There is a rumor that Toshiba is about to introduce new 3D viewing technology that does not require special glasses.
Electronista reports that Toshiba plans three glasses-free 3D TVs for late 2010. The rumor says that these models will be out in time for Christmas.
According to their source, the HDTVs will be able to emit rays of light at various angles so that viewers sitting at different angles can experience the 3D effects without the need to wear special glasses.
While the rumor is interesting, Toshiba is not commenting about the rumor, nor have they confirmed the possibility of this new technology. It the rumor is true, this will be a breakthrough technology that will please the numerous 3D fans who hate wearing shutter glasses or colored lens anaglyph glasses.
The story, however, seems pretty far-fetched. It would be extraordinarily difficult to display stereoscopic images with enough separation to generate the distinct left-eye, right-eye views required for a 3 dimensional illusion. It is one thing to do this with something held relatively close to your eyes, such as the upcoming Nintendo 3DS hand-held gaming console, but to generate the same effect at 6 to 10 feet away from an HDTV screen when the average person’s eyes are only 2.5 inches apart is something almost infinitely more difficult. The ability to do this at multiple angles so that different viewers also experience the 3D effects adds another level of complexity.
Our thoughts are that it could be possible to do this using DLP rear projection technology on a screen equipped with a lenticular lens to create a 3D effect from multiple angles, such as that found on some packaging with 3 dimensional images. If you have the anaglyph 3D versions of Journey to the Center of the Earth or The Polar Express on DVD or Blu-ray, those videos come with a slip cover with a lenticular lens that generates the illusion of depth.
If Toshiba has achieved a breakthrough and does plan to introduce this technology, it will likely be at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas in January. This also sounds like it could be a $10,000 per HDTV solution to the issue. We have seen several glasses-free 3D demos at past Consumer Electronics Shows, and each either literally made you nauseous, or looked like you were viewing the video through the bottom of a shot glass. Obviously, none of these were acceptable solutions.
We will just have to wait and see if this interesting technology does show up some time soon.