Now that CES 2010 is over and done with, I was wondering: what's your opinion on 3DTV technology? In case you're in the "What's a 3DTV?" category, Here's the basic synopsis: 3DTVs combine the power of their special 3D glasses with hardware that splits the received image into two identical images, one image showing to the left, one to the right, combined with the original, centered image. These images are not showing at the same time; rather, they alternate. However, the refresh rate of televisions today are high enough that we see it as one whole, yet blurry, image. Now we come to the cool part. Remember the special 3D glasses? Well, they're really LCD-shutter glasses. What that means is while one lens is transparent, the other is opaque. However, if this alternation is not synced exactly with the TV's projection of the two images (left image seen only by left eye, right image seen only by right eye), we would still see the blurry image. So the TV is connected to the glasses themselves via an infrared transmitter, "telling" the glasses when each lens should be transparent. This is happening at the speed of the refresh rate of the TV. Our brains take these two resulting images from each eye and use them to create one, 3D image. Pretty cool, huh? What's even cooler is that some 3DTVs can actually take video received that isn't transmitted as 3D through the signal you receive and turn it into a picture that is. This technology is beyond my understanding, so I have no idea how it does this without making all the depths of field appear as at the same depth, since you would have to change the position of the two image projections in order to change the depth. I personally think that this technology is really cool, but it's coming on too soon after the HDTV craze. I don't think the 3D market is going to sell well until people feel like it's been long enough after their purchase of an HDTV.
I agree, cool but too soon. Also too expensive as with all tech at it's early stages. Give it a few years and we'll probably all own one... except the people who get headaches from it.
Yeah, I can't wait for the day when all the producers finally announce the price ranges of the televisions... Everyone's jaws are going to be dragging across the floor as they walk.
I think the concept of having TV in 3D is cool, but the execution of this particular design is not so good. I mean having to wear glasses all the time? This is the 21st century, and we should of moved on from what is essentially IMAX 3D (which has been around for ages) brought into our living rooms. I think this will fade away as another, better 3D technology develops.
This. To me, 3D movies are a novelty. The ridiculously cool to a point, but I don't want to have to worry about my glasses slipping off my face as I get a sip of coke all the time. Until holograms come out, I don't really care.
Agree with the above posts. I think a better technology will have to come along before it really gets popular. Yeah it's cool, but I'll be damned if I'm going to sit in my living room with glasses on to play games or watch tv. What if you wear prescription glasses, do they have to make some huge version of 3D glasses that will fit over those? That look will really get the ladies. I also think that the next generation of consoles will utilize the whole 3D thing somehow. I'm happy because it seems this generation is going to last a few years longer than normal, so I bet it's another 3-5 years before the next gen happens and by that time the 3D tech might be ready to incorporate.
They already make glasses big enough to go over prescription glasses, how do you think short-sighted people go to the IMAX? Sony is incorporating 3D into it's Playstation games beginning this year (apparently), they've already had a few showcases and apparently they can convert existing PS3 games to use the new tech too. Wipeout HD being the example they showed. Of course... you need a Sony TV to use it. I doubt many people will bother.
Heheh, they're already developing a way of having a TV display in 3D without the glasses. In fact, there have been a few made already for big conferences and the like. Basically what the technology uses is a lenticular display. what that means is the screen is covered with a lenticular film, which has thousands of lenticules (tiny lenses). The TV displays two images again, but the lenses direct the light of each image to the correct eye. The only problem with this is you have to be in a "sweet spot" in order to see the image correctly. I guess that some companies are trying to develop cameras that track your position in the room so that the TV can adjust the images to your position to retain the 3D image. Or we could find a way to make holographic images. But that seems a little further off to me.
like midian said, it'll be great and cool, but as with almost all 1st gens, it will be extremely expensive and not top notch. But, once I feel like its good enough, cheap enough, and worth enough I might think about buying one. BUT, who the heck wants a commercial in 3D?!?! Image, "HI BILLY MAZE HERE" Right in your face! Commercials are currently too loud, not to add on top 3D! Not to credizize billy maze, r.i.p. Billy.,
Yeah, I didn't think about that. Even still, I don't have glasses and wearing those IMAX glasses is uncomfortable as hell. I can only imagine it would be worse with your prescriptions on under. If most 3D IMAX flicks weren't around 70-80 minutes, I don't think I'd make it. I couldn't watch a full movie with those on. @CA, that sounds cool about using a screen to split up the images. That's more like something I could go for.
No matter which way you produce the effect stereoscopic 3D is not real 3D, the foreground image is still 2D it's just slightly offset like a cardboard cutout in front of the background. The technology to produce stereoscopic images has been around longer then film and the techniques used today are over a quarter century old. The shutter glasses Sony is developing for the PS3 are nothing more then a modern version of the shutter glasses for the SEGA Master System. You don't even need a "3D" TV to use the shutter technique as any 120Hz TV is already capable of doing so at 60FPS with the right hardware. Bottom line is the technology isn't going to get any better or produce a more realistic or vivid effect because no matter how you pull it off it's still not really 3D.
The technology was available back then, yes. And I'm pretty sure we all realize it's not real 3D, as the image is being projected onto a single plane. I was not stating that it would be "real" 3D. "Real" 3D is real life. I know that. I don't know where in this thread you got the idea that I or any other poster was trying to sell it as otherwise. I was merely wondering what people thought about 3D-ready televisions. TVs today do have the capability to use the shutter technique. However, TVs currently sold DO NOT have the ability to take a 2D video signal and convert it into what is more or less a 3D picture. That's what is amazing about the kind of tech they're putting into these televisions. The tech's already at a higher point than it used to be because we don't have to use the red-green film glasses in order to produce a 3D effect. I think that the shutter technique provides a way more realistic picture than that of the red-green film glasses, as the picture's color is not compromised.
For actual 3D, you'd first have to be able to film in 3D, which means entirely new cameras. Then you'd have to put that data onto a disc. That's gonna increase the storage needed by at least tenfold. So now we need bigger discs. And then we need to take those discs and project the 3D image. So now we need either a new TV or new sort of projector. Yeah, we're a while away from true 3D.
Oh right, I thought you were on about the TV with those stupid glasses 3D TV without the glasses seems good, but it kinda defeats the whole point of having High Definition TV, when everything is blurry, lol. Hopefully 'proper' 3D will be invented soon. Holographic TV would be so awesome
That pretty much does sum up what I think about 3DTVs, all stereoscopic tech is headache inducing and far from realistic IMO. As far as the chromatic glasses go that's such a worthless technology I had almost completely forgotten they existed. Shutter glasses have been around in the home entertainment market for years though, a lack of content on any specific platform kept it from ever taking off or really entering the public's eye. I remember seeing commercials years ago for a set top box that came with wired glasses and a set of IMAX3D films.
They seem to be cool, but the price, I mean is it really worth it? If you have the money and are a millionaire go a head....
