Minoru Webcam USB 3D

by PROMOTION & DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY

Product Details

• Item Weight: 9.9 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B0027VT704
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: MINORU
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: April 28, 2009

Product Description

Meet Minoru, meaning 'Reality' in Japanese, the World's first 3D webcam. Connect Minoru to your PC and he will come alive, his eyes will light up and he will be looking at you in 3D. Your friends and family can now see you in 3D over your favorite messaging program like Windows Live Messenger, Skype, AOL instant messenger, OoVoo and many others. You can also take 3D photos or even shoot 3D videos and upload them to YouTube. Minoru connects easily to your PC's USB port just like any other webcam but that's where the similarities end. The Minoru software has stereoscopic anaglyphic processing that lets you be seen in three dimensions. The red and cyan anaglyph image produced by Minoru can be viewed by anybody who is wearing commonly available red and cyan 3D glasses (five pairs included free with Minoru). Minoru can also be used as a standard 2D webcam for anyone who doesn't have the 3D glasses at hand. Minoru will appeal equally to the 3D novice and the stereoscopy enthusiast alike. Power consumption - 1.5 W operating mode, 2 mW in standby mode Included 5 pairs of red and cyan 3D glasses

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The description of this product is OUTDATED on Amazon, August 20, 2010

By 

Katalin Laufer (Jonesville, Virginia United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Minoru Webcam USB 3D (Electronics)

Let me start with the obvious:
In the description it is stated:
"3D Mode - Optimized Red/Cyan Anaglyph viewed with Red/Cyan 3D Glasses"

Fortunately this is no longer true. If it was true, I wouldn't even bother to write a review, because the anaglyph as such, has failed, as far back as half a century ago. While it is the simplest and cheapest way to get a peek at what 3D is all about, I wouldn't recommend this product, if that was only 3D mode it is able to do.
Yet, because I have a very long history of dealing with the 3D technology (I got a 3D film camera some four decades ago, a long story and irrelevant) I bought a Minoru 3D just for the heck of it and because I can afford it. The setup was easy, just plug it in to a USB port, run the setup CD and that's it. It automatically showed up in all my software, so there was no problem with the setup. As a matter of routine I immediately checked whether any driver update, and there was. Now the surprise. With the new driver, it is not only anaglyph, but displays in essentially almost all the current (and possibly future) 3D mode, including page flipping, interlaced, etc. Also, the resolutions have a higher range too. It also came as a mild surprise that even the anaglyph is somewhat respectable. Of course, it is a webcam after all, so don't expect Avatar style 3D, if you are broadcasting you sitting in a chair in front of the computer and talking to people. But it works fine, does MORE than the Amazon description indicates it. The 3D is not forced, you can broadcast with it in 2D as well, in which case it acts as a normal, good quality webcam.

Not that it matters too much, but on top of the display screen it looks like a cute little alien of some kind :).

I had only one problem, which I didn't figure out yet. When I downloaded the very latest version of Skype, the picture froze in about 5 seconds, whether I set it to 3D or 2D. I have no idea whether it is a Skype problem or a driver issue, but I uninstalled the new Skype, put back the previous version and everything worked fine again.

Considering that 3D is new and upcoming, I am convinced that it is the future and it is here to stay, I think for the prize Amazon sells it (way below the retail which is almost 90 bucks) it is a reasonable purchase.

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Okay but..., November 10, 2011

By 

Randy Saborio - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Minoru Webcam USB 3D (Electronics)

This little guy works well on Linux but gets detected as two separate cameras (nice if you are working on Computer Vision algorithms). Frame rate is really slow. 3D is decent but don't expect a real-true 3D.

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute little critter for 3D pictures and video, March 3, 2011

By 

Dennis R. Carr "going postal" (I don't know, Illinois I think!) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Minoru Webcam USB 3D (Electronics)

It certainly does work although the speed of it could be boosted up a little. The video has that "walk on the moon" look were it has trouble following my head and leaves some ghosting. Other that it is fun to take 3D photos and post them on Facebook, forcing everyone to find some red/cyan glasses.....lol