Glasses-free 3-D
April 23rd 2011 05:38
Way to go, WOW!
Companies have developed video game consoles, smartphones and TVs with 3-D technology but that don't require eyewear.
A new generation of glasses-free 3-D gadgets have begun to roll out:
•A Nintendo video game console that shows 3-D without glasses arrived in the U.S. last month and is already a hit.
•Two smart phones — from LG and HTC — with non-glasses, 3-D screens are due out by the end of the year.
•And in Japan, Toshiba has two glasses-free 3-D TV models on the market, with plans to bring the technology to the U.S. in 2012. Meanwhile, Panasonic and Sony are working on sets of their own.
The glasses-free technology is far from perfect, at this stage. It works best on small screens, with viewing in some cases restricted to one person at a time. But it's developing to the point where some analysts believe it could eventually make non-glasses 3-D TV practical for the home.
If it doesn't, 3-D TV could go the way of quadraphonic sound and other tech developments that never caught on with the public.
"Using glasses was always an interim step," said Michael Gartenberg, research director at Gartner Inc. "For normal consumers, it's got to be glasses-free. The technology must advance to where that's not required."
Even a 3-D evangelist as fervent as movie director James Cameron — whose "Avatar," filmed in 3-D, is the highest grossing film of all time — said the glasses have to go in order for the technology to succeed in homes.
"High-quality, full HD-resolution large screens that have multiple viewing angles that don't have glasses at all," Cameron said in talking about 3-D TV in a keynote address at the National Assn. of Broadcasters show earlier this month. "That is the point where the curve is going to go ballistic."
Viewing flat, 2-D pictures as if they existed in 3-D has generally required a device to blend offset images (one for each eye) to produce the illusion of depth. With movies, the blending was done by the glasses audience members wore.
The first 3-D movie craze was in the 1950s, and there have been advances since then to boost quality. But consumers are still stuck with wearing the specs, whether in theaters or at home watching one of the 3-D enabled televisions that hit the market last year.
Aside from the glasses, analysts have blamed disappointing sales of 3-D TVs on their premium prices. But reductions in those prices over time have not had a major effect.
"Glasses are becoming a more prominent inhibitor," said analyst Ross Rubin of the NPD group in a study released earlier this month, "and are poised to overtake price."
Glasses-free 3-D technology, which has been in development for decades, usually aims to embed the viewing regimen into the screen. In some cases, the tiny pixels meant for the left eye are electronically masked so they won't be seen by the right eye, and vice versa.
But whatever regimen is used, it's a tricky, imperfect process.
Reviewers of the new Nintendo 3DS handheld game console, which has a 3.53-inch screen (about the same size as on an iPhone), said that the device had to be held almost perfectly still to keep the 3-D effect sharp. Viewing at an angle could bring on not only a skewed view, but also a headache.
Nonetheless, on the day the $250 player was released in the U.S., it set a Nintendo record for the most handheld consoles sold by the company in a day.
A prototype of the upcoming LG smartphone had a 4.3-inch screen for showing 3-D games and YouTube clips, as well as 2-D content. "The idea is that 3-D is an accessory for the phone, but not the only reason to buy the phone," said LG marketing specialist Martin Valdez.
In a recent demonstration, the 3-D images on the smartphone were sharp, but like on the game console, only if the unit was held steady and not at an angle.
This time it is not techno who tell ya, it's Los Angeles Times, but it's techno who brings it to ya, right her on Orble!
| 28 |
| Vote |
Add To: 
subscribe to this blog
