As regular readers will possibly already know, I’m a fan, and an owner of the Carl Zeiss Cinemizer Plus. So I was thrilled to get a glimpse of the next model on their roadmap, the Cinemizer OLED. The ship date is still in the distant future, somewhere in 2011, and the official specs are still under wraps. Though Übergizmo have had a rather inaccurate guess at the resolution, followed by Engadget, parroting the same misinformation. Come on guys, do your homework, people look to you for information, not just being first!
So as a 3D enthusiast, I made a bee line to the Zeiss Cinemizer booth at IFA to get a first hand look at the upcoming model. They were at pains to point out that this is still a prototype, and they weren’t announcing specifications at this point. Which suggests production will be some distance away. The resolution however is definitely higher than the previous model, the Cinemizer Plus. The Cinemizer Plus has a 640-x-480 screen resolution, which for video is actually fine so long as the media quality is decent. The Cinemizer OLED is measurably better, and is in a wide screen format to boot. Although the Zeiss people on the booth were unwilling to say exactly the resolution, I would say it seemed at least 720p.
The main reason is that the prototype they were demonstrating was hooked up to the output of a Sony PS3, and they had a 3D version of MotorStorm. I’ve tried playing games with my Cinemizer Plus, and while it works to a certain extent, not being able to see scores, range maps and other smaller onscreen graphics is a problem. The new Cinemizer OLED is a much different experience, bigger looking screen, sharper images. I don’t know for sure what the new resolution will be, but it will definitely be better than the 640-x-480 the other blogs are quoting.
There are also changes to the compatible 3D formats the Cinemizer OLED will play. They were demonstrating a 3D DVD playing through a laptop, and into the screens of the Cinemizer. I checked the format, and saw that it was over-and-under 3D, as opposed to the side-by-side 3D Cinemizers usually use. So hopefully this means more compatible media to watch, which is fantastic news (as soon as more 3D DVDs are available).
One final treat was a whole custom 3D virtual reality system on show. It was very much in the prototype stage, much more so than the Cinemizer OLED. The regular Cinemizer had a small module attached above the screens, which monitored position and direction. The video feed was from a PC running what looked to be some sort of architectural software. Wearing the Cinemizer, you could look around and tilt your head in any direction, and the landscape would appear static, as if you were actually there.
It is a custom solution built by a German company, presumable to sell into Architectural vertical markets. It was a bit of a gimmick I suppose, but if that was hooked up to a proper gaming platform, the results would be spectacular.
So that’s as much information as I could squeeze out of the crew on the booth. I think the price quoted by other sites seems about right, at €400. But I’m sure if this product sees it’s full potential, the price will come down, as volumes go up. Not that I’ll be waiting for that of course, I’m saving already!
original post at http://3dmoviedude.com/?p=382