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FEATURE


stereoscopic imagery that can be viewed without the need for any extra piece of kit. A glasses-free display makes it possible for 3D content to be viewed anywhere, anytime, but the problems of brightness, resolution and viewing angle in current autostereoscopic displays have yet to be fully overcome. This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas showcased some auto- stereoscopic displays, but most manufactur- ers, recognising the unresolved issues with the technology, kept to traditional side-by- side technologies. South Korea’s MasterImage 3D, which


LOSING THE GLASSES I


t is universally recognised that the great leap forward in 3D will be high-quality


Autostereoscopic is the big leap forward the 3D market is waiting for – but the technology is not there yet. Neal Romanek investigates the different systems being developed


Toshiba’s ZL2 uses head-


tracking technology to aim the 3D image at different users


brought glasses-free technology to the first mass-market mobile device with Hitachi’s Wooo H001, showed two new displays: a 4.3-inch, 720p display and a 10.1-inch screen. Both use the company’s “cell matrix parallax barrier” technology, which employs numerous cell gaps to allow more polar- ised light to pass through, rather than the series of vertical barriers more frequently employed. The technology allows for brighter screens and easy switching between landscape and portrait modes. Sony brought its glasses-free technology


to CES for the second year in a row, demon- strating a 46 inch, 4K lenticular 3D screen. It was seen as an improvement over last year’s glasses-free offerings but there were still issues with viewing angle and brightness. Toshiba showed a 55-inch, 4K glasses-


free LCD panel, the ZL2, in preparation for its release to the US market later this year. The ZL2, which became available in Europe and Japan in December, uses head-tracking technology to aim the 3D image at up to nine different viewers simultaneously, though the optimal number is four or fewer. LG showed its glasses-free A540 note- book and D2500N monitor, anticipating that future 3D content is more likely to be accessed through the internet rather than the traditional broadcast chain.


8 | Broadcast TECH | January/February 2012


‘Problems of brightness, resolution and viewing angle have yet to be fully overcome’


In December, the BBC R&D department


posted a white paper, 3D-TV R&D Activities in Europe, which cites European efforts to develop the next generation of autostereo- scopic technologies. The research document outlines three major European research projects under way: 3D Vivant, Real 3D and Helium3D.


Three 3D approaches 3D Vivant aims “to provide the user with similar software and hardware facilities that are enjoyed by users of services such as YouTube”. 3D Vivant would capture 3D in real time using an array of microlenses in a single-aperture camera set-up and the display would employ 3D Holoscopic imaging. 3D Vivant also aims to develop a means to record and transmit 3D spatial sound in real time.


Real 3D, a major player in side-by-side


stereoscopic technology, aims to overcome restrictions in stereoscopic displays by using holography. With a holographic capture sys- tem of at least 8 million pixels arranged in a circular configuration, the system would fea- ture a 3D holographic display based on liquid crystal on silicon (LCOS) technology. The Helium3D project focuses solely on


the creation of a display, using a direct-view RGB laser projection through a transparent front screen. The display will support multi- ple viewers, with motion parallax to all view- ers and high brightness and colour gamut. The Helium3D display will use pupil tracking to control and direct output to multiple view- ers. The project estimates the development of a marketable product within 10 years.


www.broadcastnow.co.uk/technology


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