YouTube和英伟达计划在非游戏玩家中普及3D视频

    自从互联网诞生以来，就不断有人尝试把3D技术搬到网页上。还记得所谓的“虚拟实境模型语言”（简称VRML）吗？它是创建3D特效的标准，主要考虑的是游戏效果和“网页体验”。不过由于90年代中期的硬件还没有跟上，因此VRML也成了部分当时还未成气候的网络社区的笑柄。

    不过，现在你可不要再笑了，或者至少要笑得低调点。因为现在3D网页似乎正在开始变成现实。虽说可能有点蠢，但它毕竟是一件大事。最近图形芯片制造商英伟达（Nvidia）宣布，谷歌（Google）的YouTube和火狐（Firefox）将会为它的3D影像平台提供视频支持（目前这个平台的使用者主要是游戏玩家）。

    关于这个平台流传着不少警告的话。首先它只在火狐4浏览器上运行。其次，一套3D视效软/硬件包售价大约150美元，而且必须安装在能兼容的个人电脑上。当然，用户还得戴上3D眼镜，这个也包含在软/硬件包里。

    也就是说，这个平台只适合非常非常想体验3D网页的人，而且并不面向苹果的Mac电脑。不过这并不意味着它就难以成功。事实上，正因如此，英伟达很可能得以在未来一段时间里，将这个平台的零售价保持在较高水平。

    根据英伟达的预测，到2015年，安装3D视效系统的个人电脑将会达到4000万台。

    近年来各大电影公司纷纷推出3D电影，并且取得了一定的成功。不过3D热现在似乎正在渐渐消退。但英伟达公司表示，家庭自制的3D视频和图像正在促进人们对3D网页的需求。3D相机和便携式摄像机的销量正在上涨。

    现在YouTube上只有几千个3D视频。不过《问讯报》（The Inquirer）的劳伦斯•拉蒂夫断言道，随着业余导演们纷纷试水这项技术，这个数目“一定会出现井喷”。

    译者：朴成奎

    There have been attempts to force 3D onto the Web since the Web was born. Remember Virtual Reality Modeling Language? VRML -- a standard for creating 3D graphics, mainly with gaming and "Web experiences" in mind -- was the laughingstock of certain parts of the then-smallish Web community in the mid-90s, mainly because hardware hadn't caught up.

    Well, stop laughing. Or anyway, keep it to a low chortle, because it seems like 3D on the Web is actually starting to become a thing. It might be a silly thing, but it's still a thing. In the latest move, graphics chipmaker Nvidia announced that Google's YouTube (GOOG) and Firefox would support its 3D Vision platform (now used mainly by gamers) for videos.

    Caveats abound. It works only on Firefox 4. Also, 3D Vision, a software/hardware package that costs about $150, must be installed on a compatible PC. And of course, users must wear 3D glasses, which come with the kit.

    So, it's only for people who really, really want it. And aren't on a Mac. That doesn't mean it won't succeed -- indeed, it most likely means that Nvidia (NVDA) will be able to keep its price points high for some time to come.

    The company forecasts that there will be 40 million PCs with 3D Vision installed by 2015.

    Movie studios in recent years have tried to push 3D films with some success. But that increasingly appears to be a fading fad. Nvidia though, says that what's driving demand online is homemade 3D video and pictures. Sales of 3D cameras and camcorders are up.

    There are only a few thousand 3D videos now on YouTube. But with amateur auteurs piling on to the technology, that number is "set to explode," declares The Inquirer's Lawrence Latif.