Scott Wilkinson

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The Big Picture
3DFusion Glasses-Free 3D
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 15, 2011
I received an e-mail on the last day of NAB announcing a demonstration of a new glasses-free 3D display technology from a company called 3DFusion, so I had to check it out before heading back to L.A. The company has licensed some 800 related patents from Philips and developed its own algorithms to solve the problems of limited viewing cones and crosstalk while using a lenticular filter on a flat-panel screen.
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The Big Picture
TWiT Skybox
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 15, 2011
Here's a shot of the TWiT skybox overlooking the lower South Hall at the Las Vegas Convention Center, from which Leo Laporte, Alex Lindsay, Kirk Harnack, and I provided about 20 hours of coverage of the 2011 NAB show, supported by 10 hard-working members of Team TWiT. Design by Roger Ambrose, lighting by Brent Bye. To watch video of all the coverage, go to twit.tv/specials, and go here for a special episode of my Home Theater Geeks podcast from the show floor.
The Big Picture
Pawn Stars
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 15, 2011
On my way out of Vegas, I had to stop by the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop where the History Channel series Pawn Stars is shot. Unfortunately, Rick, Old Man, Big Hoss, and Chumlee weren't there at the time, but it was cool to be in the store seen on the show, which is one of my favorites these days. Awesome!
The Big Picture
Volfoni ActivEyes Hybrid 3D Glasses
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 14, 2011
Yesterday, I ran into David Reisner, digital-cinema consultant and recent guest on my Home Theater Geeks podcast, who told me about an exhibitor called Volfoni, which is showing hybrid active/passive universal 3D glasses at NAB. Intrigued, I sought them out.
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The Big Picture
Red Epic 5K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 14, 2011
One of the biggest digital-camcorder announcements at NAB is Red Digital Cinema's new Epic camera with 5K (5120x2700) resolution. Why 5K? Because it's one better than 4K? Well, sort of. Having 5K resolution allows content creators to crop or downscale to 4K with better-looking results.
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JVC 4K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
One clear trend at this year's NAB show is the proliferation of digital video cameras with a native resolution of at least 4K (roughly 4000x2000 pixels). Among the entries in this field is a prototype from JVC, which doesn't even have a model designation, much less a price or shipping date.

I was particularly impressed that JVC was displaying the camera's output on a 55-inch 4K flat panel, probably a Sharp, though the rep I spoke with couldn't say for sure. Unfortunately, the photo above, taken directly off the screen, does not do the razor-sharp image justice. Even more amazing was an IBM 4K monitor nearby measuring only 20 inches or so diagonally—I could get close enough so my eyeball was almost touching the screen, and I could barely see the pixels. These flat panels give me hope that 4K will migrate to consumer displays.

The Big Picture
Sony F65 8K Camcorder
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
With all the 4K digital video cameras at the show, I was surprised to find an 8K camera, the Sony F65. However, even though it has an 8K imager, it outputs 4K. So why use an 8K imager? Because capturing images at a resolution higher than they will be shown can result in better picture quality than capturing at the intended resolution to begin with. No pricing was announced, but I bet it will be six figures.
The Big Picture
Sony SRM-L560 4K LCD Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
A short movie shot on the Sony F65 8K camera was being shown on the new 56-inch SRM-L560 4K LCD monitor. The detail was super-sharp, but the contrast was not great—the accompanying placard spec'd it at 1200:1, big whoop—and much of the movie consisted of fairly dark scenes. The same material looked much better from a Sony 4K digital-cinema projector on a 16x9-foot Stewart StudioTek 130 screen.
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Panasonic BT300 Reference Plasma Monitor
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
In a secret, blacked-out room, Panasonic was demonstrating its new professional reference monitor, the TH-42BT300, shown here between last year's TH-42PF11 to the left and this year's TH-42PF20 on the right. In addition to a 42-incher (~$4000), the new model will be available in a 50-inch size for around $5000.
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Sony BVM OLED Reference Monitors
Scott Wilkinson  |  Apr 13, 2011
For outstanding blacks, nothing I've seen at the NAB show comes close to the Sony BVM-E250 25-inch and E170 17-inch OLED monitors ($26,000 and $17,000, respectively). One of the most amazing demos at the show was presented in a totally blacked-out room with three pro reference monitors—a BVM-L231 LCD, BVM-E250 OLED, and BVM-A25 CRT.
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