3D HDMI Specification Is Set Free 100
An anonymous reader writes "The licenser of the HDMI specification has announced the intent to 'secure the application of 3D' by making the 3D portion of the HDMI 1.4 Specification available for public download, as well as extracts from the upcoming HDMI 1.4a. While the spec includes a 3D component, apparently not everyone has decided to sign up to adopt it. Given the developments happening in DisplayPort v1.2, the next year in displays looks like it will be an interesting one."
Displayport not a threat (Score:3, Insightful)
3D HDMI Specification Is Set Non-Free (Score:5, Insightful)
Sure you can download part of the spec. But it has a restrictive license (and only valid 1 year, after that it will self destruct), and it is actually quite useless without the rest of the HDMI spec.
Free to read != Free to use (Score:5, Insightful)
Very nice of them to allow us to read the spec. Now what about the patents? the rest of the HDMI spec on which this piece depends?
If you can't implement the standard, what good will it do you to be able to read it?
Re:Free to read != Free to use (Score:2, Insightful)
Not only that, but what they need to do is drive consumer interest. Consumers don't care about openness, they want shiny stuff cheap. Might appeal to some of the more tech savvy of us, but its not like you can go and implement your own HDMI gear to tinker with it.
Re: what good will it do...? (Score:5, Insightful)
You'll be able to have a massive nerdgasm imagining owning your your very Blu-ray copy of Avatar as you read it.
They won't release the 3D version right away of course. Oh no... First it will be the 2D theatrical version, then the 2D extended version, then the 3D theatrical version, then the 3D extended version ...the 3D director's cut where Jake and Neytiri plug their hair together in the love scene {ooooh!} and *finally* the R-rated 3D extended director's cut with topless Na'vi. All versions will also be sold as boxed sets with collectible blue plastic dolls.
HDMI mess (Score:5, Insightful)
between DLNA, HDMI and the 3d crazy that's comming i'm predicting lots of ripped off people. consumer electronics in 2010 is going to be a mine field.
"Free"? (Score:5, Insightful)
The document has an EULA. While that is bad enough on its own, in it you find this gem: "The term of this Agreement is one year. Agent in its sole discretion may terminate or extend this Agreement at any time and without prior notice. Upon expiration or termination of this Agreement, You shall immediately destroy and cease all use of the Specification Portion and all materials and information related to the Specification Portion." To add insult to injury, they also slap an indemnification clause to the document's EULA.
So, you agree to not distribute it and to destroy the document after one year. If they are sued for whatever reason, and they can blame it on you, you agree to cover all their expenses. Yay for openness!
Re:HDMI mess (Score:4, Insightful)
i've got 2 DLNA devices, both of them behave in totally different ways and neither one is what i would call satisfactory. the only saving feature of DLNA is transcoding, but since that is hit and miss it doesn't save it.
Re:HDMI mess (Score:4, Insightful)
Someone hand that guy an insightful mod.
2010 will be the year of a lot new buzzwords and add-on-words to various standards. Watch out for "enhanced", "empowered", "true", "extended" and whatever other buzzword the markedroids will come up to sell their outdated past standard not-quite-anymore-compatible junk. I'm still struggling with "HD ready" and "full HD" and HD...whatever the buzzword of the day is.
*whimper* I just wanna watch TV!
Waitasec... why? There's nothing on worth my time.
Re:Truly (Score:5, Insightful)
Curiously, the year of DisplayPort on the Monitor does not seem to have arrived yet. The monitors that come paired with these machines are VGA/DVI only, and you have to go a fair ways higher up the line before you get a displayport option. I don't know if Dell just refreshes their desktops much more often than their monitors, or whether they have some dream that everybody is going to start buying 22' widescreens for their office drones...
Re:Truly (Score:3, Insightful)
22" widescreens are practically free.
No matter the size of your company, if your buying new displays smaller than 22" for people you pay to work for you; you're wasting money. Big time.
The difference between a Dell 17" and a 23" wide screen is about $20 (not US prices). Increased productivity will pay for that $20 the first hour/week/month (depending on officedrone wages).
Re:HDMI mess (Score:5, Insightful)
I have a hard enough time convincing people they need to re-buy cables (and peripherals) for their new TV as it is.
"You need an HDMI cable"
"But I already have this SCART thing and this composite thing"
"Yeah, but you only have HDMI on your new TV"
"Is that because it's HD?"
"Well, no, you can send an HD signal over SCART or composite just the same, but they just don't want to let you. They want you to buy HDMI leads and TV's and equipment with HDMI."
"Who's they?"
"The people who license the HDMI technology."
"Er... so I have to throw away my DVD player unless I pay extra to get legacy ports too?"
"Or buy a Blu-Ray with HDMI or a newer player with HDMI. The new ones upscale the DVD so it *looks* like HD but isn't really."
"Mmm..."
And then add an hour of conversation as you explain the various *revisions* of HDMI and everything else, and why they can't just buy a £10 signal-splitter or cable-switcher without it potentially interfering with their recording of HD programmes, or why some models just won't negotiate a HD signal with some other models, or why the cheap, shit imported versions of DVD players and Blu-Ray let you just use a composite output, or why all this was to stop pirates when you can find and download HD-anything online in the same time as you used to be able to download SD content.
Call me when consumers get bored of this crap. Then I might have a look and see if there's a *standard* (i.e. unchanging, common, open, useful) cable set I can use to watch TV and record the stuff I want. To be honest, there already is - it's called "ADSL over a phone line from a widescreen laptop".
Re:HDMI mess (Score:3, Insightful)
It wouldn't be hard to convince them to buy the HDMI cable if stores would stop charging $50-$100 for something that nobody tells them costs $8 online.
Re:HDMI mess (Score:3, Insightful)
FWIW, I've had higher-than-HD in almost all of my games for around two years, for significantly less price than an HDTV and a console.
Re:More important for gaming than Hollywood? (Score:5, Insightful)
Bwuh? Only ONE input???? (Score:3, Insightful)
Am I the only geek on the planet who checks for multiple inputs before buying a TV? While I realize that video- and audio- philes will probably disagree with me, I'd say that the TV is the best device to act as the central hub for 99% of consumers out there. It's simple and straightforward for them to figure out where to keep plugging stuff into. Why would anyone ever buy a TV with only one (type of) input?
For example, I recently replaced my 10 year old Sony WEGA with a 55" Samsung LCD (half price off a Best Buy floor display). My old Sony had S-video, 3 or 4 sets of composite inputs, and a cable ready jack. I ended up with DVI, VGA, composite, component, S-Video, USB, Ethernet, cable in, OTA, and HDMI options on the back of my set. I've got a MythTV box, a DVD player, DishTV, an OTA antenna, and a WII plugged into this thing. I still have 4 or 5 ports open in case I really want to go hog wild. :)
Re:Truly (Score:1, Insightful)
The difference between a Dell 17" and a 23" wide screen is about $20 (not US prices).
Okay, I'll bite..... what prices are they then? Zimbabwe dollars?
Seriously, you've specified a currency value, and then said that it isn't US dollars. What good is that to anyone?