Well, certainly 3D TV is not a new technolgy. Maybe some you have already have it in your home (Lucky you), but only a handful of people actually knew how does 3D TVs works. I just knew it lately too, so I'd like to share with you guys.
What is a 3D TV?
To make it simple, 3D TV is a display that allows the viewer to see 3D images on it, both video or picture. Based on basic principle of stereoscopy, which takes advantage of how humans perceive depth with both eyes, each viewing a scene from a slightly different angle. In the case of a 3D TV, images of two different perspectives of the same object are projected to each eye to reproduce the 3D depth effect.
Currently, there are three major Display technologies of 3D
1. Active 3D technology
This is currently the prevalent 3D technology utilizing battery-powered (hence, active) shutter glasses sporting LCD lenses and a built-in wireless signal receiver. Once powered on, the lenses shutter on and off to alternate between the left or right eye images. The sequence is timed through an infrared, radio frequency (RF) or Bluetooth transmitter, which can be integrated in the panel or connected externally.
The main advantage of this approach is its ability to maintain the full original resolution of 3D content at up to 1080p clarity. This is at the expense of mild to moderate crosstalk (double image), as well as pricey flickering 3D goggles. The shuttering glasses can also cause eyestrain and giddiness among some users. However, this could change in the near future. Samsung and RealD recently announced a new active 3D system based on passive 3D eyewear and panels that perform the shuttering instead. This is said to deliver flicker-free 3D pictures.
Advantage:
1. Displays up to 1080p resolution to each eye
2. Maintains full resolution of the original content
3. Wider vertical viewing angles than passive 3D
4. Largest selection of models in the market
Disadvantage:
1. Light to moderate crosstalk
2. Darker 3D visuals than passive 3D
3. Eyestrain due to flickering glasses (except for Sony)
4. Glasses are heavy, pricey and require new batteries or recharging
5. Halves the TV's refresh rate.
6. Quite expensive for LED-lit models
2. Passive 3D technology
Passive 3D achieves a similar effect with a "filtering" process, which is widely used in movie theaters. Early anaglyph 3D images were viewed through simple red-and-cyan glasses, which offer limited color fidelity and resolution. A new Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) technology has been developed by LG to overcome some of the shortfalls of anaglyph and active 3D. FPR uses polarized filters on the 3D eyewear and LCD screens to effectively split the left and right images into interweaving odd and even lines onscreen to display 3D.
This technically halves the original resolution of 3D content to each eye, though we've not observed any major loss of detail based on our own testing. Furthermore, the benefits outweigh this minor tradeoff with FPR's passive 3D glasses being certified flicker-free and much more affordable than active shutter versions.
Advantage:
1. Very minimal crosstalk
2. Brighter 3D pictures than active 3D
3. Does not halve the TV's refresh rate for smoother motion
4. Flicker-free 3D glasses
5. Lightweight and cheap 3D glasses
6. No battery is required for the glasses
7. More affordable than comparable active 3D LED-lit TVs
Disadvantage:
1. Halves the original resolution of 3D content to each eye (debatable for FPR)
2. Narrower vertical viewing angles
3. 3D effects can lose focus when viewed from awkward positions
4. Limited models available in the market
5. Visible tearing effects along outlines of 3D objects and black scan lines when viewing the TVs at close proximity
3. Glasses-free technology
These autostereoscopic panels have been available for commercial applications for many years now and can be broadly categorized into parallax barrier type and lenticular array designs. Both versions offer limited resolution and have to be viewed from specific sweet spots for optimum 3D picture quality. Since then, Toshiba has launched new glasses-free panels for home users that can render up to 720p 3D visuals with wider viewing angles. This is achieved by displaying nine perspectives of the same 2D footage generated by the TV's powerful cell processor. Watching 3D content without cumbersome 3D eyewear is the key proposition for these glasses-free 3D TVs.
Oh yeah, actually the first one to utilize this Technology is Sharp used for Nintendo 3DS, but Sharp themselves don't make a bigger retail version for LED market.
Advantage:
1. Does not requires 3D glasses
2. No crosstalk
3. Relatively high resolution
Disadvantage
1. Very narrow viewing angles
2. Exorbitantly priced
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