The View-Remaster is a digitising scanner for previous View-Grasp reels to look at them on fashionable tech

I’ve spoken concerning the View-Grasp right here on DIYP earlier than. In truth, as not too long ago because the Kandao QooCam EGO evaluate I posted just a few weeks in the past. It’s one thing that a lot of my technology and older look again on with fondness and marvel. Whereas positively primitive by in the present day’s requirements, with the ability to see photographs in 3D was wonderful to us as youngsters again then and it nonetheless fascinates me in the present day.

Effectively, one individual, Jason Altice of the YouTube channel CodeMakesItGo has turned it into an obsession. A lot in order that he designed and constructed his personal scanner to seize these previous View-Grasp reels digitally in order that he might put them on-line for the entire world to take pleasure in. He additionally launched the entire plans and code so you’ll be able to have a go at constructing your personal, too.

Whereas it would look like a reasonably easy undertaking at first, this one is extremely nicely developed each by way of {hardware} and software program. With optical character recognition, computerized rotation and aligning of the scanned photographs in order that they line up completely with one another and even color correction, there’s little or no work for the consumer to do in the course of the scanning course of to realize good outcomes.

The photographs the View-Grasp makes use of, very similar to the Kandao QooCam EGO, are side-by-side photographs, considered by way of a viewfinder that exhibits one picture to your left eye and one other picture to your proper eye. This permits the mind to reconstruct a 3D view of the scene. Jason scans these in and his software program arranges them side-by-side and lets him output a video with every stereo pair of photographs, together with their caption beneath.

You’ll be able to inform that this has been a piece of pure pleasure for Jason as he digitally restores and shops all of those View-Grasp reels for posterity. He’s been importing them to a separate YouTube channel, Reel3D. Many have been uploaded in each a parallel view (to be used with a 3D viewer, like Google Cardboard or a VR headset) in addition to cross-eyed view, in order that for these of us with the power to take action, we will simply stare at our screens humorous to see the 3D impact.

This little piece of 3D historical past is nicely value trying out, so head on over to the Reel3D channel to see all of them. And for those who’ve received some View-Grasp reels and wish to make a scanner of your personal, head on over to GitHub to obtain the 3D fashions and apps and Hackaday for a components listing and a bit of extra info on the development course of.