12:33 AM
TheBoss
MIT has developed a new approach of glasses-free 3D which is way cheaper than Toshiba's glasses-free 3D TV released this year. After looking at the photos and the hand-on video by Engadget, I can't be more disappointed by its picture quality. They are all blurry and the picture details are terrible. The editor said it will surely be the replacement of active 3D technology but I don't think people would want to sacrifice 3D picture quality for a lower price and not having to wear 3D glasses. I believe glasses-free 3D will be the future of 3D display eventually but it still have a long way to go. For now, passive 3D TVs have overcome the shortcomings of active 3D sets such as bulky glasses which need to be charged every a couple of hours or flickering on the lenses and they are going mainstream.
Take a look at the full article below:
Glasses-free 3D
may be the next logical step in TV's evolution, but we have yet to see a
convincing device make it to market that doesn't come along with a five-figure price tag.
The sets that do come within range of tickling our home theater budgets
won't blow you away, and it's not unreasonable to expect that trend to
continue through the next few product cycles. A dramatic adjustment in
our approach to glasses-free 3D may be just what the industry needs, so
you'll want to pay close attention to the MIT Media Lab's
latest brew. Tensor Displays combine layered low-cost panels with some
clever software that assigns and alternates the image at a rapid pace,
creating depth that actually looks fairly realistic. Gordon Wetzstein,
one of the project creators, explained that the solution essentially
"(takes) the complexity away from the optics and (puts) it in the
computation," and since software solutions are far more easily scaled
than their hardware equivalent, the Tensor Display concept could result
in less expensive, yet superior 3D products.
We caught up with the project at SIGGRAPH,
where the first demonstration included four fixed images, which
employed a similar concept as the LCD version, but with backlit inkjet
prints instead of motion-capable panels. Each displaying a slightly
different static image, the transparencies were stacked to give the
appearance of depth without the typical cost. The version that shows the
most potential, however, consists of three stacked LCD panels, each
displaying a sightly different pattern that flashes back and forth four
times per frame of video, creating a three-dimensional effect that
appears smooth and natural. The result was certainly more tolerable than
the glasses-free 3D we're used to seeing, though it's surely a long way
from being a viable replacement for active-glasses sets -- Wetzstein
said that the solution could make its way to consumers within the next
five years. Currently, the technology works best in a dark room, where
it's able to present a consistent image. Unfortunately, this meant the
light levels around the booth were a bit dimmer than what our camera
required, resulting in the underexposed, yet very informative hands-on
video you'll see after the break.
Source: Engadget
