No longer relegated to the realm of cardboard blue-and-red specs and old Doctor Who episodes, 3D is here in a big way. Many people enjoy 3D in the cinemas, but there’s still one barrier to enjoying it properly at home – the need for glasses.
However, that’s starting to change as more devices are beginning to trickle through with glasses-free (autostereoscopic) 3D displays that could spell the end of conventional spectacle-based 3D viewing.
So how does it work? Products such as the Toshiba Qosmio 5750, LG Optimus 3D and Nintendo 3DS employ lenticular displays that send two images of slightly differing perspectives individually to your left and right eye, which create the 3D effect.
In the case of the Toshiba Qosmio, an integrated webcam tracks the user’s eye movements, meaning you don’t have to keep your head in one place to create the effect and more than one person can watch at the same time.
The current ‘active shutter’ system uses glasses that darken one lens in turn in synch with the refresh rate of the 3D screen – producing what looks like a whole extra dimension from the box.
Gamers will take particular comfort in knowing that glasses-free 3D is coming as many game developers are already putting out top-quality 3D titles. Call of Duty: Black Ops and Batman: Arkham Asylum to name just a couple.
Unfortunately, prices are still pretty steep. But if the recent Nintendo 3DS price drop is anything to go by, we shouldn't have to wait too long to cast off our active shutters and embrace the glasses-free 3D revolution.
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