October 4, 2010 11:06 AM

Toshiba Develops No-Glasses 3D TV

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Come this December, Toshiba will will start selling what would be the world's first 3-D televisions that work without forcing viewers to put on special - or goofy, as the case may be - glasses to enjoy the full experience.

Masaaki Osumi (L), unveils the world's first 3D television that does not require viewers to wear special glasses, called the 'Regza GL1 Series'

(Credit: YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images))

Toshiba offered a first look at its new flat panel television during the Ceatec technology conference taking place this week in Japan. the liquid crystal display TVs flatpanels will be available in 12- and 20-inch versions. The cost will range between the equivalent of $1,400 and $2,800. Unfortunately, this very cool and groovy-sounding product is only going to be sold in Japan for the time being. No word yet on Toshiba's plans to introduce the product to overseas markets.

If it works as advertised, the new technology may help accelerate the adoption of 3D televisions. With the exception of tech hipsters and early adopters, most consumers have shied away from buying 3d televisions because of the cost and hassle of using special viewing glasses.

According to Toshiba, the special sauce is "an integral imaging system" that offers "nine different perspectives (parallaxes) of each single 2D frame which the viewer's brain superimposes to create a 3-dimensional impression of the image." The company says it also developed "a powerful engine and an algorithm to extrapolate these perspectives out of the 2D frame and used a perpendicular lenticular sheet, an array of lenses, that enable the viewer's brain to superimpose the perspectives."

The project had been rumored to be underway for months.


Add a Comment
by Patriot4Peace December 15, 2010 12:15 AM EST
3D television is the future. Some day all the naysayers will look back and realize that 3D was as fundamental a change as Technicolor. Many older folks will still argue that B&W is better than color. Regardless, most people overwhelmingly prefer to watch TV in a more natural, native form. We experience life in 3D. Anyone who would wish to trade a 3D perspective for a 2D is perhaps living in nostalgia.

Some people get headaches. With a bit of research, you will find that glasses-free TV's eliminate eye strain caused by lack of focus caused when using 3D lenses on an extended basis. No glasses = no headaches. Before disagreeing, try the TV's out. Bye bye headache excuse!

Price will come down, as it always does. Do you have a DVD player? Many swore there was no difference between that and VHS. Just a fad right? Not really. And finally, don't watch movies that say 3D but that were not filmed with 3D cameras. Avatar was filmed with 3D cameras. Many movies are not. All computer animated movies are natively 3D. If you do the research first, you will get a real 3D experience rather than cardboard cutouts added after the fact.

P.S. Blame Ben Bernanke (Federal Reserve) for movie prices at the theater. If you don't like inflation, audit the FED.
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by ToolMangler1 October 4, 2010 10:23 PM EDT
Just remember, everything has a 'beginning' (and an 'end'), its how the middle is handled that really counts. (Remember the 'Edsel')
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by Scimajor October 4, 2010 3:57 PM EDT
I'd have to agree. I can't see anyone buying this. The screen is small and the 3d isn't really 3d.
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by darwufche October 4, 2010 3:56 PM EDT
The only way 3D will be worthwhile is when you can physically step into it interactively?virtual reality.
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by Fatesrider October 4, 2010 2:38 PM EDT
As people spend thousands of dollars on their 78" Wall of Vision systems, Toshiba comes out with a whopping 12" screen TV that looks to be 3D by tricking the mind into believing it is 3D all for a measly 2 grand.

My head already hurts.

Movie-goers aren't that thrilled by 3D. It's almost okay if done right, but for the most part it's all about cheesy "in your face" antics, wearing geeky glasses that cut about 20% of the available brightness of the movie all the while having one's ocular orbs assaulted by trying to reconcile a contrived 3D image through someone else's perspective.

Not to mention it's just one more way to squeeze an extra three or four dollars out of the already terribly over-inflated price of a movie.

3D is not a selling point to the vast majority of us out there. While there will always be some geeky technophile who will rush out to blow their hard earned credit line on bleeding edge offerings, the rest of us don't want or need it. It is NOT the future. It's better than it used to be, but the technology is the same as it was 20 years ago - only digital now. From the viewing public to these TV manufacturers and movie moguls who are drooling over the possibilities of 3D profits, we say wipe your chins and prepare for a crushing disappointment.
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by jjones444 October 4, 2010 1:20 PM EDT
Is anybody else sick of everything 3D? Since Avatar it seems like every other movie that comes out is in 3D. Avatar was great in 3D, but besides that film, all others are best in the normal 2D in my opinion. The idea of 3D tv's makes me nauseated. I cringe when I have to wear the glasses in a theatre, let alone in my own house. If this tv is a "glasses-free" 3D option, what's the difference between it and an HD tv? Just use a <a href="http://www.bblackpad.com/">blackberry playbook</a> instead.
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