Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 9, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The cinemizer Plus video glasses from Carl Zeiss offer one of the few ways to watch “real” 3D films already - anywhere. Anyone who puts the “mobile cinema” on their nose, connects it to an MP4 player or multimedia mobile phone and plays a 3D film has the impression of real action taking place around two metres in front of their eyes. “A technical trick makes this possible: on the two LCD screens in the video glasses, the right and left eyes each receive a stereoscopically recorded image,” explains Andreas Klavehn, Head of Marketing Multimedia Devices at Carl Zeiss.
“The cinema experience is produced by simulating a screen two metres away with a diagonal of 115 centimetres (44 inches).” This is still playing music from the future because genuine 3D content is still rather scarce in shops and on download platforms. But that future will become the present fairly soon, if the Hollywood studios are to be believed. According to Andreas Klavehn, digital content platforms are also already working to develop a corresponding market.
In the film industry, 3D is the year’s leading topic. Film producers are backing the new format to entice viewers who have stayed at home back into cinemas. Statistics from the Berlin Film Board show a long-term decline in German cinema attendance. 3D films are now intended to reverse this trend First signs suggest an imminent boom: in 2009, “Up!” became the first 3D film to open the Cannes Film Festival. Experts such as DreamWorks producer Jeffrey Katzenberg predict that most cinema films will be shown in 3D within three to seven years. The growing number of 3D cinemas in Germany confirms this. With cinemizer Plus, Carl Zeiss now offers the opportunity to be involved from day one and experience genuine 3D outside cinemas already. Normal 2D productions can, of course, still be viewed with the “mobile cinema”.
The video glasses are compatible with the iPhone, almost all iPod models, mobile phones in the Nokia N-Series and DVD players. They can be purchased from electronics retailers and all 29 Gravis shops in Germany for 399 euros.
