3D TV Wiki

How does 3D TV, the latest in TV technology, work? We explain 3D TV in detail.

The basic principle of 3DTV is that there are 2 images being shown simultaneously, one for the right eye and the other for the left eye. Special glasses should be worn by the viewer to separate the left and right eye image. When the viewer sees the two separate images, he thinks that he is seeing a 3D image. To make 3D movies, special cameras are used, and the two images are actually made by using two lenses placed side by side and separated by the same distance as between a persons eye.

Do you need a 3D TV to watch 3D Movies

Yes, you do require 3D TV to watch 3D Movies. 3D Television is a system of TV signal transmission and a TV to be able to show 3D pictures must be able to receive and process 3D TV signals. All the leading TV manufacturers are already selling, or are in the process of selling their 3D TV in the Indian market. 3D HDTV Televisions are available from LG, Panasonic Viera, Philips, Samsung, Sharp, Sony and Toshiba. Some manufacturers are marketing the so called 3D ready TV.

Smallest 3D TV

The smallest 3D TV available from the leading manufacturers is 32 inches. There is some talk of manufacturers going to market 26 inch 3D TVs, but this has not yet happened in the wider market.

3D TV Glasses

So far all 3D TVs require 3D glasses to see 3D pictures. 3D TV no glasses required or Glassless 3D TV is still a dream of TV viewers, but it will happen soon. 3D TV without glasses has already been launched in the market by Toshiba, but it will take some time for it to become affordable. The glasses used to see 3D HDTV can be either 'Active' or 'Passive'.

3D TV Active Glasses

In an active 3D Active Viewing Glasses, the lenses in front of each eye, shut and open many times per second, in synchronization with the picture on the TV screen. Radio signals or infrared light signals are sent from the TV to the glasses to coordinate the shutting and opening of the glass lenses, in perfect unison with the picture on the TV. The shutting and opening of the lenses are done electronically by an LCD screen in the glasses lens and there is no mechanical movement. You do not feel a thing. It should be noted here that the LCD screen in the glasses lens which closes and opens is the same type of screen as in the LCD TV, which shows black and white scenes instantaneously. 3D HDTV with Active glasses are available from Panasonic Viera, Philips, Samsung, Sharp and Sony.

3D TV with active glasses in no way interfere with the 2D picture quality of the TV. The TV is showing the usual 2D picture in a 3D double frame format. Only the receiving signals are in 3D and the actual picture on the screen is a normal 2D picture. The Active 3D glasses have a small rechargeable battery in it and it can be recharged to give upto 80 hours of viewing time. Recharging can be done while the TV is not being used and there is no need for any wires to the glasses at the time of viewing 3D HDTV viewing . The 3D glasses fit comfortably over a viewers normal glasses.

3D TV with Passive Glasses

Passive 3D glasses have been introduced by LG. In a passive 3D glasses the lens over each eye has a polarized lenses. Polarization is a property of light - the orientation of the oscillation of the light waves. For simplicity, we can say light waves oscillate in the horizontal and vertical planes. Polarized lenses of the 3D glasses lets in horizontally oscillating light from one lens and vertically oriented oscillating light from the other lens. This way the left and right eye sees different pictures. The TV has to sent the pictures with polarized light to the viewer. For this LG uses special polarizing screens in front of their 3D TV.

Comparing 'Active' and 'Passive' 3D Glasses

Comparing 'Active' and 'Passive' 3D Glasses in 3D HDTV, our observations will be as follows:

For Passive glasses to be used, special polarizing screens have to be put in front of the flat screen TV. May be it gives good 3D pictures, but does it effect the performance of normal 2D viewing? We have to wait for an answer to this from reliable testing agencies.

As of the moment there is not much 3D TV movies or programmes available. So you will be only watching 3D TV occasionally for the for seeable future, say for the next 5 years. So in our opinion an Active pair of glasses will be preferred, because then there will be no sacrifice in the 2D picture quality. The question also rises 'Is 3D worth it?' For the moment, because of lack of content this is a valid question.

3D TV Without Glasses

The latest in 3D technology is '3D no glasses TV' or 'Glasses-free 3D TV' or 'Glassless 3D TV'. The technical term for 3D TV with no glasses is 'Autostereoscopic 3D TV'. Recently Toshiba 3D TV without glasses has launched such type of glassless 3D TVs.

The important consideration regarding 3D TV right now is that there is not much 3D material available now for viewing. You will be watching 2D TV most of the time. So make sure that the 2D viewing quality is in no way compromised.

The Future of 3D TV - 3D Holographic TV Technology or 3D Hologram TV

3D Holographic TV or 3D hologram TV are the future technologies in 3D. In an hologram TV the picture is projected on to the wall or to a sheet of plain glass in the centre of the room and viewers can watch the picture from any where in the room.

You will feel the scenes appearing as real 3D images in the centre of the room. There is still a long way to go before Holographic 3D TV becomes a reality for domestic use. But in another 10 years so it should be available widely