Displays and Projectors : Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's

Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's

Are LCD/LED/Plasma TV's capable of displaying stereoscopic/polarized 3D images?

If not, why? Why would we (as I've read) need a new tv, new blu-ray player etc.? Isn't all the 3D information stored in the picture itself, and not dependent on the display?

Someone please help me understand.

Thanks!

Re: Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's


Are LCD/LED/Plasma TV's capable of displaying stereoscopic/polarized 3D images?
Short answer: No.

If not, why? Why would we (as I've read) need a new tv, new blu-ray player etc.?
In order to view a polarized 3D image, the TV needs to be able to display an alternating polarized image (horizontal for one frame, then vertical for the next). No TVs on the market now have this capability (at least that I know of).

Isn't all the 3D information stored in the picture itself, and not dependent on the display?
The 3D information would be embedded in the storage medium. However, there needs to be a way for the player to decode that information and transmit that information to the display. It may be possible that a software/firmware update to existing Blu-ray players could accomplish the decoding and transfer, but the display would still need to be upgraded to show the image properly. This could be accomplished by retrofitting an existing display with a polarized screen mounted in front of the display and controlling the screen from the player via HDMI.

Gort, Klaatu barada nikto

Re: Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's

In a word: No.

To display polarized 3D images, the display basically has to send the picture out (well, two different pictures, actually) through two different polarizers simultaneously. It's just not something that's possible with a TV set that's not designed to do it. LCD 3D TV technology exists, as well as rear projection 3D technology, but again, one would have to specifically seek out models that are designed to do them.


Isn't all the 3D information stored in the picture itself, and not dependent on the display?


Uh, no, because really, we're dealing with *two* pictures here, one for each eye. So the technology involved, whatever it is, must involve displaying one image for the left eye, and the other image to the right eye (and, of course, in the case of TV, doing it for multiple people sitting in front of it). There are multiple ways of accomplishing this:

- Anaglyph. The old red-and-blue (nowadays, I've noticed, more magenta-and-green) technique. The left-hand image is done in one color, the right-hand image is done in a complementary color, and the lenses render the proper image to the proper eye by rendering the wrong image invisible and the right image as black-and-white. Works with all displays, but, of course, it wrecks the color of the picture.

- Shutter glasses. The viewers all wear specialized electronic glasses. The display rapidly alternates between the left-eye and right-eye image, and the glasses alternately go opaque and clear in sync with the image. Should work with displays if their refresh rate is fast enough; with SDTV, the alternate images used different "fields" of the same frame and thus worked only with CRT displays. The big downside, of course, are the massive glasses that house the shutter technology.

- Polarized lenses. The image is rendered on the same screen by two projectors, each equipped with a polarized lens so that (without getting technical) the lightwaves are "tilted" in one specific angle for the left-hand image, and tilted at another angle for the right-hand image. Viewers wear glasses that are polarized so that the left-hand lens will not let through the right-hand image's light, and vice-versa. Requires projection technology, but the glasses are cheap to make (as opposed to shutter glasses), so this or some variation of this is what is usually used in movie theaters, and is found in a handful of DLP models. There are LCD screens that appear to accomplish something similar by having miniscule polarizers that alternate within each line of pixels on the screen.

There's also the quasi-3d "Pulfrich" technology (an optical illusion--if one lens is darker than the other, horizontal movement on a 2-dimensional screen has a 3D effect), and methods that require you to cross your eyes or something equally uncomfortable.

So the fact is, unless you're talking about good old anaglyph, 3D technology is going to require:

a) a format that will store and play back both stereo images simultaneously
and
b) a display that will display both stereo images effectively simultaneously AND specific to the appropriate eye.

Neither of which are found in conventional DVD/Blu-ray players and displays. Not only does the technology have to be perfected, but a standard has to be hammered out amongst content/playback manufacturers AND display manufacturers, lest another messy format war erupts.

Re: Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's

How about two displays side by side or up and down, and prism glasses to direct the eyes in the appropriate directions. That should allow full colour and high refresh rates. Eye doctors may not agree.

If one camcorder could slave off another (ie, record simultaneously with same focus/zoom/exposure), it would be easy to shoot home 3D movies. Presumably there's some standard 3D DV file format by now. So, dump each cameras DV to the computer, and mux them together into a single 3D file. For casual viewing, play two side by side windows on the PC and use appropriate glasses (or just look cross-eyed).

Re: Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's

"The big downside, of course, are the massive glasses that house the shutter technology."

All LCD shutter glasses that I've seen haven't been anywhere near massive, they are as small as most other glasses. The big downside is that they are expensive.
To my understanding a 3D blu-ray standard has already been set but basically it's just blu-ray that supports 48fps so they left it to display manufacturers how to get image to 3D. As others have said polarized 3D isn't possible with LCD TV's but if you have a TV with a refresh rate 120Hz or more it will most likely support the shutter system and it's anyway better image quality wise.

Nvidia has a LCD shutter system for computers already but the glasses cost 150$ a pair and only works with their graphics cards.

http://www.nvidia.co.uk/object/GeForce_3D_Vision_Main_uk.html

Re: Stereoscopic 3D on LCD tv's

I think it may be theoretically possible, but it's much simpler and works just as well to use an active, shuttered design.

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