Week in Geek: Samsung offers 3D download for DLP

Apple’s iPhone is already so yesterday. Now the buzz is that there will be new iPods introduced next month that will have the widescreen touchscreen found in the iPhone as well as 802.11n WiFi connectivity. Meanwhile Apple’s sweet deal with YouTube that places YouTube front and center for iPhone users is causing some grumbling among video service providers that want a similar deal. How much room is available for one-touch support of other video services? Not much, unless the YouTube button becomes a more general streaming video button.

The big E3 gaming convention sure isn’t what it used to be. For one thing, this year it went “suits only” leaving the hard-core gamers and others out in the cold. Personally we think that’s a bad move as if any market benefits from viral marketing it’s the videogame world. Overall there wasn’t much in the way of news, especially in sports titles which continue to be nothing more than sequels. That said there is some hope on the horizon as some early demos of non-sports games like Call of Duty 4 are proof positive that videogame creators are finally figuring out how to get the most out of the processing power found in the Xbox360 and the PS3. That should have Nintendo worried but…

Nintendo’s Wii Fit could be yet another game changer, literally. Of course, it also gives Wii gamers countless new ways to hurt themselves or break furniture but for now we’ll say, sure, bring on the activity that will turn couch potatoes into jumping beans.

And don’t look now but 3D is hitting the DLP market via a software upgrade. Samsung will introduce a new 3D image system for special 3-D content and converted 2D-to-3D images in 2008. The capability is built into all of Samsung’s DLP sets, and can be made to produce 3D images with the use of PC-based software (developed by DDD USA) and specially developed 3D glasses equipped with LCD shutters (developed by I-O Display Systems). The software will play back PC video games, movies and Web sites in 3D using a connected Samsung DLP TV, and will convert many 2D images to 3D as well. A package of the software and glasses will retail for $200. Samsung is looking at bundling the system with TVs. Philips will also introduced 3D TV in 2008.