Polecam press announcement, 2008 October 9
Polecam experienced a major surge of interest in 3D television among producers and broadcasters attending IBC08 in Amsterdam. The show itself was one of the busiest the company has attended and second only to the Las Vegas NAB Convention in its ability to attract visitors.

HI Rez image (Click to download)

"The quality of direct-view and eyewear-assisted 3D displays is advancing rapidly," comments Polecam sales and marketing manager Mel Noonan. "There is huge interest from the digital gaming sector which is already driving 3D screen prices down. Before long, computer users will be floating 3D layers around in everyday graphics and word-processing software. A lot of broadcasters are waking up to this and showing a serious desire to make use of the same technology. We showed the new Polecam 3D Head which has been developed in co-operation with a number of budding 3D content producers. Chris Randak of UK-based Axis Films tested the prototype recently using two Iconix HD cameras to shoot a Reebok commercial with boxer Amir Khan. We have learned a lot in terms of the range of camera placement distances and convergence angles operators are going to need as well as the type of control they will want for practical 3D shooting. That goes a fair distance beyond the parameters required for coverage of surgical and industrial procedures in which we have direct 3D experience. A key issue is how best to store a 3D HD signal pair. This can be achieved by locking two single-channel video recorders in sync or by capturing to a dual channel direct-to-disk video recorder such as the Wafian HR-1 HD-SDI. The Polecam 3D Head evidently impressed the editorial staff of TVB Europe magazine who have given it an award for technical innovation."

"International Datacasting used the Polecam 3D Head fitted with two Toshiba IK-HD1 cameras to demonstrate live encoding of a 3D feed on their IBC08 booth," adds Greg Salman of Polecam's USA distribution company. Greg is himself highly experienced in 3D video origination. "A jib such as a Polecam is essential for 3D production as too many edits in a 3D production can be jarring for an audience. The Polecam allows camera movement and changes in without jarring visual discontinuity. The Polecam becomes a perfect 3D production tool because it is so portable, versatile, and easy to use. Producers in the US see 3D as likely to mature rapidly from initial demo phase into an attractive source of premium-channel television content. The difference between flat-screen and the 3D experience is not far short of the advance from monochrome to colour. Large-screen high-resolution television is a perfect medium for 3D."

Polecam founder Steffan Hewitt, his wife Amanda and their daughter Francesca are meanwhile celebrating another kind of dual delivery: twin sons, born immediately after IBC. Mother and sons are doing well. Steffan is recovering.

Polecam was established in 1998 by extreme sports cameraman/director Steffan Hewitt. While directing a series of windsurfing kit commercials in Hawaii, he needed to obtain close wide-angle front shots of a windsurfer in action, shot from a tracking boat or jet ski. Steffan improvised a rig comprising a miniature camera on a carbon-fibre windsurfing mast. Returning to Britain, he developed a lightweight go-anywhere rig with a remote joystick-controlling a high precision pan and tilt head. Polecam now sells successfully around the world from its base near Bedford.

Media contacts:

Mel Noonan, Polecam Ltd
Tel: +44 (0)1234 855 222
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David Kirk, Stylus Media Consultants
Tel: +44 (0)1342 311 983
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Axis Films: www.axisfilms.co.uk
International Datacasting: www.datacast.com