Red announces $1200 Hydrogen One smartphone with holographic screen coming in 2018

Posted:
in General Discussion edited July 2017
A new device from from high-end video camera producer Red has been announced, that if promises are kept, will be the first holographic display-equipped smartphone not requiring users to wear glasses or headsets for fill three-dimensional content viewing.




According to an announcement by the company on Wednesday, the Hydrogen One smartphone is powered by Android, and allows users to view all traditional 2D content at full resolution, holograpic content generated by a new Red camera, stereo 3D content, and augmented reality in 2D and 3D. Coupled with the display, a new "H3O algorithm" converts stereo sound into "expansive multi-dimensional audio" to match the 3D content.

The company claims that the Hydrogen System incorporates a new high-speed data bus for a modular component system, to include future, unannounced attachments. Additionally, the Hydrogen One will integrate into the Red camera program and will work with Scarlet, Epic, and Weapon systems as a user interface and camera monitor.

A content store will roll out at the same time as the Hydrogen One. Called the "Red Channel," the store will allow users to find holographic content, upload creations, and download compatible movies, documentaries, games, and other apps.

Connectivity is provided by some form of cellular wireless, wi-fi, USB-C, and a Micro SD slot for storage expansion. Other accessories will be available as an additional purchase at launch. The company notes that expansion modules will not be available at launch.

Red is not a new company. It was founded in 2005, with the goal of producing 4K digital video cameras. The first Red One cameras were delivered in 2007, and captured 4K video at 60 frames per second.

Marvel Studios' "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2" was shot on Red's Weapon series of cameras in 8K.

Pre-order pricing is $1195 for the aluminum version, and $1595 for the titanium version, with first orders shipping in the first quarter of 2018.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 62
    19831983 Posts: 1,225member
    Well this could be a game changer, and might take the wind out of the iPhone 8 launch...if it works as advertised.
  • Reply 2 of 62
    kaipherkaipher Posts: 24member
    Hold on a sec... glasses free holographic display!?  Why is this not worldwide news?  Why is this buried as a bullet point on some first-time phone manufacturer?  Where can I order said technology on a desktop monitor?  Is this the same fake glasses free tech that Nintendo used (camera tracking faces, and shifting display to present the appropriate perspective)?
    dysamoriapatchythepiratewatto_cobraScot1randominternetperson
  • Reply 3 of 62
    gatorguygatorguy Posts: 24,176member
    kaipher said:
    Hold on a sec... glasses free holographic display!?  Why is this not worldwide news?  Why is this buried as a bullet point on some first-time phone manufacturer?  Where can I order said technology on a desktop monitor?  Is this the same fake glasses free tech that Nintendo used (camera tracking faces, and shifting display to present the appropriate perspective)?
    I would expect it is NOT Nintendo's way of doing so. Still they are hyping a lot of stuff without much explanation of it so personally I'd be waiting a bit before plunking down $1200 or more on marketing speak. I don't doubt for a second that they have a real smartphone with some sort of glasses free 3D and a very-wide sound-stage but details RED, details!
    edited July 2017 airnerd
  • Reply 4 of 62
    anton zuykovanton zuykov Posts: 1,056member
    Wow...that was totally unexpected from Red. I was aware that they had plans for a large line of new digital cameras that shoot in RAW with up to something like 16k pixels (horizontally), but this is a completely different thing altogether.
    longpathwatto_cobra
  • Reply 5 of 62
    pujones1pujones1 Posts: 222member
    Where are the details or video advertising? Let's see. 
  • Reply 6 of 62
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    pujones1 said:
    Where are the details or video advertising? Let's see. 
    That's it. There's nothing else for details. Links to the only available data provided by the company are in the story, and it's not much else that what we've written here.
    edited July 2017 watto_cobra
  • Reply 7 of 62
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    I call total vaporware bullshit, bring on the beef Red.
    Large on Marketing spiel and light on details.
    dysamoriawatto_cobracornchipcali
  • Reply 8 of 62
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    If they had anything remotely resembling such a breakthrough, they would have quietly gone to Apple and Google, started a bidding war between the two, and walked away with a gazillion buckeroos.
    edited July 2017 pscooter63StrangeDaysr00fus1dysamoriawatto_cobrapalomine
  • Reply 9 of 62
    paxmanpaxman Posts: 4,729member
    This sound interesting. What is the OS? I love the naming of the device & services. I am tempted to say Apple should be buying them but keeping them fully autonomous. If Red will be the high end development platform it sounds as if there is some interesting technology that could trickle down to the old iPhone. What's the value of the company?
  • Reply 10 of 62
    indieshackindieshack Posts: 328member
    Not sure I understand what the display technology is - presumably high res auto-stereoscopic display like the defunct Japanese and LG phones? http://www.lg.com/uk/mobile-phones/lg-P920-optimus-3d
  • Reply 11 of 62
    anantksundaramanantksundaram Posts: 20,403member
    paxman said:
    What is the OS? 
    It says Android on its website.
    douglas baileycornchip
  • Reply 12 of 62
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    They can call this the "Jesus" phone for all I care.  It's all gimmicks.  In the end, the software is was makes everything work and in the end, it better be a damn good phone.

    Apple is the only company that makes a polished product.  Hardware and software.  No one else has come close.  RED makes some awesome gear, but unless they have some amazing software engineers to make the phone compete with an iPhone, I call this article completely fabricated, marketing BS.

    Vaporware as far as I'm concerned.  But hey, go right ahead and show your cards RED.  I'll call your bluff.
    pscooter63watto_cobracornchipcalipalomine
  • Reply 13 of 62
    Mike WuertheleMike Wuerthele Posts: 6,858administrator
    paxman said:
    What is the OS? 
    It says Android on its website.
    And in the second sentence in this story.
    slprescottavon b7pscooter63chiaStrangeDayscornchiplorin schultz
  • Reply 14 of 62
    Give them points for getting some attention, but why would you announce this and NOT be showing it off (to press) when you put the device up for sale? And exactly what it does and how it works is vague. 3D in and of itself isn't that useful and 3D content doesn't seem that intriguing on a 5.7 inch screen. And the term 'holographic' gets used all the time is ways that have little to do with the actual definition. It's all very weird.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobracornchippalominerandominternetperson
  • Reply 15 of 62
    foggyhillfoggyhill Posts: 4,767member
    Selling a product without even a demo and pure wall of vauge.... That is something you don't see often except from scam artists (which I expect they're not).
    Someone in marketing is trying to pull something out of nothing it seems.
    watto_cobra
  • Reply 16 of 62
    Reminds me a little of the 3D gimmickry on the Fire Phone. This may prove as that did that fancy displays alone don't make a huge difference. It all comes down to ease of use, ecosystem, quality of hardware, etc.
    StrangeDayswatto_cobra
  • Reply 17 of 62
    rweiserrweiser Posts: 8member
    They can't even produce a PDF (http://downloads.red.com/hydrogen.pdf) that doesn't look pixelated on my rMBP display, so please forgive me if I'm skeptical of their display technology prowess.
    king editor the gratepscooter63StrangeDaysdysamoriawatto_cobrapalominerandominternetperson
  • Reply 18 of 62
    svanthemsvanthem Posts: 24member
    Is that a HEADPHONE jack in the pic? Oh man, I'm so in . . .
    watto_cobracornchip
  • Reply 19 of 62
    zimmiezimmie Posts: 651member
    kaipher said:
    Hold on a sec... glasses free holographic display!?  Why is this not worldwide news?  Why is this buried as a bullet point on some first-time phone manufacturer?  Where can I order said technology on a desktop monitor?  Is this the same fake glasses free tech that Nintendo used (camera tracking faces, and shifting display to present the appropriate perspective)?
    I don't recall Nintendo using any kind of face tracking for their 3D. Specifically, the 3DS uses something vaguely like a lenticular lens called a parallax barrier. The main screen's real, physical pixel dimensions are 800x240, and the parallax barrier blocks half of the pixels for each eye. As a result, each eye gets a 400x240 pixel image. Since each eye only sees half of the pixels, the image can be interlaced vertically to create the 3D effect with only the screen.

    This is almost certainly going to involve either a parallax barrier or a lenticular lens array.
    pscooter63avon b7watto_cobratallest skilrandominternetperson
  • Reply 20 of 62
    studiomusicstudiomusic Posts: 653member
    I bought a titanium model...

    I've met Jim a few times and have made a TON of money off of his cameras (which were also thought to be a scam).

    I hate that it's Android - I'm not giving up my iPhone, but if it's JUST a remote for one of their newer cameras, it's already worth it. I suppose they didn't have a choice for the OS.

    Jim is a billionaire many times over, so he's not just trying to get a few bucks and disappear. He's a passionate image freak and puts his money and time where his mouth is.

    Worst case you get your money back. Red has always offered a no-questions-asked refund on the spot when ordering their products. They go above and beyond what even Apple does for their customers.
    gatorguyanantksundaramanton zuykovpalomine
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