RealD LP makes 3D projection a touch more portable
By Ross Miller 
posted May 5th 2009 11:32PM
posted May 5th 2009 11:32PM
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"150:1 contrast ratio"
Is that a typo?
considering how much light is reflected back from that thing onto the projection i wouldnt be suprised if it wasnt
wow this is great...im guessing 2-5 years till everything is 3D
Yes, and then hipster can finally say "Yeah, the 2D film was way better"
have you been outside lately?
I don't understand quite how this works. Is that polarization filter on the front flipping back and forth, similar to shutter glasses?
It doesn't seem like it should be that complicated to move from DLP to 3D, since you're already talking about rapidly changing states.
Hmmm, a ways to go,
The article mentions polarized images, but I don't see how a single projector can produce images in both polarized fields. The article mentions several "3D-enabled" projectors that are compatible, but it looks like these are shutter-swap projectors, which would require active LCD-based glasses for each viewer--an expensive proposition. Anyone have any idea how this works? Can the device convert a shutter-swap image into a stable, bi-polarized image that can be viewed with passive polarized glasses?
This is actually the same way the ReadD system works in movie theaters. It's a single projector showing the film at 48 fps with a polarizing filter in front of it which switches the polarization electronically. The glasses don't need to have the same polarization switching technology.
Also, they use circular polarization, not linear polarization. The LCD flips back and forth between clockwise and counterclockwise.
The 3D systems I have seen are based on two images that are projected on the screen and are polarized at 90 degrees from each other. The glasses have complementary polarization so each eye only sees the correct image for it.
It looks on the surface like the above setup uses a kerr effect filter (wiki links below). Basically it's a polarization filter that can be very rapidly switched between two polarization states (at 90 degrees from each other). Put that in front of the right 48p material and synchronize the kerr effect filter and you have a single projector 24p 3D setup.
For fun reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerr_cell_shutter
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rapatronic_camera
Color me stoked.
That's very interesting, but I wonder if the flicker is annoying.
RealD uses circular polarization.
Am I just tired or did any one else see the small filter on the front, the "3D" and then the word "Touch" and immediately assemble some kind of Minority Report style display in their mind?
The 3D shouldn't matter, because at 150:1 you probably won't see the image anyway.
I am a Projectionist at our local theater, we have Real D projection for 3D movies, I haven't seen the Dolby Digital 3d setup yet, but I think Real D is the best at creating 3d. I think this is an awesome idea for home theater IF they can keep the price down