21st Century 3D Introduces 3DVX3.5,
Adds Hyperstereo and Solid State Recording

San Jose Convention Center January 30, 2007
SPIE Stereoscopic Displays and Applications Conference

Today, stereoscopic motion picture production and technology leader 21st Century 3D announced two new additions to their lineup of three dimensional digital camera systems. The 3DVX3.5 adds new features, refines ergonomics and redefines the state of the art as the world’s smallest and lightest high definition 3D camera–recorder.

The 3DVX–H is a modular hyperstereoscopic camera system that allows for stunning photography of distant subjects while maintaining a strong stereoscopic 3D effect. With ordinary camera separation, discernable stereoscopy diminishes as the camera’s distance from the subject increases. The 3DVX–H compensates for this by allowing users to increase the interoccular distance to as much as three feet or more.

The 3DVX range of cameras puts uncompressed 10 bit 4:4:4 RGB stereoscopic motion picture production into the hands of cinematographers and directors in a way no other camera systems can. The 3DVX3.5 carries over the key capabilities of last year’s breakthrough 3DVX3 and adds incredible new features to an overall enhanced package that is even lighter than its predecessor. The 3DVX3.5 weighs in at a trim twenty-two pounds with view finder, drives, mini DV tape and 160Ah Li Ion battery. In addition to uncompressed direct to disk recording, the 3DVX3.5 can now record two channels of 16 bit 48khz uncompressed audio and monoscopic NTSC DV video via the built in miniDV VTR. Two balanced XLR connectors allow standard audio or timecode input. The 3DVX3.5 is suitable for a wide range of production applications including motion picture, ride films, themed attractions, music video, documentary, promotional, corporate or live events. The all-new NTSC recording capability allows for immediate on set playback without the need to process RAW camera data. A completely redesigned focus system improves tactile response and offers compatibility with professional follow focus systems, long whips and other accessories. White balance, gain and high-speed shutter controls have now been linked and are operated by individual independent controls for improved accuracy and ease of use.

The 3DVX3.5 allows focus, iris and zoom to be controlled by wired electronic remote, opening the door to a host of new and exciting applications. Operation on cranes, booms, jibs and steadicams is now afforded an added degree of convenience. Operators retain full control at a distance of up to forty feet. A newly integrated high resolution 3.5” LCD display offers substantially improved resolution and provides expanded monitoring options. The new camera system is based on DVX100B cameras and Intel CPU Mac Minis running the latest version of Mac OS X. The 3DVX3.5 sports over 3.2ghz of processing power and 4GB of RAM. Body mounted removable 100GB hard drives allow for record times of up to one hour before a drive change is required.

The 3DVX–H hyperstereoscopic camera system offers the same uncompressed recording technology as the 3DVX3.5. The 3DVX–H adds the capability to vary interocular distance, accommodating a broad range of shooting conditions. The separation between lenses can vary from 5.5 inches to 34 inches or more allowing for photography of extremely distant subjects. Normal stereoscopic cameras begin to lose their 3D effect as the distance to the subject increases beyond several hundred feet. With the 3DVX–H, cinematographers now have the ability to precisely tailor their interoccular separation to suit the needs of specialized subjects. The system features a lightweight, counterbalanced mechanism that has been custom designed to integrate directly with industry leading helicopter mounts from Tyler Camera Systems and is ideally suited to aerial cinematography and other unique applications.

21st Century 3D also announced the ultimate compliment to its range of innovative 3D camera systems, the world’s first completely solid state uncompressed stereoscopic video recorder. Foregoing moving parts altogether, the 3D-SSR is a solid state stereoscopic recorder that directly interfaces with the 3DVX3, 3DVX3.5 or 3DVX–H. The 3D-SSR captures up to 24 minutes of full bandwidth, uncompressed 1280x720 stereoscopic video at 24 FPS per eye, in 10 bit RGB 4:4:4 color space. Harsh environments including racing vehicles, helicopters and airplanes are not ideal situations for hard disk recording. Vibration and shock can cause hard disk write errors and degrade performance, preventing the drives from keeping up with the over 58MB/sec sustained data rate required by the 3DVX camera systems. A compact array of high performance NAND memory powers the 3D–SSR and is impervious to such disturbances. The 3D–SSR can even extend operating times as compared to traditional bus powered hard drive storage when used with Anton/Bauer Dionic 160 batteries. According to 21st Century 3D CEO Jason Goodman, “We are extremely excited about the 3DVX3.5, the 3DVX–H and the 3D–SSR. They not only represent huge steps forward for the world of stereoscopic cinematography, they demonstrate 21st Century 3D's ongoing commitment to 3D production and technology. We are constantly refining and improving our tools and capabilities. The 3D–SSR allows us to finally realize the dream of direct to solid–state recording and eliminates the most problematic aspects of hard disk based cameras. This was an early design goal for 3DVX cameras but has proven elusive until now.”

3DVX cameras are not offered for sale. For worldwide hire or to arrange a screening, contact 21st Century 3D.

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