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Glasses-free 3D projector offers a cheap alternative to holograms
Holograms are undoubtedly spiffy-looking, but they're not exactly cheap; even a basic holographic projector made from off-the-shelf parts can cost thousands of dollars. MIT researchers may have a budget-friendly alternative in the future, though. They've built a glasses-free 3D projector that uses two liquid crystal modulators to angle outgoing light and present different images (eight in the prototype) depending on your point of view. And unlike some 3D systems, the picture should remain relatively vivid -- the technology uses a graphics card's computational power to preserve as much of an image's original information (and therefore its brightness) as possible.
HP Labs builds a glasses-free, portable 3D display with wide viewing angles (video)
Typical attempts at a glasses-free 3D display have trouble with viewing angles; we're all too familiar with having to sit in a sweet spot to get the effect. HP Labs might have just solved this last problem with a prototype 3D LCD that would better accommodate the real world. The display's backlight has nanopatterned grooves that send blue, green and red in multiple directions, letting the LCD show only the light that would be seen from a given viewpoint. Those positions are set in stone, but they're both abundant (200 for photos, 64 for video) and can spread across a wide 180-degree viewing arc. At a thickness of as little as half a millimeter, a production LCD could easily be thin enough for a mobile device, too. The catch isn't so much the screen as the content. Producers need an image for every possible viewpoint, which could create a fair share of logistical problems: even though footage wouldn't necessarily require 200 cameras, it could limit fully immersive 3D to computer-generated visuals or else consume a massive amount of bandwidth. If those are the biggest barriers, though, we're still that much closer to the holographic smartphone we've always wanted.
Stream TV glasses-free 4K 3D eyes-on (video)
It wouldn't be CES without Stream TV showing off more interesting glasses-free 3D technology and then launching, um, nothing into the wide market. Hopefully that won't happen this time, now that the company has paired with OEM panel-makers Pegatron and Hisense, and is now showing off its technology in UltraHD 4k. It has a proprietary system for encoding 2D and 3D video using occlusion, which is delivered to standard panels that have been retrofitted with its optical glass sandwich to bring the spec-less 3D illusion to viewers. This year, it added all-new algorithms that can handle native UHDTV content or up-res HD to 4k, both in non-realtime for quality, or realtime to convert standard 2D TV to 3D on-the-fly. The 3D viewing experience seems better than previous iterations to our eyes, and Stream TV explained that the improved resolution was due to the company's software filling in pixels on standard HD content to make up the deficit to 4k. The stereoscopic level (which can be adjusted) also seemed decent even if you move around the room, though still not nearly as good as passive or active 3D with glasses. It does trump passive tech in one area though, as there's no drop in the screen's brightness that normally happens when you don specs. All the content we viewed was HD that had been converted to 4k, unfortunately, so we couldn't judge how higher resolution, glasses-free 3D images would look at that res. As far as the real-time encoded live TV content, the resolution looked fine but the stereoscopic illusion was a little, well, flat -- as if layers of 2D objects were placed at varying distances. Though Stream TV has created some neat technology, we've heard this entire song and dance before -- a few times -- and have yet to see products actually arrive in any volume to the marketplace. The company expects panels with its technology to start shipping sometime this year with comparable prices to other glasses-free 3D tech, but until it actually happens, don't hold your breath. Check the gallery below and video after the break, in plain old 2D, of course. %Gallery-175400%
MPEG drafts twice-as-efficient H.265 video standard, sees use in phones as soon as 2013
All of that squabbling over H.264 may be rendered moot in the near future. The Motion Picture Experts Group (better known as MPEG) has just let us know that it was quietly drafting a new video standard while everyone was on summer vacation last month: H.265, also called High Efficiency Video Coding, promises to squeeze video sizes with double the efficiency of H.264. As you might imagine, this could lead either to a much smaller video footprint for bandwidth-starved mobile users or a hike to image quality with the same size as before. Imagine fast-loading HD streaming on 4G, or cable TV without all the excess compression, and you've got the idea. Ericsson Research visual technology lead Per Fröjdh anticipates H.265 coming as soon as 2013, when our smartphones and tablets are most likely to play it first. TV and other areas might have to wait, although Fröjdh is offering a consolation prize -- he's teasing a separate MPEG project that could give us glasses-free, compressed 3D video as a standard by 2014.
MIT Media Lab's Tensor Displays stack LCDs for low-cost glasses-free 3D (hands-on video)
Glasses-free 3D may be the next logical step in TV's evolution, but we have yet to see a convincing device make it to market that doesn't come along with a five-figure price tag. The sets that do come within range of tickling our home theater budgets won't blow you away, and it's not unreasonable to expect that trend to continue through the next few product cycles. A dramatic adjustment in our approach to glasses-free 3D may be just what the industry needs, so you'll want to pay close attention to the MIT Media Lab's latest brew. Tensor Displays combine layered low-cost panels with some clever software that assigns and alternates the image at a rapid pace, creating depth that actually looks fairly realistic. Gordon Wetzstein, one of the project creators, explained that the solution essentially "(takes) the complexity away from the optics and (puts) it in the computation," and since software solutions are far more easily scaled than their hardware equivalent, the Tensor Display concept could result in less expensive, yet superior 3D products. We caught up with the project at SIGGRAPH, where the first demonstration included four fixed images, which employed a similar concept as the LCD version, but with backlit inkjet prints instead of motion-capable panels. Each displaying a slightly different static image, the transparencies were stacked to give the appearance of depth without the typical cost. The version that shows the most potential, however, consists of three stacked LCD panels, each displaying a sightly different pattern that flashes back and forth four times per frame of video, creating a three-dimensional effect that appears smooth and natural. The result was certainly more tolerable than the glasses-free 3D we're used to seeing, though it's surely a long way from being a viable replacement for active-glasses sets -- Wetzstein said that the solution could make its way to consumers within the next five years. Currently, the technology works best in a dark room, where it's able to present a consistent image. Unfortunately, this meant the light levels around the booth were a bit dimmer than what our camera required, resulting in the underexposed, yet very informative hands-on video you'll see after the break.%Gallery-162096%
RED teases 4K REDray player and projector for the theater / millionaire set
We don't deny our unhealthy love for RED's gear, so just imagine the look on our poor-but-aspiring faces when Jim Jannard teased a 4K laser projector coming this year. Now the spec-list is out, we can see that the subtly branded REDray Laser will display 2D or 3D for passive glasses at up to 120fps, while lasting over 25,000 hours and costing less than $10,000. At the same time, there are more details on REDRay, a compatible player that'll throw out 4K content from its internal HD, SD cards or flash media. Wish list. Added.
Toshiba outs Satellite P8-series laptops, treads line between enigmatic and annoying
Toshiba gave us an early glimpse of its glasses-free 3D Satellite P855 a few days ago and has now revealed a little more about the rest of the P8-series. The company still isn't talking processors or GPUs, beyond saying that the line-up will use the "latest" hardware from Intel and "next-gen graphics from NVIDIA." Without getting breathless about it, this hints at what we'd already hoped: some Ivy Bridge action coupled with the possibility of Kepler graphics -- after all, these new Satellites won't start shipping til the next quarter. Regardless, here's some stuff we know for sure: The full line-up includes a second 15.6-incher (the P850) and two 17.6-inchers (the P870 and P875) which will do away with the lenticular 3D display but keep the metallic finish, LED backlighting, backlit keyboard, Slip Stream audio for playing music while in standby, four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, WiDi and BlueTooth 4.0, while also offering the options of a Blu-ray drive and hybrid hard-drive (8GB solid, 750GB spinning). No official word on pricing yet, but we've already reported that the range will likely start at £599 ($940). So, breathless is too much, but breathy is okay.
Tobii EyeAsteroids 3D lets you destroy virtual space stones with a gaze, we go eyes-on (video)
We've touched and tapped our way through a variety of gadgets at CeBIT, but it's the devices that operate without traditional user interfaces that have really grabbed our focus. Tobii was on-hand to demonstrate its eye-tracking technology earlier this year at CES, but the company is peddling its wares here in Hannover as well, and we decided to drop by for a second look. This time, it's all about gaming, with EyeAsteroids drawing quite a bit of attention on the show floor. The demo pairs Tobii with a SeeFront glasses-free 3D panel for a fairly engaging extraterrestrial shootout. We weren't really sold on the glasses-free 3D, unfortunately, which provides the same unconvincing three-dimensional image from any angle, but Tobii was spot-on, letting us hone in on those infamous space rocks to save our planet from destruction without even raising a finger.Like SeeFront's display, you're able to make visual selections from any angle (within reason) just as easily as you can from directly in front of the panel. There's a seconds-long calibration process each time you start the game, so Tobii can locate your eyes and pair your pupil orientation with a target on the screen. After that, it's open season -- you simply focus on an asteroid to destroy it, and you can add your name to the leader board and navigate menus as well, just as we saw with the Windows 8 demo back at CES. Is this the future of gaming? That remains to be seen, and while the eye-tracking seemed to work just as described, old school gamers will likely prefer tilting a joystick and (violently) tapping on arcade buttons. We still had a lot of fun playing without using our hands, though, as you'll see in our glare-filled demo just past the break.%Gallery-150214%
Toshiba Satellite P855 glasses-free 3D laptop hands-on (video)
Remember that glasses-free 3D Qosmio F750 (aka F755 in the US) gaming laptop we saw last year? We're not sure how many of them Toshiba has sold, but the company's PR folks tell us they've been popular enough to justify a further 15.6-inch glasses-free model -- a Satellite P855, which will have a more mainstream target audience. We're looking at exactly the same lenticular technology, which uses a webcam to adjust the 3D effect to the user's head movements, and which delivers effective results if you sit relatively still and give your eyes a chance to adapt. This time, however, the effect is delivered within a textured aluminum chassis that will likely appeal to a wider audience than the red-styled garishness of the Qosmio. The price tag has yet to be disclosed, but that should also be more appealing, since the Satellite range starts at £599 ($940). The P855 won't arrive until Q2 and Toshiba wasn't ready to reveal any concrete specs concerning the processor or graphics, other than saying this laptop is aimed at mainstream 3D gaming as well as Blu-Ray consumption. We asked about memory and storage too, but with no success -- all we could glean is that there are four USB 3.0 ports, HDMI out, Intel WiDi for direct WiFi beaming of 1080 video to a bigger screen, plus Harmon Kardon speakers. C'mon Tosh, give us Ivy Bridge paired with a 28nm Kepler GPU and make the world happy. (Hands-on video right after the break.)%Gallery-149783%
Sony demos 24- and 46-inch glasses-free 3DTVs, we go eyes-on (video)
Take a quick tour of the showroom floor here at CES and you'll certainly see, 3D days are here again -- at least, where flat panel manufacturers are concerned. And while the industry continues to pump out mass market iterations of the living room tech that hinge upon hideous eyewear, companies like Sony are hard at work behind-the-scenes refining displays that won't make you look a fool. The autostereoscopic panels, shown off at the company's booth in 24- and 46-inch models, employ a subtle 3D effect that isn't immediately noticeable. In fact, we found the visual pizzazz was best enjoyed when experienced from the side -- a feat possible due to the incorporation of multi-point viewing angles -- lending much needed depth to the onscreen image. Of the two, only the larger set can deliver full HD, owing to its beastly 4K resolution, whereas the 1080p panel on its lil' bro suffers when halved. Distance also plays a major role in the intensity of the 3D visuals, with effects holding up at a range of up to 2ft for the smaller screen and 10ft for the 46-incher. Normally, we'd recommend you skip on past the break to sample the in-development eye candy, but be warned -- you won't see much. These are truly TVs that need to be seen to be believed.
MasterImage 3D touts 720p glasses-free 3D smartphone display, WUXGA tablet panel
3D had its way with CES 2011, and despite throngs of consumers who could not possibly care less, it looks as if the third dimension will be doing its best to seem important at this year's gala, too. MasterImage 3D has just announced that it'll be showcasing a pair of new panels here in Las Vegas, with both relying on cell-matrix parallax barrier technology to pull off the "glasses-free" effect. Up first is a CMI-rivaling 720p HD 3D display meant for 4.3-inch smartphones; given the popularity of the EVO 3D, we're guessing it won't take HTC too long to snap a couple of these up in a bid to concoct an equally successful successor. Over on the tablet front, there's a 10.1-incher with a native WUXGA (1,920 x 1,200) resolution, but there's no word yet on any OEMs selecting it for use on their next slate. We're told that all of the demos given will rely on Texas Instruments' OMAP4430 and OMAP4460 mobile processors, and not surprisingly, Android will be the OS underneath. We'll have a gander once the show floor opens up, but something tells us it'll look precisely like every other glasses-free 3D application: subpar.
LG updates eye-tracking, glasses-free 3D displays, learns to love the hyphen
We hope you're not too attached to that 20-inch DX2000 you got from LG back in July. (You did rush out and buy one, right?) 'Cause the Korean manufacturer has just updated its line of eye-tracking, glasses-free 3D displays with the 25-inch DX2500! Just like its smaller sibling, the DX2500 has a parallax barrier over the screen and an embedded camera for tracking head and eye movement. As a person shifts around the monitor it dynamically adjusts the image to (at least theoretically) maintain the best possible 3D effect. The screen also does on-the-fly 2D to 3D conversion. The DX2500 is shipping now in Korea for 1.3 million won (about $1,556) and should be available globally some time early in 2012. Check out the full PR after the break.
CMI shows off 720p glasses-free 3D display for smartphones with 2D off-angle viewing
Glasses-free 3D displays for smartphones and tablets aren't exactly anything new, but Chimei Innolux (otherwise known as CMI) has devised a novel twist for its latest 4.3-inch screen. Not only does it boast a high 720p resolution, but it employs a new "cell gap" process that displays a standard 2D image when you view the screen at an off-angle, instead of leaving you with a murky 3D image. The company also promises that the 3D images are brighter with less of a moire effect than other displays, and it's able to work in any orientation. As you might have suspected from the state of the prototype pictured above however, there's unfortunately no word as to when it might wind up in an actual phone.
Fraunhofer's STAN: four cameras, three dimensions, no glasses
There are some glasses-free 3D TVs around, but their limited viewing angles and poor picture quality aren't very inspiring -- so Fraunhofer's latest project is a welcome endeavor. It's developed STAN (STereoscopic ANalyzer), a system that lets broadcasters easily use four cameras instead of the usual two, for 3D recording. 3D needs a minimum of two lenses to register depth and keeping multiple shooters in sync is tough and expensive. That's led to the industry relying on two, which is why glasses-free (autostereoscopic) 3D TVs get such a poor picture; more cameras means more viewing angles. STAN co-ordinates the setup of the four cameras and then uses a feature detector to identify common elements in the pictures and merges them into a 3D image. Four cameras provide much more depth, which means more viewing angles, which means that if STAN gets picked up, these guys can throw away the sunglasses, even for live broadcasts.
LG developing slimmer Optimus 3D handset, might be ready for 2012
The LG Optimus 3D certainly isn't the slimmest smartphone we've ever seen, but it looks like the chunky handset is about to get seriously streamlined. In an interview with Pocket-Lint, LG developer Dr. Henry Noh confirmed that his company is working on a thinner version of its 4.3-inch phone, hinting that it may be ready for release by next year. Noh didn't offer specifics on dimensions, but acknowledged that the current version, at 11.9mm (0.47 inches) thick, definitely isn't the "sexiest phone on the street" -- something he hopes to change. "Eventually, we want to make it so that having the 3D won't necessarily mean that it's going to be thicker," Noh explained. "That's going to be a differentiating factor that comes for free to the user." Doing so, he claims, could help LG's glasses-free 3D device distinguish itself from its 2D competitors: "These days, all the phones look the same. They have a huge screen - 4.3-inches is normal these days - and next year they're moving even larger. And they have a fixed number of touch buttons. They're the same thickness. They have the same camera. And even the same OS. It's so boring." Of course, it remains to be seen whether or not this strategy actually pans out, but it's definitely something we'll be keeping an eye on.
LG Thrill 4G will arrive on September 4th, AT&T confirms
Following a series of delays and setbacks, it looks like the Thrill 4G will indeed be coming to AT&T on September 4th. The carrier confirmed the date late last night, in a tweet promising that LG's glasses-free 3D handset will make our world "come alive." Back in July, AT&T confirmed that the US version of the Optimus 3D would officially sell for $99, though that could very well vary across retailers. Hit up the source link to find out more, on AT&T's product page.
Hitachi announces high-res 4.5-inch IPS display for smartphones with improved glasses-free 3D
There's still no word as to when it might actually land in some phones, but it looks like glasses-free 3D could soon see some improvements courtesy of Hitachi's latest 4.5-inch IPS display. Not only does it boast a high 1280 x 720 resolution, but it uses a less common lenticular lens approach instead of the parallax barrier method used by the likes of the Nintendo 3DS and HTC EVO 3D. According to Hitachi, that allows for much brighter 3D images than other displays (470 cd/m2, specifically), and images that are actually brighter in 3D mode than in 2D mode. Here's hoping Hitachi shows off a bit more than the image above before too long.
LG's 20-inch DX2000 3D monitor uses eye tracking, don't need no glasses to be enjoyed
In our experience, soaking in the third dimension on a panel smaller than 40-some-odd inches isn't exactly a jaw-dropping affair, but if you're residing in cramped quarters... well, your options are somewhat limited. Outside of strapping something on your dome, you'll probably be in the market for a more diminutive set, and LG's DX2000 just might fit the bill. It's a 20-inch LED-backlit 3D monitor, but unlike the legions of alternatives, this one's of the glasses-free variety. It relies on parallax barrier technology (read: not the most sophisticated), but ups the ante by throwing in the world's first eye-tracking feature on a panel of this stature. In theory, said feature allows users to move about in front of the screen, perhaps expanding those exceedingly narrow "sweet spots" that have worried viewers for years now. We're also told that there's a 2D-to-3D conversion feature, and while it's destined to hit Korean streets later this month, other regions are slated to get it during the latter part of 2011.
Toshiba reveals the Qosmio F750 glasses-free 3D laptop, we go hands on (video)
Toshiba just unveiled what it claims is the world's first glasses-free 3D laptop, the Qosmio F750. It's a heavy-set beast dedicated to gaming and movies, with a 15.6-inch Full HD lenticular screen that can display 2D and 3D simultaneously in separate windows. It also rocks an HD webcam that follows your movements and adjusts the 3D effect accordingly, so you can peek at the that lovely third dimension from almost any angle you like. Innovative stuff indeed, but we were underwhelmed when we caught a glimpse of Toshiba's concept model back in January. So, has the technology improved since then? Check out our hands-on impressions and video after the break. %Gallery-127693%
Gadmei P83 PMP does glasses-free 3D for $179
A no-name PMP selling for $179 at Brando -- purveyor of all things inexpensive, electronic and often USB-powered -- may not ordinarily make the grade for us, but this so-called Gadmei P83 device has one somewhat notable trick up its sleeve. It packs an 8-inch, 1,280 x 768 display that's able to do glasses-free 3D video. Of course, you're left to yourself to actually hunt down or provide your own compatible video files, and the PMP itself is decidedly ordinary otherwise: 4GB of storage, an SD card slot for expansion, and the usual media playback capabilities and nothing more (no one's going to confuse this for a tablet). Still curious? Head on past the break for a video that offers a slightly more accurate depiction of the device than the image above.
