Many people find 3D glasses to be awkward, cumbersome and utterly unappealing. But Avatar producer Jon Landau sees them as an “opportunity” – rather than a deterrent – to widespread adoption of the 3D standard.
“How do we not make the glasses the white elephant in the room? People wear glasses every day. People wear sunglasses to the beach. They’re part of our life,” a rather optimistic Landau told Industry Gamers.
“How do we stylize them or plug them into a USB port and get additional codes for a game? Sure, we’re going to have 3D without glasses in the future, but if we make it consistent that people know they can view 3D in their homes and other people’s homes, people will upgrade to 3D.”
Nevertheless, a number of industry heavyweights are working to develop “glasses-free” displays in the hopes that such technology will help move the market forward.
Indeed, Toshiba Mobile recently announced a 21-inch autostereoscopic high-definition display for use with next-generation 3D monitors.
The display – which reportedly allows viewers to watch three-dimensional content without putting on a pair of unwieldy glasses – also helps to “significantly” reduce 3D-related eye fatigue.
According to Toshiba, the integral imaging system system boasts a multi-parallax design that allows images to change depending on the viewer’s position.
For example, when viewed in a vertical position, the user faces the upright screen from the front as a person would usually use a 2D monitor.
However, when viewed in a horizontal position, the user overlooks the stereoscopic image formed by the display lying face-up, as one would overlook a relief model.
As such, the images seen face-up from the bird’s eye view are more stereoscopic and realistic than those offered by traditional glasses-based systems.
