believe this is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the fact 3D is making in-roads into live sport.

If you are going to Wimbledon for real you may want to dress up for the occassion. If you are looking for a dinner suit and tuxedo then check out the Dinner-suit site.

You can buy all the following games from most major stockists. Totally3D recommend GAME who have an unbeatable range of 3D games on offer.

	Street Fighter 3DS truly is a Nintendo great. Over the years there have been untold remakes of the original 1990’s game however this really does bring it into the next dimension. The game is still played on a 2D plane but the 3DS gives is a level of depth that is rarely seen. All the familiar characters are there making this a timeless classic for your DS. Buy Streetfigher 3D edition
	Driving games were always going to be hit with the 3D format and thankfully the developers for Ridge Racer saw the opportunity. Ridge Racer 3D isn’t the most complex driving game around but the speed and fun elements are top notch making this game a must play. There are lots of cars and game modes to unlock – you’ll be racing for hours. Buy Ridge Racer 3D
	Ghost Recon, Shadow Wars is a spectacularly good game for the 3DS.  Shadow Wars has you pitting your strategic skills by controlling a group of six militia against the Russians. Some of the characters you control have different skills which adds a twist to the game. Although not the most prettiest game out there the playability and excellent user interface makes Shadow Wars a must. Buy Shadow Wars 3D
	On first thought Pro Evolution Soccer shouldn’t be a hit on the 3DS … yet it is. We’re all used to PES’ side view but when you see the action with the over-the-shoulder ‘Player’ camera then it really comes into its own. You receive standard game modes such as exhibition match but it’s really the excellent use of stereoscopic 3D that makes this great. Buy Pro Evolution Soccer 3D
	Dead or alive, the classic fighting game comes punching and kicking into your lap thanks to fantastic, eye-popping 3D. All of the various moves from the fighters are present in the game as well as some new features. If you want quality 3D effects and smooth graphics then this is one game for you. Buy Dead or Alive 3D

Although it is going to be released in Japan first with a price tag of 25,000 yen it’s likely that it will be sold in Europe from March at around the £200 mark. The Nintendo 3DS will be available in either aqua blue or black.

3DS launch

A recent quote from the Nintendo chief says “it is inevitable that Nintendo 3DS will be a device which requires more frequent recharging than Nintendo DS” which is why a charging cradle is going to be bundled with the package. Talking to investors the president of Nintendo, said, “We don’t believe that the world is in a state where high priced software will sell well, so we don’t believe it will be in a price range too far off from current DS software.”. This is great news as expensive software would have easily put off new buyers.

Following the announcement of the launch date Nintendo has just launched its 3DS microsite in Japan. The site offers up more product detail including new feature overview and the software lineup. Nintendo also demonstrates the Mii Plaza app that lets you collect and view Miis from 3DS owners you pass throughout the day. Other features of the 3DS include augmented reality gaming with six AR cards included in the box, a long-press home button for in-game access to web browsing, and note writing / diary software.

Yes, you may have heard the exciting news that Star Wars films are to be re-released in 3D – a dream come true for many Star Wars fans. We can honestly say that Star Wars is a rare exception in the film world in that a 3D conversion would suit it perfectly. Fans of the Star Wars films can already imagine joining Luke in his journey down the trenches of the Death Star or jumping back as At-At laser beams scream past your head.

Not since the digital re-release has there been such a furore within the Star Wars universe.

The Star Wars 3D conversion

All Star Wars episodes are to get a conversion. ‘The Phantom Menace,’ is first inline for conversion followed by the new prequels and the original trilogy. According to The Hollywood Reporter “the six movies will be released one a year which means ‘Return of the Jedi 3D’ will come out in 2017,the 40th anniversary of the original Star Wars saga”

This is going to be big … really big so Lucas is going to invest time and money into ensuring the conversions are perfectly made without stutter or blurring.

If the campaign is successful at the box office, it could mean other series, notably the Harry Potter and Spider man films, might convert to 3D for re-release and special packaged sets.

Lucas also plans a Blu-ray Disc set of the six films next year, which will include deleted scenes and special features. In addition, by the time the 3D versions are ready for television viewing, a sufficient number of 3D televisions should be available.

Check out the 3D movies page for more info.

Currys are confident 3D will be the next big medium (believing 20% of all TVs sold over the next 12 months will be 3D compatible) and thus are giving away a full 3D TV package (including glasses and Blu-ray player) for less than £1,000!

The pack includes a superb 50” Samsung 3D TV (50C680) with a Samsung blu-ray player.

Analysts at research group iSuppli estimate that the 3D TV market is expected to grow to 12.9 million next year and 60.5 million by 2014 and with Currys cutting the cost of 3D equipment this is only going to help make it more popular.

The Toshiba WL768 will feature three 3DTVs packed (40, 46 and 55 inch screens) full of new technology and features that will bring to life any film or TV program. The Tvs are designed in collaboration with Jacob Jensen Design bringing a stylish and modern look into any lounge.

The head of marketing for Toshiba says “The 3D capable Toshiba WL768 series goes further than simply bringing 3D into the living room – It has been our aim to offer more with the WL768 series by combining its 3D capability with its first-class picture quality,”.

Toshiba 3D technology

With a WL768 TV you can expect a fantastic picture quality in both 3D and 2D. The quality image is brought to you via an Edge LED backlight display with high dynamic contrast ratio of 7,000,000:1. The 200Hz technology not only provides smooth and blur free motion but also offers a fast response time that is required to achieve an adequate separation of pictures reaching the left and right eye.

Like the majority of other 3D TVs the Toshiba LED 3D Tvs uses active shutter technology to maintain Full HD picture quality when switched to 3D mode. The active shutter 3D glasses synchronise with the TV’s refresh rate via an IR emitter which is fully integrated into the TV.

The TVs also come with ‘Intelligent 3D’ which compensates for the effects of using the 3D glasses such as the loss of brightness due to the alternate darkening of the viewer’s eyes, and the change in colour contrast. 3D Resolution plus is equipped to future proof your 3D TV for broadcasting images over the next few years. In a nutshell it uses complex algorithms to analyse each single image and improves detail and texture in near-real time.

Home networking

On top of everything already mentioned the WL768 series can easily connect to a home network. Windows 7 compatibility allows content to be streamed to the TV by clicking the “play to” menu option. The TVs also come embedded with a WLAN interface that supports an easy setup of a wireless network connection. Finally it’s not only the visuals that are important, full and vivid sound is provided by powerful speakers and an Audyssey EQ equalizing system.

Check out more 3D TVs

A recent report carried out by Deloitte surveyed over 4,000 Brits and found that only 89 respondents were likely to spend money on a 3D-enabled TV set over the coming year. That’s just 2%! 2% … we bet the likes of Sony, Panasonic, SKY etc were hoping for a higher penetration than that.

Unsurprisingly those aged between 25 and 34 were the most likely to say they were planning to buy a set; however only 5% said they would invest in a set over the next 12 months.

There are a number of reasons why people aren’t contemplating a 3D tv set. Firstly, the prices are still exceptionally high ie the new LG 50PX950 3D tv starts from £1,570 and some Tvs can easily get to the £3,000 mark. Secondly, the wearing of glasses is still a barrier. People are complaining about levels of discomfort and their cost (circa £50) and if you are in a large family there is sure to be fall out if little Jimmy isn’t fast enough to snatch up a pair. Finally the fact that there is little to no content/media for you to watch at this moment in time does not make the act of spending an extra large amount of cash on a 3Dtv particularly appealing.

Dr. Sean McCarthy, a fellow of the Technical Staff at Motorola said “There are no major technology barriers anymore. The TV displays are good. The glasses are good. The digital infrastructure is in place. What I see happening now is a move from simply enabling 3D TV towards making 3D TV a compelling home experience for consumers. Compelling 3D TV means that home viewers will be able to experience the director’s original intent and vision without the technology of distribution getting in the way, and will seamlessly switch from 3D back to 2D viewing.”

Let’s not be too negative though. Firstly, it’s not just 3D Tvs that have had a hard time, the survey also mentioned that consumers weren’t interested in upgrading to internet connected TVs or PVRs either. Also it is not yet known how many people nationally have bought a 3DTV but retailers are reporting significant interest. Bob Darke, Comet’s commercial director recently said they had sold 1000’s of 3D Tvs adding “3D TVs have been selling very well at Comet since their launch, with the biggest spike in May, which we can attribute to the World Cup. While the games weren’t shown in 3D it is typically a time where people look to upgrade their set to the best available TV on the market, which at the time and still is 3D.”. We also believe that the 3D gaming market still has some way to go and will certainly help boost the sales of 3DTvs.

We’ll summarise this with a quote from Deloitte media director Paul Lee “It is remarkable how conservative people’s predictions for their own technology spending habits over the coming year were,”. We couldn’t agree more Paul and hope to see a good percentage of 3D Tvs and gadgetry in people’s homes over the next couple of years.

Vogue Italia’s September issue has adopted 3D technology for both the cover and the fashion shoots. The cover was photographed by Steven Meisel and features sexy and sassy (and also pregnant) Miranda Kerr with a cute puppy dog.

Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Franca Sozzani says “there is still plenty of room to make print publications more and more interesting,” .

We can’t wait for more publications such as Empire, FHM etc to use 3D technology for their covers.

No ordinary porno the world’s first IMAX 3D erotic film – 3-D Sex & Zen: Extreme Ecstasy – is currently being filmed in Hong Kong by director Christopher Sun. The film is based on a classic Chinese erotic text, “The Carnal Prayer Mat,” and has cost a hefty £2 million to make with a due date of early 2011.

Personally it’s not one the Totally3D team intend to watch but we do believe it shows niche areas of filming absorbing the 3D technology.

You can check some screen shots at (no suprise) the Sun.

3D PORN COMING (ahem) TO A SCREEN NEAR YOU SOON