3D Television Has Arrived!!

Earlier this year Discovery Communications, Sony and IMAX announced plans to launch a joint venture that will develop the first 24 hour, 7 day a week dedicated 3D television network in the United States. According to The New York Post, it is expected that this week will bring more information about the collaboration. Additionally, sources tell the paper that Tom Cosgrove, Discovery Channel’s chief operating officer and executive VP, has been hired as the head of the new network.

The Discovery Communications, Sony and IMAX network will host 3D-appealing content from a variety of genres including natural history, adventure, space, science and technology, motion pictures, and children’s programming.

The joint venture will be governed by a board of directors representing each of the three companies. Discovery will provide network services, Sony will be responsible for advertising sales support and licensing, and IMAX will also license television rights and work on promotion through its movie theaters.

“We are delighted to be partnering with Discovery and IMAX, two premier companies also dedicated to leadership in 3D, in this groundbreaking new venture,” said Sir Howard Stringer, Chairman, CEO and President, Sony Corporation. “It is clear to us that consumers will always migrate to a better and richer entertainment experience, and together we are determined to be the leader in providing that around the world.”

The three companies hope to establish the network as a long-term leader in the 3D home marketplace by driving consumers to the adoption of 3D televisions.

Pentagon eyes technology to increase efficiency

Zachary Lemnios, director of defense research and engineering, emphasized the Pentagon's new cost-cutting drive is aimed at freeing up cash to sustain U.S. forces and fund needed modernization, not lower the overall defense budget. "The efficiencies initiative is an important thing to do. I see technology as a leverage for that," he told reporters at a briefing in Washington. He said his office was already working hard to get new technologies to troops on the battlefield more quickly and respond to hundreds of "joint urgent operational needs" requests from military commanders, while trying to ensure continued investment in longer-term pure research. "We take every one of these seriously," he said. Lemnios said one project launched six months ago to protect helicopters from small arms fire by adapting a system developed for use on military Humvees that listens for the sound of bullets and triangulates to fix their location. Sikorsky Aircraft, a unit of United Technologies Corp, had fitted four helicopters with 16 microphones that were currently being tested and were scheduled for use in Afghanistan beginning in October. Working closely with military commanders, the department had also been able to buy and field 13 smaller aerostats, or air ships built by Lockheed Martin Corp and other companies, to provide continuous surveillance over military bases in Afghanistan, Lemnios said. He also cited the development and deployment of thousands of more agile mine-resistant trucks in Afghanistan in less than a year, comparing it to accelerated U.S. military efforts to get weapons to troops during World War Two. The focus now, he said, was clearly on innovation, speed and agility. He said the department was trying to respond to urgent military needs in a matter of "days and weeks" rather than the years and decades spent on programs in the past. His office was also studying new weapons programs closely and trying to identify risks earlier, a move that could generate enormous savings compared with the cost of making changes after programs were in work for years, Lemnios said. "We're actually doing that. That's our day job," he said. Lawmakers and watchdog agencies have urged the Pentagon for years to monitor weapons programs more carefully, given massive cost overruns and chronic schedule delays on most programs. Better technologies could also help speed up analysis of the enormous amounts of surveillance, intelligence and reconnaissance data being collected over the battlefield, also leading to big savings, Lemnios said. The Pentagon's annual spending of about $2 billion on basic research should remain steady in coming years, Lemnios said. The challenge, he said, was to find "bright ideas" and "game-changing" technologies, especially in the areas of cybersecurity and computational science involving algorithms and more predictive analysis.