Re: Virtual IO (was: 3D TV Corp.)

[Bill Costa - UNH Computing & Information Srvs <W_COSTA@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Greatings fellow 3D folks...

    In PHOTO-3D Digest 1235 I read where someone wrote:

> Starks is a technical whiz kid, but his entrepreneurial skills are lacking,
> I'm afraid. 

    I also think he's a one-man operation since whenever I call or write,
    all I get is him.   I talked to him late last year about a 3D camera he
    is developing (see below).  I sent him e-mail about 10 days ago asking
    for an update, but have not heard back from him yet.  When I call
    him, I get the impression he's a busy guy.

    Then wier@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Bob Wier) added as the start of this new
    thread:

> In contrast, Virtual I-O is really going after the market. Just today
> I got a mailing from them offering an educational developers kit ...

    Wish they had that when I got on board about a year ago...

> Has anyone tried these?

    I own one.  Bought it before Starks started offering it in his catalog.
    To back up a bit; what I want to build or buy is a 3D video camera.  I
    decided that the first step had to be purchasing the display device. 
    The Virtual I-O i.glasses were the 3rd brand of Head Mounted Display
    (HMD) unit I had tried, but the first that actually worked well for me. 
    (I decided on a HMD, BTW, because I have been disappointed in all the
    shutter glasses systems I have tried.  I also like the idea of a
    self-contained display system.)  

    One of the keys of why I liked the Virtual I-O unit best is because
    most HMDs go for a wide field view since they are geared for virtual
    reality use and are trying to achieve a full `immersion' effect.  The
    Virtual I-O unit in contrast appears, as the literature claims, as a
    virtual TV screen floating in space.  The advantage, given the current
    TV technology, is that the resulting image looks pretty good.  NTSC
    (our TV standard) does not fair so well when viewed up close and
    personal.  I also like the I-O i.glasses because they were comfortable,
    and because they are designed for TV first (i.e. a standard composite
    signal as input), with an adapter to make them work with computers. 
    Not the other way around. Again, for my purposes, since I want to make
    3D videos, this is perfect.

    When I bought the unit, it came with an instructional tape with a
    *much* too short 3D sequence.  When I started posting to the net
    looking for 3D sources, I was contacted by e-mail from one of the
    people at Virtual I-O wanting to know if I had found anything.  They
    obviously see the lack of video software as a problem.  I don't know
    how actively they are persuing this, but given that I am a registered
    owner, it's interesting to note that I have never received any
    additional literature from them.

    As for the 3D camera, Starks late last year said that he was developing
    a relatively inexpensive 3D video camera.  Right now I know of at least
    one portable 3D camera on the market, but we're talking $8K!  So a 3D
    video `brownie' would be wonderful thing to have.  I'd like to start
    with something relatively inexpensive and go from there, rather than
    buying or building something expensive only to discover I will not use
    it much for whatever the reason.  

    As for building something, right now there are a lot of relatively
    cheap and small color video cameras on the market.  Trouble is, unless
    you buy an expensive multiplexer ($4K from Stark's 3D TV, if I remember
    correctly), you need to get cameras with an external genlock.  Such
    cameras are hard to find, and when found, are not cheap. *sigh*

    If anyone is interested in this subject, I do have some sources of
    information on cameras, multiplexers and such.  This info is getting a
    little stale but I'll send it on request for what it's worth.

    							Later....BC

##    ##    ##    ## +----------------------------[ Bill.Costa@xxxxxxx ]---+
##    ###   ##    ## | Bill Costa                                          |
##    ####  ##    ## | CIS - Kingsbury Hall                                |
##    ## ## ######## | 33 College Road              PHONE: +1-603-862-3056 |
##    ##  ####    ## | University of New Hampshire    FAX: +1-603-862-4778 |
##    ##   ###    ## | Durham, NH  03824-3591  USA                         |
 #######    ##    ## +----------------[ No good deed goes un-punished. ]---+


------------------------------