Yesterday, I took one day away from this week's normal Masters shooting for a very different kind of job. I set up a 3D monitor and playback system for what Comcast called a "high profile viewing party for invited guests" at their Augusta, GA offices.
A rental company provided a 50" Panasonic 3D Plasma along with 5 pairs of the required active shutter 3D glasses and all of the cables and accessories you might need to install an HDTV.
The Comcast office, it turns out, also had a 55" Samsung 3D LED backlit LCD television and several pairs of the corresponding glasses. Glasses from one manufacturer do not work with another manufacturer's TV, so if you were wearing the Panasonic glasses, you couldn't watch the Samsung TV, and vice versa.
Mark Fransisco, who worked on Comcast's 3D technology, brought along an Acer laptop with a 3D display that used the same type of passive polarizing glasses you probably wore if you saw Avatar in 3D. In addition to broadcasting Masters coverage on television, they also provided a live stream on the web.
Before the event started, I had a chance to speak with Mark about some of the challenges they faced, and the choices that they made. If you're interested in the details, you can read about the technology behind Comcast's 3D broadcast in this Engadget HD article. Photo: Engadget HD