Since it’s launch in the beginning of the millenia, HD has been popular with all technology enthusiasts and couch potatoes alike. It has a evolved from a 720p format all the way up to a 1080i format (check my post about HD & ATT Uverse for more about this). Well, there is only so much fine tuning you can do to HD before we start seeing the cellular structure of people, and I don’t see that as being appealing to anyone but biologist. So where do we go next?…. Along with eye popping color, why not an eye popping picture all together?…. 3D TV of course. Most people have seen at least one 3D movie, I mean every movie theater features at least 2 3D films at any given time these days. Few people though, have seen a 3D TV in action.
Did you know that the first 3D movie debuted in 1922? 3D is not a new technology although it has, like other technologies, evolved tremendously. The technology behind 3D has all to do with light. In essence, that is how we are able to see anything at all. Light enters your eyes and bounces off of the rods and cons which creates a picture in your mind. When an object is still, the light from it reaches each eye at the same time.When an object is moving, the light no longer reaches each eye at the same time. This is what creates the three dimensional picture that is real life. On a TV, the screen itself never moves therefor, the light from the screen always reaches your each eye at the same time which your brain interprets as a flat or or two-dimensional moving picture. For a 3D TV to create a 3D picture, it has to show you the same image in two slightly different locations to try and somewhat mimic how light reflects off of a real object ultimately creating depth. In order to create this double image that will be properly interpreted by your brain, special lenses are needed. Many people are familiar with 3D glasses which use special lenses. The two identical images that a 3D TV produces are filtered by 3D glasses so that your brain can interpret it as one three dimensional image. 3D glasses will either use passive lenses which use the red and blue color scheme to unify the double picture or they may use the more advanced active lenses which rely on fast flashing double images and infrared technology. Either way, you need 3D glasses to view 3D movie as it is meant to be seen. Without 3D glasses, you will see a somewhat blurry double image which will soon give you a headache. Just as an HD TV needs the assistance of an HD receiver in order to broadcast HD channels, so does a 3D TV need 3D glasses to properly display a 3D picture. This has probably been the biggest obstacle to the mainstream popularity of 3D TVs. Although they have been available for a couple of years now, the idea of having to put on special glasses to view movies is not appealing to many. Another obstacle is the availability of live 3D programming. TV providers have few options for individuals who want to view 3D channels. For example, AT&T Uverse TV offers one 3D channel, ESPN 3D but I’ve heard that they may be dropping it until 3D picks up a little more popularity. Watching the same 3D DVDs over and over again is far from what we are used to today with all the variety of programs available on the hundreds of channels at out finger tips. Until more networks begin to make shows and movies in a 3D format, 3D TVs will remain far behind HD TVs.
Related articles
- Dimensional Optics Launches 3D Active and Passive Eyewear (prweb.com)
- 200-inch glasses-free HD display offers 3D TV that doesn’t suck (dvice.com)
- 3D TV Not Growing as Fast as TV Makers Expected in 2010, but Will Become Mainstream by 2014, with 90 Million+ Shipments (prweb.com)
