Understanding 3D TV Technology

With the popularity of 3D films like the James Cameron’s latest “Avatar” and the earlier Pixar’s production called “UP”, many people are wondering what it would be like if 3D technology came to their televisions sets. This gave birth to the idea and many companies are now endeavoring to bring 3D TV screens to their consumers. Suddenly there is an influx of ideas and visions that are being brought to manufacturers and much research is being done on figuring out how to make this technology available to the viewer at home.

As of now there are a number of methods which these companies are employing to use the Full HD LCD TV to produce 3D images and work like a 3D TV. The futuristic plans of the upcoming 3D home theater are being tweaked to bring the finest product to the consumers. While some methods may take a bit more time and effort to perfect, some of them have actually been tested and are available for consumers to view. Three of the popular methods of producing 3D imagery are lenticular viewing, passive glass system and active glass system.

Lenticular viewing is a method which is actually available and the technology is being tested by Phillips. This is a method through which there will be no need for the 3D TV glasses that people have to wear during movie viewings in theaters. This technology makes use of the two different views of the human eye and generates a different image for each eye. These images are generated through a kind of lens and the process of stereopsis which is actually the ability of the human eye to discern depth. Using this feature of the human eye the lens works to develop a picture that is not only different for each eye but there will be different depth for each image as well. So far this requires the viewer to sit at a certain angle in front of the TV set to be able to view the 3D image which eliminates the ability of people inviting their friends over since the true image can only be viewed by two people at the most.

The Passive Glass system is when the television set allows the viewer to wear regular 3D glasses to view the media on screen. This is the same technology being used in theaters and makes use of the polarized glasses which are used for viewing of the two overlapping images on television. This is also a method employed in the LCD screens and the television set will also be able to view normal 2D images. This is a very practical technology brought about by Hyundai and there are even bigger 3D TV sets with forty to fifty inch screens which allow this kind of three dimensional viewing.

The Active glass system is when there is nothing special about the television set but in this case it is the glasses that are built with the 3D image technology in mind. These futuristic glasses are being developed by Mitsubishi and Samsung and they synchronize with the refresh rate of the television set alternating the polarization of the lens in the glasses so that only the wearer of the glasses can see the 3D imagery.

This type of television can quite naturally display a 2D movie and yet provide 3D viewing for people wearing the glasses. Since the glasses in this case are the real technology, they can be a little expensive. None the less this is also a viable option once developed for the consumer market and it might make the 3D viewing experience so much better. With all these 3D TV developments the day is not far when every home will be watching movies like Avatar in the comfort of their homes!