Volfoni rolls out active/passive 3D glasses

3D TV may finally have gotten a universal standard – kind of.

French company Volfoni will showcase ActivEyes, a hybrid active/passive 3D solution at the upcoming National Association of Broadcasters show. The company, which unveiled the product at this year’s CES, says it can be used on any 3D screen.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Report: YouTube to add professionally produced content

YouTube, historically, has been the playground of things like the Chinese Backstreet Boys and the Numa Numa guy, but Google may be thinking about adding another layer to the popular video destination.

Officials at the search giant, which owns YouTube, are reportedly planning to add up to 20 ‘channels’ of original, professionally produced content, which will fill between 5-10 hours per week.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Toshiba vows glasses-free 3D TV within a year

Glasses-free 3D is something of the Holy Grail for television manfucturers – and Toshiba is making some pretty big claims about finding it.

The manufacturer announced at its Toshiba World conference in Rome that it plans to launch a glasses-free 3D set within the next 12 months. Toshiba officials didn’t offer a lot of details, but did say the sets will be 40-inches or bigger.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Multitasking with Tron: Legacy

iPad owners who pick up a copy of today’s Blu-Ray release of “Tron: Legacy” will get a little extra with their purchase. The Mouse House is including its recently unveiled Second Screen feature with the disc, letting fans watch bonus features alongside the film.

First rolled out with the Blu-Ray release of Bambi, Second Screen meshes wonderfully with this special effects-infused sequel, offering viewers a blend of concept art, select filmmaker commentary and concept and storyboard images.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

10 days, 10 million downloads for Angry Birds Rio

Maybe this will make those cranky canaries happy.

Rovio, developer of the hit “Angry Birds” series, has revealed via Twitter that its latest title – “Angry Birds Rio” – has hit the 10 million download mark in just 10 days.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Sony, THQ cut their workforces

Sony Online Entertainment and THQ are both handing out pink slips this week.

SOE was hit hard by a devastating round of downsizing that resulted in one-third of the workforce being laid off and three studios closed. THQ cut more than 30 jobs at two of its studios, but both remain open.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

Roku player hits brick and mortar

Roku has been something of a trailblazer in the cord-cutting world, but it has had a relatively small following since it has historically only been sold online. That’s about to change.

Starting today, Best Buy customers are able to purchase the Roku XD in stores. So are shoppers at BJ’s Wholesale club, Fry’s Electronics and Radio Shack.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog

L.A. Noire to be featured at Tribeca Film Fest

Rockstar Games has been edging towards a Hollywood model for quite some time now, but the film community is finally taking notice.

The Tribeca Film Festival will present a one-hour gameplay session of “L.A. Noire” at this year’s event, followed by a question and answer session. Scheduled to take place April 25, this is the first time the festival has recognized a video game.

Read more at Variety’s Technotainment blog