HSINCHU CITY, Taiwan—Taiwan-based Acer Group has announced the release of its latest Aspire notebook computer, which includes embedded technology for viewing 3-D. Priced at just under $800, the Aspire 5783DG enables 2-D to 3-D conversions for games and applications supporting Microsoft's DirectX9 and above.
According to a review on technewsworld.com, “The Aspire 5783DG has a 15.6-inch backlit Acer CineCrystal HD display integrated with a TriDef 3-D screen. It comes with 3-D software and glasses. It also has an integrated multi-in-one media reader and an HDMI port.”
Preinstalled with 64-bit Windows 7 Home Premium, “Three-dimensional capabilities are provided by the TriDef 3-D solution, which consists of the 3-D screen, software and special glasses. The TriDef Media Player lets users play back videos and photos in 3-D, and the TriDef Ignition tool enables 2-D to 3-D conversion for games and applications supporting Microsoft's DirectX9 and above,” the site says.
The TriDef Media Player includes 2-D to 3-D conversion technologies that let users watch standard definition 2-D DVDs in 3-D at run time, according to DDD, the developers of the Tri-Def technology.
DDD, a 3D software and content creator, first publicly displayed its TriDef technology in 2006 at the Adult Entertainment Expo (AEE) in Las Vegas. The company's patented technologies enable features like 3-D viewing without glasses, the integration of computer graphics applications with 3-D displays; 2-D to 3-D conversion; and 3-D transmission over existing networks.
Despite the fact that the technology was introduced at AEE, an adult entertainment consumer-focused convention, the current laptop is being marketed to gamers and business users, and not directly to consumers of adult entertainment.
"This holiday season, we are seeing 3-D content become more prevalent in popular films and games," Ray Sawall, senior manager of product marketing for Acer America, said. "The new Acer Aspire 5738DG notebook enables consumers to enjoy exciting new 3-D entertainment on a mobile PC that can also replicate a 3-D experience from standard 2-D content."
This is not the first such attempt to provide 3-D capabilities in a laptop. In 2004, Japanese electronics manufacturer Sharp released the Actius RD3D, a laptop that weighed 12 pounds and cost about $3,000. It disappeared shortly thereafter.
Carl Howe, a research director at the Yankee Group, told TechNewsWorld that the fate of the Sharp laptop may be a warning for Acer, and that 3D may still be a gimmick in search of an audience. "While a 3-D display sounds cool, it’s irrelevant for most office work," he said.
That may be true, but as AVN senior editor Mark Kernes points out in the November issue of AVN magazine, the adult entertainment industry is only starting to embrace 3D technology, and when adult embraces a new technology, it isn’t just an innocent squeeze but a full penetration.
With that in mind, Acer’s move into 3-D might just be shrewder than the experts believe.
