eGames Expo Melbourne Australia: I’ve seen the future, and it’s in 3D. This technology has threatened to sweep the world many times over the past few years. But new US technology, developed in Silicon Valley and exclusively launched worldwide at the eGames Expo in Melbourne prior to its global launch on January 1, 2007, blows all the misconceptions away and finally launches the true era of high-def 3D for movies, games, TV and more.

Remember having to wear those red and blue glasses to watch 3D movies at the cinema? 3D was big for a time in the early days, but predictions that everything would be filmed and displayed in 3D simply haven’t eventuated beyond the IMAX theatre and early adopter computer users who have downloaded 3D drivers for their NVIDIA graphics cards.

Now a new 3D technology called the Vortex Home Entertainment System isn’t just set to revolutionize 3D forever, they have revolutionized it. With a library of 500 current PC based games titles converted to flawless 3D, and even the ability to convert 2D live television into 3D live television, as well as pre-recorded movies on DVD, Blu-ray and HD DVD.

Besides making their own modifications to existing high-end NVIDIA cards and putting it into their own PC systems, which will sell pre-loaded with 150 top PC games, Windows XP (with Vista to come) and a special interface that can be controlled from a games console controller (in addition to being easily controlled by a standard keyboard and mouse), Fountain Consulting also aim to sell a pack for US $150 that allows anyone with the same hardware to modify their own system to make it 3D compatible.

The number of people that already have the high-end equipment required is huge, as true gamers are not only growing in number, but always want the best technology to deliver the highest quality gaming experience, so sales of the upgrade kit are likely to be huge.

But if you just want to buy a ready made system, the Vortex Home Entertainment System computers with all the 3D capabilities demonstrated at the show will be on sale in 2007, in different configurations.

They had their systems on display powering the 3D displays, with gamers eagerly playing titles such as Star Wars Battlefront II, the latest Quake and many, many others. The eGames Expo show is still on for one more day - Sunday the 19th at the eGames Expo held in the Melbourne Exhibition Centre as I write, so if you want to see it for yourself, come on down and check it out.

It’s also compatible with existing high-definition TVs and projectors – all you need is a pair of 3D glasses from any manufacturer – the Vortex has been designed to seamlessly work with them all. It also works with any of the new 3D televisions from Sharp, Panasonic, LG, Samsung and others, where you don’t need any glasses at all.

You really need to see a demo of the system playing the latest games, in 3D, with a pair of standard 3D glasses (similar to those handed out at IMAX or Real D cinemas), to truly appreciate how much better your favorite game looks in 3D. The depth, the explosions, the action and the detail is enhanced to a new 3D level.

I was also shown some video clips of a football match, a home video of someone driving their car (with a standard video camera bolted onto one of the seats to capture the vision as you’re driving down the road) and some TV commercials that were all effortlessly converted into 3D.

Watching a football match on 3D on a huge 70-inch projected screen, using a standard video projector is so good, it simulates the feeling of being there more than anything I’ve ever experienced.

The CEO and Founder of Fountain Consulting, Tony Welch, is a visionary 27 year old who has an amazing story to tell. His grandfather was a photographer who specialized in stereoscopic photography many years ago, and it was he that got Tony thinking about images always in 3D.

Tony’s mother also purchased Tony a ‘Tomy 3D player’ when he was 5 years old in 1984. The Tomy 3D is a series of 3D video games which included the tank game where you shoot planes from the sky. As you can see from this Google search, they’re still around.

Astoundingly, Besides eerily and perhaps prophetically almost having the same name as young Tony himself, this 3D viewer was so exciting to Tony that he told his mother he would one day make it possible for us all to watch TV in 3D. I’m sure his mother thought he was just dreaming, but a mere 22 years later, Tony and his company have made it a reality.

It’s taken Tony and his team 3 years to perfect the technology to a stage where it is ready to launch onto the world stage in early 2007. He has a team of 5 people, and has also worked with 15 other major companies to make his vision come to life.

Tony is no slouch when it comes to computer and technology, before embarking on his 3D adventure, he was an automation engineer for Cisco Systems.

The taglines his company has already used to describe the experience include: “We bring the excitement of theme park 3D into your living room”, and “It’s as fun to watch as it is to play.”

The existing Fountain Consulting website only has a limited amount of information available, but does have some descriptive information and contact details if you want to get in contact directly.

There is an amazing new website coming on the 1st of January, which you’ll find from the Fountain Consulting website, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy as to what it’s called, so you’ll just have to wait until January 1 to find out. 

However don’t bother if you want to invest, Tony already has a number of investors and others trying to buy the company out already, with a local Australian distributor already appointed, called Direct2U Australia under the brand name 3DVisual.

Lest you think this is yet another 3D adventure that will turn into a misadventure, the visuals I’ve seen of high-definition 3D in games, movies and TV cannot be denied, and the world will soon see all of its video in three dimensions.

Are you ready?

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