3D technology is now available to watch movies “in depth” at home.
Artwork by Rachel Wilson
The popularity of 3-D movies in theaters has grown tremendously over the past year. In 2010, it seems as if every big-time production can also be seen in 3-D. Polar Express seemed to jumpstart people’s interest in 3-D entertainment as well as this year’s box office thrills, James Cameron’s Avatar and Tim Burton’s Alice and Wonderland. Now, this thrill that swept the movie theaters is headed for America’s living rooms.
Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung are all releasing home-theaters that can display high definition, full-length movies in 3-D. It is even probable that within a few years, live television will be broadcasted in high-def 3-D.
America has already become familiar with the Blu-Ray player, the DVD player that reads its discs with a blue laser, rather than a red one. This allows the disc to store a significantly larger amount of information than the regular DVD player. We see depth when images from our left and right eyes merge into one. The reason that a blu–ray player is needed for 3D movies is the fact that blu-ray discs have enough room to store separate signals for each eye, as well as the coding necessary to specify which image is meant for the left and ride sides. For the TV to be 3D capable, a converter chip and software is needed to break down the signal and separate the left and right images. Then, the polarization of the glasses allows the viewer to see the final effects of his or her favorite movies in eye-popping action.
One way of seeing images in 3D is through an active glass system. This is the system being used to create 3D TVs for people’s homes. In this system, the glasses work because the polarization of the lenses blocks one eye at a time so that each eye sees the frame meant for it. The glasses know when to change polarization when a radio or infrared wave pulses from the TV, signaling that the image on the TV is changing.
Another method is through a passive glass system. This system requires the red and blue lens paper glasses that come by the binful at theme park 3D theaters. The concept is simple and cheap: the screen projects both the left eye and the right eye simultaneously into the same space, and then use a special set of glasses, which shows each image to its intended eye while blocking out the unintended image from that eye. In these glasses every other line carries a clockwise or a counterclockwise polarization. Thus, each eye gets half of the visual information on the screen, but the brain puts it together to create one picture with the 3-D effect.
Philips has created a technology that allows viewers to see 3D without the need of any goofy glasses. Instead, the monitor incorporates a special lens that sends different signals to each eye, as long as the viewer is sitting in the right spot. The 3D effect is similar to that produced by those novelty postcards with a grooved plastic layer on top. However, this method, called lenticular viewing, is extremely limiting for home viewing because of the fact that the 3D effects can only be seen from one spot in front of the TV.
These revolutionary 3-D televisions can be purchased at any local Best Buy with prices ranging from $2,000 to $3,000 as well as the battery – operated glasses required, costing anywhere between $100 and $400.
