Corporate marketers are always looking for new opportunities to engage their target audiences and make an impact. Two new options in glasses-free 3D digital display suggest that this may really be the next great frontier in marketing.

Opticality Corporation has unveiled a line of 3D digital displays in sizes ranging from 17 to fifty inches. Opticality's displays make holographic-like 3D images hover deep within the flat-panel LCD or plasma screen and project up to six feet in front of it. Images can be seen in a 120-degree field so multiple people can gawk simultaneously. No ridiculous eye-wear is required.

"Corporate marketers today need to find a way to cut through the advertising clutter, and our 3D displays offer the first completely new messaging platform since the advent of banner ads on the Internet," said Opticality President and CEO Elliot Klein.

Opticality offers a complete toolset for easy deployment, including content creation tools or, alternately, customized content creation; content management tools for creating play lists, tracking results, etc.; and, display installation and maintenance. With the content creation tools, you can create new 3D content or convert legacy 2D content using animation programs such as Maya and 3ds max and then run the video through Opticality's rendering software plug-in. Opticality's plug-ins work on leading 3D animation platforms 3ds max and SoftImage.

Opticality displays can also be used as new platforms for arcade games, medical and scientific imaging, and digital broadcasting on PCs and TVs. The displays can be built in a full range of sizes and to a variety of specifications, so cell phones and larger-scale screens could be targeted, too.

Opticality’s next step is outside: developing 3D capabilities for LED and rear-projection screens in the hopes of revolutionizing outdoor advertising.

Piranha Advertising Inc. (PAI), meanwhile, has introduced its first widescreen, high-resolution, 42-inch 3D flat panel Piranha MAX 3D (PM3D). The PM3D system projects 3D images three and a half to four feet away from the screen and visible to the naked eye.

"Piranha's plasma 3D products represent the future of display technology for the broadcast and advertising industry and are extremely effective for users seeking video and computer 3D animated display solutions in a light-weight, space-saving format," said PAI COO Steve McLean. "Our products offer a virtually limitless number of opportunities for advertisers seeking new and more effective marketing solutions."

Designed for viewing in high traffic areas, PM3D boasts an integrated NTSC tuner and stereo speakers, ultra-slim cabinetry, and a frame-like design. The new flat-panel PM3D utilizes a pixel-by-pixel conversion system, making for precise images no matter the video source. PM3D exclusive technology identifies the characteristics (film, video, mpeg, etc.) and resolution (480i, 480p, 720p, or 1080i) of video content and instantly reproduces accurate and sharp 3D images.

"We were already planning on installing about thirty of the PM3Ds in malls and shopping centers we have contracted across the United States by mid-2005,” said PAI VP of Marketing Gia Pino, “but thanks to the extremely positive response we have received from advertisers, we expect to easily triple this number by the end of the year."

PAI will start installing PM3Ds across the U.S. on March 15, 2005