3-D Viewing without Goofy Glasses

Comments

• Let's reframe this slightly... flared0ne on 06/12/2008 at 2:44 AM

  Posts: 22 Avg Rating:

  In a perfect world they would be able to modulate the index of refraction of the "lensing surface" in the area above-and-local-to each line of pixels on the screen... There are some machine vision algorithms that would almost directly translate the (derivative of the) "depth" channel input into something that could be described as "real-time fresnelling" ("fresnellation"?) -- although a physical mechanism allowing that level of control starts to approach the technical requirements for being able to "paint" a holographic-interference pattern in real-time, opening up a whole different business model... Rate this comment: (Reply)

• 3DTV Systems martwill38 on 06/12/2008 at 12:35 PM

  Posts: 2 Avg Rating:

  I once worked with the late Jim Butterfield in L.A., the "guru" of 3D Television Systems Inc., who had some 40 patents in the field.  Butterfield was at that time working on a large lenticular screen TV for video that was processed into 4 to 6 side-by-side strips of images shot from slightly different angles, to provide the same effect described in your article (in the late 1970's.) It worked quite well, given the limitations of TV technology and the difficulty of making such lenticular screens. He and his company later modified the anaglyphic (red-green glasses) system to use red-cyan glasses for TV, and NBC broadcast a Halloween 3D special using that system. The idea of coding the image for distance seems like a good way to compress the image processing bandwidth required to generate multiple lenticular image stripes using the kind of digital video signal processing technology we have today, which Jim would have found very exciting. Another success for Jim was a two-image stereoscopic color camera technology coupled to an optical microscope and used in teaching hospitals for eye surgery.  Medical interns could watch the same images that the surgeon saw while performing delicate surgery, live. Jim also pioneered a color TV system in Mexico that used the flicker effect to create false color  on black and white TV screens.   Unfortunately, he died several years ago, but there was a great article about him in Time magazine. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• Goofy? Mr. Sly on 06/12/2008 at 12:55 PM

  Posts: 1 Avg Rating:

  How is wearing special glasses any goofier than using earbuds to listen to your iPod? As I remember, moviegoers objected to the ill-fitting, flimsy, paper-framed polarized glasses - but the 3-D image quality was pretty impressive. A home-based system using polarization technology could include well engineered glasses and "clip-ons" for several viewers. No highly specialized  TV set, just special content on 3-D channels. Rate this comment: (Reply)

• 	The Stewardesses Phineas on 06/13/2008 at 11:59 PM
  Posts: 52 Avg Rating:	The biggest grossing 3D movie of all time was filmed in color using two cameras, two projectors, and polarizing filters. You had to wear polarized glasses to view it. It was a classic tale of sex, drugs, and rock & roll. If you haven't seen this 1969 opus, you have missed out. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stewardesses Rate this comment: (Reply)

• 	3D screens advil on 06/14/2008 at 4:09 PM
  Posts: 5 Avg Rating:	There is another way by using materials that reacts differently with light but the trick is in the front with a thick  panel and 2 layers projecting light in different angles each, Toshiba was negociating something in Mexico in this field. Rate this comment: (Reply)