In a wide-ranging conversation with Google's chief exec Eric Schmidt, filmmaker James Cameron has announced plans for the next two Avatar movies, criticised the current state of 3D television and reiterated his belief that technology can save the planet from ecological apocalypse.
Cameron says stereoscopic 3D TV's day will come, but stressed that it requires far better tech and content before going truly mass market.
"Well, we see the world in 3D," Cameron told the audience at a Churchill Club dinner this week in California. "To me, there are no barriers to 3D TV in homes in five to ten years."
3D TV five years away
In Cameron's opinion auto-stereoscopic (glasses-free) 3D technology is the way forward for 3D in the home.
"The sweet spots subdivide the total resolution of the screen so breakthroughs have to happen in display manufacturing," said Cameron, predicting that Moore's Law would mean we will have such TVs within four or five years.
"I'm sure you're the only person in Hollywood that actually understands Moore's Law," Google's Eric Schmidt told Cameron, somewhat obsequiously.
The availability of decent 3D content is also a sticking problem for the Avatar director, who admitted that sports and video-gaming will drive 3D TV uptake in the home.
Avatar 2 not till 2014
Cameron revealed that it will likely by 2014 before we get to see Avatar 2 followed soon after in 2015 by the third movie in the series.
"Silicon Valley is about making things, and James is our analogue in Hollywood," said Google's Eric Schmidt.
Cameron revealed he is currently developing ways of filming underwater scenes in 3D.
"You will see computer-generated water and the optics of bringing light through water. It's all doable. Those are just plug-ins."
Via Venturebeat
