Sony stereoscopic screen sharing patent puts two players on one display
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 20th 2010 1:07PM
posted July 20th 2010 1:07PM
After that last bummer, where Sony applied for a patent "feature erosion" in game demos, we're glad to see the company come up with something positive for the gamers among us. Two recent patent apps, titled "Stereoscopic Screen Sharing Method and Apparatus Patent" and "3D Shutter Glasses with Mode Switching Based on Orientation to Display Device," detail the use of stereoscopic 3D technology to let two individual players see different information on the same screen (you might remember that Microsoft has also been working on something similar). Not only that, but the glasses could have earbuds -- for separate audio feeds. Of course, you'd need a 3D display for this to work, and you'd need to wear those silly glasses -- but that's a small price to pay to get rid of the ol' split screen, don't you think? [Warning: PDF source links]
That means that somebody watching you two, won't be able to see a game of either one of you. Useless.
@gambiting
If you check the patent drawings you'll see that it's a glass for the spectator as well, there's was even a forth person.
It's awesome to see somebody finally doing something like this! I saw a demo of this at the TI booth at CES back in '08 using a Mitsubishi 3D TV and an Xbox360. It worked really well. Unfortunately TI hasn't been back at CES since. I questioned a Mitsubishi guy about it this year and he had no idea why the technology had completely disappeared.
They also showed this working with normal TV. Meaning you could watch 2 different full screen shows at the same time. Imagine letting the kids watch endless loops of cartoons while you get to enjoy football in the same room, on the same TV. Or you get to play Xbox while the wife watches whatever she wants. Of coarse you have to get used to wearing glasses and headphones, but it could be a small price to pay.
Proposed movie screened in parallel in male and female version some months ago: http://www.igudd.de/blog/archives/582-Zweimal-2D.html
Once the screen refresh rate doubles from 120Hz to 240Hz, two different 3D streams or four different 2D streams would be available.
The interface on the TVs would have to be very well done though and the display's processor would need some meat to it.
I wonder what they'd brand this though, "Split-D"?
So, I'll be able to play ps4 while someone else watches a blu-ray on the same tv. Sounds good to me
its funny, i was talking about exactly this with my roomate a few weeks ago. You can do something similar so both people can get 3D... but the picture would get even darker than 3D normally would since each shutter is only open 1/4 of the time, rather than 1/2.
imagine how un-enjoyable that 2player-one-screen setup would be for everyone not wearing 3D glasses... brutal.
Still like the idea though.
Maybe That will give me a reason to like the glasses :)
Lol I kinda thought of this and put it in my blog on June 14th and rewrote it (because of my bad English) on July 5th. on markzism com
the concept is simple, juz waiting for someone to apply it. Now I can watch different channel with my family using the 3DTV.
Texas Instruments already patented this, sorry Sony. TI has been able to do this since at least 2006 using their DLP TV technology. As a matter of fact, still on the market Mitsubishi DLP TVs should have the capability built in TODAY.