21st Century, a small camcorder accessory developer has announced that they have developed a 3D video kit for the Panasonic AG-DVX100. Using some interesting electronics, their new product uses two Panasonic DVX100's to combine a video signal into a 3D viewable image.

Before introducing a 3D video product, 21st Century had "hacked" the DVX100A to make a 960 line progressive scan camcorder that also used two DVX100's. The new "3D" camcorder is called the 3DVX.

21st Century 3D’s 3DVX comprises, at its core, two AG-DVX100As with electronically synchronized shutters. These camcorders have had critical body parts and other controls adapted to synchronize their imagers. The twin camcorders have been integrated in a side-by-side fashion, with the viewfinders adjacent to each other to allow for stereoscopic viewing of the captured video.

Video is recorded via two discrete channels, one per integrated camcorder, at a resolution of 720x480 on each channel. Each channel is recorded to a separate dedicated MiniDV tape. 21st Century 3D contends that their two-tape system provides greater resolution (two 720x480 signals, seen together) and frame rate. The larger amount of information on the two-tape system decreases the potential for problems like flickering, inaccurate synchronicity, and jagged edges. From there, the footage from both tapes can be brought into conventional editing software, and overlapped with equal opacity to yield a three-dimensional image, so long as the editing software used on the computer can recognize the identical time code on each tape, in order to synch them up.

This solution stands as a response to other 3D systems, particularly that of the stereoscopic XL1 lens. The XL1, no longer in production, integrated data from two lenses onto a single tape, with each lens providing data alternating fields within the video signal.

To accompany the release of the 3DVX, 21st Century 3D announced a wireless 3D video signal transmiter for the camcorder. The 2.4ghz video tap can run for over six hours, and fits in a small backpack. It’s highly portable, like the 3DVX, and offers convenient monitoring options. The wireless has an approximate range of 700 feet.

Currently, the 3DVX is only available for rent, and no pricing information is available. While the system is new and innovative, it's homebuilt nature does not make it a likely buy for most consumers.


Source : CamcorderInfo