Taking a Look at 3D TV Technology

While many people are looking forward to having 3D TV sets in their homes in the near future, it might be a while before suitable materials are produced for televisions that support 3D viewing. Another problem is getting the 3D television sets to come down to a price that can be consumer friendly so people can actually buy the sets and make the switch from their current non 3D models. While the latest developments have come to look quite promising, understanding a little about this technology will help us understand whether the technology will be easily developed or not.

The historical development of 3D imaging was seen in the 1800s, when the first Stereoscope was developed by David Brewster. This device was made to take photographs in three dimensional forms. Since. The first Kinematoscope came about in the year 1855 and people viewed the first anaglyph movie in the early 1900s named “The Power of Love.” Presently this technology is being developed so that it can be used in television sets by home viewers.

There are currently a number of methods through which 3D images can be produced and displayed on screen. These are actually projection methods for stereoscopic image pairs which the viewer can view. The methods include the Anaglyphic method which uses passive cyan-red glasses; Polarization method which requires passive polarized glasses; Alternate frame sequencing which require head gear or glasses with active shutter mechanism and Auto-stereoscopic displays which can be viewed without the need of glasses and head wear.

Many companies are focused on developing the kind of Auto stereoscopic technology which can be viewed without the help of glasses. This is because glasses can be limiting and restrict the viewer in a number of ways. It is also impractical to wear the glasses for long periods of time as it can give the viewer head aches and other problems if worn for too long. This is why development of auto stereoscopic methods is very important if the 3D TV technology really needs to win over the consumer market. Unless these television sets are developed, 3D technology cannot make its mark on the users on a larger scale. This sophisticated technology needs to be developed so that more than two viewers can look at the television screen and actually be able to view proper 3D imaging.

The idea behind these auto-stereoscopic television sets is that they rely on the human ability to see different depths and images from both eyes. The viewing screen is created in such a way that both eyes see completely different images. The image has to be sent in a way that left eye receives its own specific image and the right eye receives the imagery meant specifically for the right side. While the display looks like regular TV screen, the screen is actually fitted with a plastic lenticular sheet in front of the display screen which is home to a number of tiny lenses that work towards refracting the light from the display pixels. This refraction causes each eye to receive a different image and hence be able to view the image in 3D.

While otherwise feasible, at the moment this 3D TV technology is not good enough to allow the viewer to sit anywhere other than directly in front of the television set. This is why there is still a lot of development required to be able to make a display for people standing at any given angle. There are eye tracking systems that can incorporate this but using that technology in the television screen will just raise the costs too high for the consumer to afford. Another problem is developing a means to broadcast the required information with ease. Once these problems have been overcome 3D TV can then seriously be considered a serious option to replace all current television sets in consumer homes.