Recent Stories with tag hd

Of course, not everyone is Bumbershooting this Labor Day weekend. But that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a personal music festival. Abbey from The Sound on the Sound emailed me about the Doe Bay Sessions, and I would be greedy indeed to keep the news from you. Every Tuesday, from now through October, they're posting a new live session from bands like The Head and the Heart, Hey Marseilles, Ravenna Woods, Drew Grow and the Pastors' Wives, and Fences.

It's a new project from SOTS, which begins with music videos of The Maldives somewhere in the woods, filmed during this year's Doe Bay Fest. The initial idea was to invite a few bands to the SOTS yurt for a Vincent-Moon-style "takeaway" shoot...but these things have a way of getting away from you, and now:

Over the next 10 weeks we will be releasing videos featuring a candlelit session from Fences, The Head and the Heart (and the Doe Bay All-Stars) singing down the sun, Ravenna Woods using trees for percussion, a mid-trail serenade from Drew Grow and the Pastors’ Wives, The Maldives on a mossy knoll, picnic table perching with Hey Marseilles and many more.... (more)

The bar at Gordon Biersch, Pacific Place

Even my schwarzbier looked three-dimensional. I was down at Gordon Biersch, on the fourth floor of the Pacific Place shopping center, following up on a story about the World Cup in 3D. How good could it be? Would it be annoying or jaw-dropping? Neither, it turns out. It's just better, more immersive. You look into the game, not at it.

Two HD 1080p 46-in. JVC flat panels (not sold on the consumer market yet) flanked each side of the bar, carrying a Direct TV transmission of ESPN's 3D World Cup coverage. RealD 3D glasses (the polarized "sunglasses" style you get at the movie theater) were handed out. If anything, the results were almost too crisp and defined, giving me the impression I was watching someone else play an EA FIFA 10 game.

ESPN's 3D cameras gave an enormous depth to the pitch, and the sheer size of the crowd was visceral. Early on, the 2D ESPN transmission was showing replays the 3D transmission was missing, but eventually the 3D crew seemed to catch up. There were the same multiple angles, and the back-of-the-net cam paid real dividends in 3D.

In general, the 3D is not obtrusive--it emphasizes depth-of-field rather than coming-right-at-you! I noticed it more the times it helped make sense of a previously flat view. For instance, corner kicks, with a multitude of players clustered in front of the goal, made much more visual sense. Even in a tight space, I could "place" the players in relation to the goal. It was also easier to tell when shots on goal were curving wide.

The weirdest moments came when a fan's flag intruded suddenly into the foreground--it's a little alarming when things poke suddenly into view "near" your eye. And when it began to rain in South Africa--yes, "I bless the rains down in Africa"--the drops resolving near the lens had the feel of special effects magic.... (more)

Gordon Biersch in Seattle's Pacific Place is adding a third dimension to sports bar offerings--something called RealD 3D TV. They believe they're the only restaurant in Seattle that's gone 3D--with two new 46" HD-3D TVs installed in the bar area. (They're supplying the 3D glasses, but if you have your own special pair, by all means.)

That means this weekend, it's time for a RealD 3D World Cup: They'll be showing both the Saturday, July 10th match at 11:30 a.m., between Uruguay and Germany for third place, and the final on Sunday, July 11th, again 11:30 a.m., between Netherlands and Spain. (That's gonna be a lot of 3D orange to take in.)

Realizing not everyone is into "football," Gordon Biersch is also showing the Mariners v. New York Yankees on Saturday at 7 p.m. and again on Sunday, at 1 p.m. You can catch the All-Star Game in 3D on Tuesday, July 13th, at 5 p.m.

They're hoping you'll try out their new SommerBrau beer and Caribbean-style summer menu: Shrimp & Lobster Spring Rolls, Island Steak Tacos, and a Montego Bay Banana Split. These are also in 3D, but no special eyewear is necessary.