What Types Of 3D TV Are There?

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This is a guest post contributed by John Barlow, an expert on consumer Plasma TVs. If you’d like to write a guest post please see here

A major new development in the world of visual media is the recurrence of 3D technology. 3D movies first appeared in the mid-20^th century, but remained a niche method of cinematic display, mostly limited to kitsch horror films. However, 3D movies have made a flamboyant return to cinema in the form of the record-breaking phenomenon that was Avatar, and the technology is now making its way into people’s homes.

There are currently four different ways to create a 3D image on a screen – polarization, anaglyphic, alternate-frame sequencing, and auto-stereoscopic. The first three all require the use of glasses, but auto-stereoscopic creates the effect entirely within the screen itself.

credit:gamesradar

Polarization creates the illusion of 3D by using glasses to restrict the amount of light that reaches each eye. Two images are projected through polarizing filters onto the same screen, and when viewed through glasses that match the polarization, the image appears to be three dimensional. Polarization was very popular in 1950s cinema, but has been replaced by more complex, comprehensive methods of 3D technology.

Anaglphic

Anaglyphic 3D is similar to polarization. It works by creating an image with two offset layers of colour, usually red and cyan. When a person views the image while wearing glasses containing these colours – one in each lens – a stereoscopic 3D image is created. A small number of 1950s 3D movies used this method and it has stuck around longer than polarized 3D – particularly because it works well with static 2D images, like comic books. Despite being fairly dated, anaglyphic 3D is still occasionally used today. For example, in August 2008 Disney released Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert in anaglyphic 3D, with red-cyan glasses accompanying the Blu-ray disc.

Alternate-frame sequencing and auto-stereoscopic are both more modern methods of generating a 3D image. Alternate-frame sequencing has been used in recent 3D televisions developed by Panasonic and Sony, among others. The method works by placing images from two cameras, one for the right eye and one for the left, in alternate frames of a film. The film is then shown at 48 frames per second instead of the usual 24, and is viewed through glasses that rapidly open and close each lens in time with the alternate frames.

On the other hand, auto-stereoscopic 3D does not require glasses at all.

credit:getprice.com.au

There are a few different ways of generating an auto-stereoscopic image, and it’s yet to be seen which is the most effective. Essentially, the method creates depth on the screen itself, often by using a number of different lenses. Depending on your viewing angle, you see a slightly different image – just like real life. Although there aren’t any 3D televisions using this method on the market right now, models are currently in development at Sharp, LG and Philips.

Chances are if you buy a 3D TV today, it will use alternate-frame sequencing technology. However, that won’t be the case for long. There are so many different methods of approaching 3D that many manufacturers and movie studios have asked trade organisations, like the Society for Motion Picture and Television Engineers and the Consumer Electronics Association, to work collaboratively on developing an industry standard. Although progress has been made, a uniform method of 3D display is some distance away yet. If you want 3D in your home over the next decade, it’s quite likely that you’ll have a lot of options to choose from.

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