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thelostone
04-10-2010, 05:26 PM
Toshiba is readying two 3D televisions that can produce images with the illusion of depth but don't require the user to wear glasses, it said Monday. It will launch the televisions in Japan in December. By dispensing with glasses, the TVs answer a key complaint of would-be buyers, but they won't come cheap.
Toshiba will offer a 12-inch model and a 20-inch model. They'll cost around ?120,000 (?900) and ?240,000 respectively. Toshiba didn't announce launch or pricing plans for markets outside of Japan.
3D TVs can simulate depth because they deliver a slightly different image to each eye. In current 3D TVs, images for each eye are displayed rapidly one after the other. Filters in the glasses flash on and off in sync with the TV picture so the right eye sees one image and the left eye sees the next.

Toshiba's new TVs have a thin sheet of small lenses in front of the display. This splits light from the screen and sends it to nine points in front of the TV. If the viewer sits in one of these sweet spots they get the 3D illusion. The nine spots should enable several family members to watch a 3D image at the same time.
Similar technology is used in Nintendo's recently announced 3DS handheld gaming device. The 3DS has a screen from Sharp and sends the image to just one spot, something that isn't a problem with a handheld.
Toshiba unveiled the new TVs on the eve of the Ceatec electronics show. At the event the company is also demonstrating the same glasses-less technology on a 56-inch prototype TV.
The need to wear special glasses has been a common complaint about early 3D televisions. The glasses are required for each viewer, they generally weigh more than a typical pair of eye glasses, and because they contain an electronic circuit, they also need to be regularly recharged.

notanotherone
04-10-2010, 05:35 PM
ive heard about these ive been on forums and if you google it youll find a lot of companies are into this technology ,samsung ,lg ,pioneer and the likes

billyboy1963
04-10-2010, 06:11 PM
seems very early development and expensive especially as you have to view it from set positions to get the effect

Diablo13
05-10-2010, 03:26 AM
That's finally what I call progress with 3D tv.
The wearing glasses idea, even though it was the cheap red and green lensed ones has been around since the 50's!
Ok it is going to be too expensive for most people on a decent sized set, but it is the way forward and I wasn't planning to upgrade my tv for a few years yet.
By then the technology should have come down to a reasonable price, and had the bugs ironed out of it! :grin:

notanotherone
05-10-2010, 07:14 PM
id hang fire the now if i was you m8 things change so fast

thelostone
06-10-2010, 02:59 PM
I have to agree with you there nao,but before you go out and buy one i did find this review....................................
It hasn't even been a year since 3D televisions and their accompanying 3D glasses began hitting store shelves, but a development by Toshiba is already threatening to make the 3D glasses obsolete. On Monday the company became the first major television maker to announce TVs that produce pictures with the illusion of depth but don't require glasses.
That should come as great news to consumers, many of whom have expressed reluctance at donning a special pair of glasses to watch a TV show, but only if the televisions produce pictures that match or exceed the quality of current 3D TVs. Toshiba is demonstrating the TVs at this week's Ceatec electronics show in Japan, and on Tuesday we got a chance to compare them with current 3D TVs that require glasses.
The technologies employed by Toshiba and its competitors are very different, but they are both aimed at the same thing: tricking the eyes into seeing depth where there is none. The key to this is delivering a slightly different image to each eye.
In current 3D TVs, images for each eye are displayed rapidly one after the other. Filters in the glasses flash on and off in sync with the TV picture so the right eye sees one image and the left eye sees the next. The system requires the 3D glasses and a TV with additional hardware, but uses a standard LCD (liquid crystal display) panel
Toshiba's TV, on the other hand, has a custom-designed screen. Color pixels have been rearranged into groups of nine of each colour, and in front of each group is a lens that scatters the light in nine different directions. Thanks to the lenses, each of the viewers' eyes will end up seeing light from different directions and that's enough to create the illusion of depth.
So how does it look?
The demonstrations at Ceatec revealed a goodlooking high definition 3D picture, but like systems that require glasses, the technology is far from perfect.
To get the 3D image you first have to find a sweet spot from which to view it. The lenses are firing off light in many directions, so the 3D effect is better in some positions than in others. The viewing distance from the screen is also important. Toshiba says the optimal viewing distance for its 20-inch screen is 90 centimeters from the display, but it will work at greater distances.
Once a good viewing position is found, it's only a matter of moving your head a little to one side, the 3D images are easy to see. A fishing swimming past an underwater camera and a skier racing through the snow towards a camera produced easily discernible depth.
It was easier on my eyes than screens that require glasses. I've always found those to produce vivid 3D effects that were impressive, but ultimately unnatural. A 3D demonstration at the Sony booth next door, which required glasses, showed a picture that appeared to consist of several layers of flat images, not a 3D picture with depth between the foreground and background.
The 3D effect on the Toshiba screen didn't seem quite as pronounced or forced, but that could have been due to the images chosen for the demonstration.
There were also a few problems. I found it difficult to find a place where the entire picture appeared in focus. As I moved my head to bring the centre of the picture into a sharp 3D image, I found the edges looked a bit blurred.
It's also worth pointing out that other people might literally see things differently. More than any other TV technology, 3D seems to create a wide range of reactions. Some love it, some hate it, some get headaches.
Consumers in Japan will soon get a chance to decide if the televisions are enough to make them jump to 3D, although a comparatively high price tag and the early stage of the market will mean many will likely wait until prices come down and the technology matures.

Diablo13
06-10-2010, 07:18 PM
I'm not in a rush to jump into 3D tv, if ever. I am quite happy with a hi def picture and 5.1 sound.
I think it will be a long time before really good 3d images are available and affordable.
I don't even see the point in a blu ray player and normal tv programs are unlikely to be made in 3D because it is more expensive.
That being said it was good to read the comparison review and the Toshiba idea seems the way forward? It obviously still has a long way to go though and I can imagine having to put your head in a restraint to keep you looking at the sweet spot! :49:
The best 3D will come with holographic imaging with no screen at all, like the Star Wars images. Or a horizontal upward projection method.
We have a long way to go before that happens though