One problem with 3D TV (other than the current high price of the screen) is that you need to wear glasses to get the 3D effect. Glasses are expensive (over $50 a pair), and there is no standard yet for glasses which means the specs used on one suppliers screen wont work on a screen from another company in some cases. A demo of that can be seen here.
One way around this is to use a 3D TV that requires no glasses. The problem with this at the moment is the way it works. The glasses-less 3D screens require that you sit in a specific place to get the 3D effect. When you move your head the effect disappears. There are actually a few points in a room where people might sit to get the effect. Either way, it’s awkward having to sit still for so long and not a very friendly to watch the TV with friends.
Microsoft might have the answer though with some new technology it is working on that has the ability to direct the light in to viewers eyes wherever they are sitting in the room. The system uses LEDs along the bottom edge of the screen that can vary the angles at which the light is sent to the viewer. The screen is capable of delivering 3D content to two different viewers by tracking their eyes with a camera mounted on or near the screen. The LED’s then adjust to point the light in the right direction. Previous versions were bulky, but Microsoft [MSFT] have managed to shrink the system down a little.
Microsoft’s design, though, uses a lens that tapers from 11 millimeters thick at the top to six millimeters at the bottom. This taper means that the light can travel through the lens instead of thin air, Applied Sciences Group Director Steven Bathiche told Technology Review, meaning the entire setup can substantially shrink in size.
Light from the diodes enters the lens along the bottom and bounces through the lens until it reaches the proper viewing angle, at which point it escapes.
Right now the main hurdle is that a viewing angle of just 20 to 40 degrees can be used. However, it is expected that the viewing angle will be improved on over the next few years and that we could see a decent sized 3D TV without needing glasses in the near future. Via: PopSci
Superb technology and advanced, thank you for the information value.