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3D TV Without Glasses & How It Works - Parallax Barrier & Lenticular Lens Technology - Examining The Solutions That Solve The Problem of 3D Glasses
Everyone recognises that the need to wear 3D glasses is one of the major barriers to the mass acceptance of 3D TVs as a truly popular entertainment medium. 3D glasses are uncomfortable for some, and the need to wear them means you'll need multiple pairs if watching with friends or family. Add the problem of cost, not only of the glasses themselves at over $100 a pair for the active shutter versions used on most sets, but also of the 3D TVs themselves with an obvious price premium over standard HDTV 2D sets, and it's easy to see why many of us have been reluctant to jump in and buy a 3D TV at an early stage.
But things are changing. The recent developments in passive 3D TV technology - superbly demonstrated in the LG Cinema 3D TV range - have helped solve some of these problems with the introduction of cheaper and lighter passive glasses. Prices of the TVs are coming down gradually. But the need to wear glasses still remains. It's still a problem, and many TV industry insiders believe we won't ever see 3D TV entertainment become mainstream until affordable and high quality 3D TV without glasses models become widely available.
The two main breakthrough technologies that solve this problem of no glasses 3D TV are known as parallax barrier or lenticular lens technology. These methods of delivering 3D TV without glasses are also known as autostereoscopy, and the 3D TVs that deliver them are built using what's termed as 'autostereoscopic screens'. LG's blog post 'A 3D Future Without Glasses' explores the two technologies in more detail.
Recent developments in head tracking 3D technology give us a third solution, where a built in webcam locks on to a viewers eyes and displays the split in images required for that viewer to 'see' in 3D - adjusting the images emitted from the display as the viewer moves.
Further to this the Hungarian technology firm iPont 3D are working on development of the 3D TV Box, a device that promises a fourth and potentially superior method of delivering no glasses 3D TV in a unique way. This solution uses their technology to send an image through the box to an autostereoscopic TV set with reportedly very good quality results.
As of August 2011, none of the methods of delivering no glasses 3D TV have been perfected and picture quality cannot currently rival that of the 3D glasses technologies. The problem is that in most circumstances we need to be able to watch TV content from multiple different positions and still get the 3D effect, and with the no glasses models seen so far there's a requirement to sit at an optimal position (height and distance from the display) or the 3D effect is lost.
But all is not lost. Manufacturers continue on research and development in the search for the holy grail of 3D TV and an autostereoscopic display manufacturer known as 3DFusion demonstrated in mid 2011 a significant breakthrough with their 3DFMax 3DTV technology. This allows you to adjust the depth of the 3D images and watch in 3D at the level of your personal preference - without glasses.
An August 2011 development has seen a team of researchers in Korea looking at a solution that uses minute prisms on an OLED display. OLED means Organic Light Emitting Diode, and because of the way these work (light is supplied by organic compounds in conjunction with electric energy) it's possible to manufacture them to be much thinner, lighter, and with more flexibility than other display types.
It's pretty much guaranteed that the major manufacturers will find a way to give us without glasses 3D TV within the next few years - at a price that's affordable and a quality that makes it all worthwhile. In particular developments in mobile 3D TV might deliver the first truly successful options for watching without glasses.
It is clear that soon, we wil must purchase sat set top box with 3D technology, or instead, change our TV sets for another with this new technology. Anyway the future is here, and it is Sat HD 3D TV with o without glasses.
I say SAT tv because, by now, terrestial DVB HD broadcastings are few and the most of them aren't Full HD 1080 broadcastings. They are scaled from less original quality. But Sat broadcastings have more broadband than the others, and the real quality is Full HD. So I mean Sat 3D receivers are the most nearly future, I think so.
Everyone recognises that the need to wear 3D glasses is one of the major barriers to the mass acceptance of 3D TVs as a truly popular entertainment medium. 3D glasses are uncomfortable for some, and the need to wear them means you'll need multiple pairs if watching with friends or family. Add the problem of cost, not only of the glasses themselves at over $100 a pair for the active shutter versions used on most sets, but also of the 3D TVs themselves with an obvious price premium over standard HDTV 2D sets, and it's easy to see why many of us have been reluctant to jump in and buy a 3D TV at an early stage.
But things are changing. The recent developments in passive 3D TV technology - superbly demonstrated in the LG Cinema 3D TV range - have helped solve some of these problems with the introduction of cheaper and lighter passive glasses. Prices of the TVs are coming down gradually. But the need to wear glasses still remains. It's still a problem, and many TV industry insiders believe we won't ever see 3D TV entertainment become mainstream until affordable and high quality 3D TV without glasses models become widely available.
The two main breakthrough technologies that solve this problem of no glasses 3D TV are known as parallax barrier or lenticular lens technology. These methods of delivering 3D TV without glasses are also known as autostereoscopy, and the 3D TVs that deliver them are built using what's termed as 'autostereoscopic screens'. LG's blog post 'A 3D Future Without Glasses' explores the two technologies in more detail.
Recent developments in head tracking 3D technology give us a third solution, where a built in webcam locks on to a viewers eyes and displays the split in images required for that viewer to 'see' in 3D - adjusting the images emitted from the display as the viewer moves.
Further to this the Hungarian technology firm iPont 3D are working on development of the 3D TV Box, a device that promises a fourth and potentially superior method of delivering no glasses 3D TV in a unique way. This solution uses their technology to send an image through the box to an autostereoscopic TV set with reportedly very good quality results.
As of August 2011, none of the methods of delivering no glasses 3D TV have been perfected and picture quality cannot currently rival that of the 3D glasses technologies. The problem is that in most circumstances we need to be able to watch TV content from multiple different positions and still get the 3D effect, and with the no glasses models seen so far there's a requirement to sit at an optimal position (height and distance from the display) or the 3D effect is lost.
But all is not lost. Manufacturers continue on research and development in the search for the holy grail of 3D TV and an autostereoscopic display manufacturer known as 3DFusion demonstrated in mid 2011 a significant breakthrough with their 3DFMax 3DTV technology. This allows you to adjust the depth of the 3D images and watch in 3D at the level of your personal preference - without glasses.
An August 2011 development has seen a team of researchers in Korea looking at a solution that uses minute prisms on an OLED display. OLED means Organic Light Emitting Diode, and because of the way these work (light is supplied by organic compounds in conjunction with electric energy) it's possible to manufacture them to be much thinner, lighter, and with more flexibility than other display types.
It's pretty much guaranteed that the major manufacturers will find a way to give us without glasses 3D TV within the next few years - at a price that's affordable and a quality that makes it all worthwhile. In particular developments in mobile 3D TV might deliver the first truly successful options for watching without glasses.
It is clear that soon, we wil must purchase sat set top box with 3D technology, or instead, change our TV sets for another with this new technology. Anyway the future is here, and it is Sat HD 3D TV with o without glasses.
I say SAT tv because, by now, terrestial DVB HD broadcastings are few and the most of them aren't Full HD 1080 broadcastings. They are scaled from less original quality. But Sat broadcastings have more broadband than the others, and the real quality is Full HD. So I mean Sat 3D receivers are the most nearly future, I think so.
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