i3D's glasses-free prototype screen aims to take on all of 3D's problem areas
By Joanna Stern 
posted March 25th 2010 8:58AM
posted March 25th 2010 8:58AM
The coolest thing by far is the software's ability to convert 2D to 3D content on the fly. One second we were watching a two-dimensional clip of Cars and then with the tap of the 3D button the car was driving off the screen. While this isn't the first company dabbling in 2D conversion, we haven't seen any others doing this without the glasses, and i3D does claim it can convert any resolution programming. We'll have to see it to believe it, but if it does work and the quality lives up to what's being promised there'd go our lack of content issue! Apparently the price of the technology should add at most 20 percent to that of a current HDTV, but here's where we tell you that we wouldn't be surprised if it took years for all this technology to make into Best Buy's Magnolia Home Theater section. Given the fact that we met with the company in a backyard, we'd say that both it and its technology are in the early stages. But hey, it makes you feel better that someone is working on that 3D frustration list, right?
"i3D claims its technology allows for three-dimensional viewing at close to 90 degrees, though it was hard for us to really evaluate that on such a small screen."
That appears nonsensical. It is easier to check viewing angles on a smaller screen, not harder.
Hasn't this tech been out for ages? I think there is a Fuji photo-frame out last Christmas that does the same trick converting 2D to 3D unless I'm mistaken?
@TC Ah- here: http://fujifilm.co.uk/consumer/digital/3d-products/finepix-real-3d-v1
I'm sure I'm missing something, but these photoframes don't need glasses, and convert 2D to 3D.
@TC From that link, I don't see that they convert 2D to 3D - where did you get that information?
@MikeP
I'm just going by what I saw in the store - the image was completely 2D, but then I press a '3D' touch button on the frame and it appeared in 3D. The effect was as if it split the picture into many 2D 'layers', it was quite a cool gimmick, not sure I would splash out on it though.
@TC Is it possible that the picture you were viewing in the store was already 3D, and that the 3D button merely changed the viewer from 2D mode to 3D mode? Actual conversion to 3D on the fly is a bit of work, so I would have thought they'd add it to the feature sheet on the web site.
@MikeP
Sounds like the frame was turning it into 3D. An actual 3D picture would have full accurate depth. It probably just does edge detection, decides a good depth for the objects on the page, and sticks them there.
@TC Additionally, converting 2D video to 3D video efficiently requires significantly more advanced operations then converting pictures. A 1/4 second delay as the picture frame processes the next image for depth could easily be hidden by a fade out/fade in, but on a video even a 1/20th second processing time would be an unbearable lag
@TC Thanks for replying to my Post with something totally unconnected with it. Double thanks for everyone replying to answer your point and ignoring mine :-/
@EasterBunny The Fuji frame did 3D video too. looking into it further, it may only be able to do the 2D to 3D trick with pictures and movies taken with a Fuji camera, but I'm not sure.
@MikeP you are right; this is 3D content, viewed in 2D or 3D. There is no on-the-fly conversion. The 3D quality is quite good, with a wide viewing angle. We are selling these 3D Digital Viewers for almost two years now at http://www.3dvirtualstore.com
Many happy customers worldwide in the film and video industry, 3D gaming and early adopters.
Looks like the BS this reporter was fed is quite something....
Where's the vid?
"... if it took years for all this technology to make into Best Buy's Magnolia Home Theater section"
It will take that long for their marketing geeks to figure out how to sell a 3D "tuning" package.
@GreatSunJester They are already selling a setup service that includes syncing the glasses, so I would say any day now.
And this is why I won't rush out to buy a 3D TV that requires glasses. Awesome news.
Sweet, CES next year? (I can dream can't I?)
Million dollar question, does it still make your eyes "feel wierd"?
@10nisman94
No, but it can make your palms hairy.
that video really brought absolutely no extra value to the article
@mrqs agree, it doesn't look impressive from the video, I think I would need to see it in person
So would this be like covering the display with the 3D Glasses rather than your eyes?
I'm trying to figure out how this works from an occular standpoint. Wouldn't you be able to tell that your still looking at a 2d display?
@tk427 It uses a lenticular lens to send the two images in different directions. It's exactly the same as those plastic moving image things you get in cereal boxes.
The downside is that you have to sit in the right place to see it. It's possible that there are multiple locations that will work, but inbetween each of these locations the images will go to the wrong eyes and it will look wrong.
Crucially *YOU CAN'T MOVE YOUR HEAD MORE THAN ~1 INCH* for *any* non-head-tracking glasses-free 3D display. Think about it - if you move your head a couple of inches to the left, your right eye will be seeing what your left eye was previously (i.e. the wrong image). Unless the display knows where your head is, or is a true 3D display (i.e. more than 2 viewpoints), there is no way to avoid this.
Also, I expect that what engadget thinks is 2D->3D conversion, is really just switching between 2D and 3D video.
@Timmmmmm My goodness, just how fast can you move your head?
I would still be very, very skeptical of parallax blocking 3D in general. That's the type of technology much more suitable to individual viewing--say, a 3D computer monitor--than group viewing. The problem is inherent in the approach itself and cannot simply be "perfected" over time: there are limitations in the geometry of how tightly you can arrange the left/right/blocking strips, resulting in some people on the same couch being able to see 3D and some not. Of three people on a couch the outside two may enjoy the effect, while the middle one doesn't, and there may never be a solution to the problem. Add to that some inherent ghosting issues because as you move off center the left/right strips won't be symmetrical to your eyes anymore. I'd be really, really surprised if this turns out to be THE glasses-free tech of the future.
Does anyone know how this technology actually works? And... where can a lowly gadget junkie get a sneak peak at this or something similar?
video not available? I just wonder if nintendo 3DS uses something similar
@htd
I assume they will be using an accelerometer and face recognition 3D rather than relying on the display alone
a person taking about how the 3d effect looks just isn't the same as seeing it for yourself.
if only there was glasses free 3d for regular 2d screens, i'd lap it up in a heart beat. *sigh*
Someone who doesn't understand the significant limitations of glasses-free 3D, and is impressed with automatic 2D-to-3D conversion, should not be reporting on 3D technology in general. This is the kind of reporting I expect to see in a tech article in a non-tech magazine or newspaper. I come to Engadget to get informed opinions from people who understand the technology they are reporting on.
I've recently been watching other people watch TV (i've been showing a lot of vids and I was interested at which point they'd glue their eyeballs to the screen) ... in pretty much all cases people got comfy and just remained very still. If you move, the image warbles as your eyes track through the other's view... but then when you have finished grabbing your popcorn, adjusting your blanket, reaching for that remote, you move back to your comfy spot, and make sure you're seeing the proper 3d, which is just plain instinct as the other version looks "wrong", then you just sit there. not really that difficult... but it can get rather annoying - you can't watch something while moving, so if you're cleaning the house, working on a model plane and occasionally glancing up at the 3dtv display, it can get very annoying.
but, for sitting back and watching a good ol blockbuster movie, it's good. we've had similar issues with sound for 3d-surround, dolby digital, etc. we've all gotten used to positioning ourselves in the middle of the speaker fray to get the full surround experience. this is just another thing you gotta do to get your 3d on. i'm sure people will adjust eventually.
@buoy
I would like to reassure you that do not experience any problems that you mentioned with our technology.
Jovan
i3DTek.com
@i3dtek should not make claims that one can be sued for.
This is not a Prototype, you do NOT own any patent or any proprietary technology related to this product.
One should have been more cautious when this kind of a meeting is in a backyard...Seems that 3D is so hot, that anyone with half a claim and a product in a backyard can get exposure these days (Thanks ENGAGET, as we got more sales now...)
hehe, so sad. I stopped listening to the Joanna and started watching Nemo near the end. Sorry, Joanna! You weren't boring, I just faded...
One thing that excites me about these glasses-free displays is that they can be seen by stereoblind people like me without issue. No double images. Of course, we can't fuse the targets properly and see 3D regardless, but it allows us to enjoy watching an image without having to put on glasses for no reason or mess up anyone else's experience by turning off the 3D.
Could you guys at Engadget do some cross eyes stereoscopic video recording/posting? That way if we wanted to we could cross our eyes and kinda-sorta get a better feel for what you guys are actually seeing on this 3D tech. It's kind of a hard sell when you can't even see what's so 3D about it.
I don't think it should be too difficult; slap a couple o' digital cameras together and sync the video during video editing, perhaps? I've done some stills with one camera, so it should be pretty easy for you guys there with all those gadgets lying around. ;)
They'd better be careful with that bezel design or there could be a law suit... I guess as long as they don't call it the 3dPad
Automatic 2D to 3D conversion is snake oil.
All i3D needs is for Vizio, Samsung, Philips, Sony, or someone else to buy i3D out, and, BOOM! You got the TV out by Q4 ;-) (2011?)
Is this what's in the 3DS?
Um, technically, thre is no way to "convert 2D to 3D" -- 2D is 2D -- it lacks any of the required information to form a 3D image.
@sberfield
Stanford and other Universitys did a pretty good job at converting 2D to 3D. The programm analyzes the pictures for perspective.
see: http://make3d.cs.cornell.edu/
you can watch example videos and load up your own pictures for conversion
@Fero
my image has been "queued" on there since december 2008 :P
and anyway their results are hardly impressive. I mean the amount of work they had to do to get this far is respectable, but that doesn't make the final result any better. It's just not possible. Especially on-the-fly in video and even more so on some little tablet.
I don't believe it's possible to convert a 2D video into 3D, that's completely ridiculous. If that was possible all animals and humans would have evolved with only 1 eye, why waste energy on an extra eye if it's so simple to turn 2D images into 3D?
Obviously the video was already 3D and you just changed the display mode from 2D to 3D, please fix it in the article because it might confuse a lot of people.
@(Unverified)
You have got to be a troll.
@SgtR
You have got to be a person who knows nothing about the theoretical and practical limits of magically turning 2D content into 3D.
This is a glorified 3D View Master (Video Style). If you owned one of those toys as a kid you know basically how this looks. I have seen this tech up close before. I must have a completely different opinion of "immersive". To me immersive is when I feel like an object is coming at me or I am in the middle of it. That is not what this technology does. It gives 3D depth to a picture but it's not the same. No thanks and I would rather where the glasses.
@DarenG If it's same tech as fraunhofer uses. That car will be right infront of the screen. You have to see it to believe it. No Glasses :)
Fraunhofer on Cebit had similar. They were using a standard Philips 40" or something. And some 2D to 3D Software. It was AMAZING.
Sadly, fraunhofer most likely ain't going to release that. We can just hope they sell the tech to somebody.
Joanna
Its not a prototype ("that they had made up"). It's a product which has been selling on the net for quite sometime!!!!!!!
The Product and associated patents are owned by a Chinese, government-backed company.
Unless these guys are the Chinese patent owners then you've been handed BS and mis-reported the same.
@jameskrug08 you are right; takes one minute to Google us...
http://www.3dvirtualstore.com is were we are selling these 3D Viewers for almost two years...
We are happy that thanks to some BS report we get more sales...
@jameskrug08
Just a quick note for you. This is a new technology that is not patented by the Chinese government. Just wanted to clarify.