From the comment here http://vimeo.com/12828140 it looks as if this guy isn't even using a beam splitter, just two wide angle lenses.

I think that most of the magic in this technique is in the luma keys. (duh...)

It's a 3D rig with zero inter-axial separation (well zero as far as compositing concerns, not actual physical zero, of course). So shooting this stuff bears same problems as shooting 3D in general. DOF is easy to solve, as well as controlled lighting (stabilized voltages are the norm anyways). Tricky part is shooting outside, as evident by strong flickering in OP video. Though that can be solved in post.

And you are right, this video (and the other one on that vimeo account) is better mostly due to process/skill and not due to equipment used. One could argue about HDR though, since it's only a technique to widen the range of possibilities within compositing. How one utilizes those can be viewed as artistic direction. I also dislike masks with visible feathering, as shown in most HDR stuff out there.