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Toshiba To Launch No-Glasses 3D TV This Year

angry tapir writes "Toshiba is readying two 3D televisions that can produce images with the illusion of depth but don't require the user to wear glasses, the company said Monday. It will launch the televisions in Japan in December. Toshiba will offer a 12-inch model and a 20-inch model. They'll cost around ¥120,000 (US$1,430) and ¥240,000 respectively. Toshiba's new TVs have a thin sheet of small lenses in front of the display. This splits light from the screen and sends it to nine points in front of the TV."

36 of 218 comments (clear)

  1. I saw Avatar the other day by BadAnalogyGuy · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I know it's really late, but I finally saw Avatar the other day. Of course, I had to watch it in 2D since my home TV is not 3D enabled. You can really tell where they were using 3D for the sake of 3D.

    If we use technology only to show off technology, we can't expect anything interesting to come of it.

    It must have a raisin detre.

    1. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      If I want raisins, I buy Raisin Bran.

    2. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by hedwards · · Score: 3, Insightful

      That phrase means reason for being, and the problem with 3D is that it has no reason for being. I was somewhat skeptical myself of Roger Ebert's assertion that 3D is already present in the movies we have. And damned if he wasn't right. You watch a movie and if you're paying attention, it's practically 3D already, unless you count that garish over done crap which passes for 3D these days.

      When they film the scenes correctly your mind can easily reconstruct it to give you that 3D feel to it, without a lot of expensive technology.

    3. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by mkiwi · · Score: 5, Informative

      Sometimes I like raisins, usually inside a cookie. Of course, in French raisin means grape, so you could also somehow be referring to wine.

      Or maybe you meant "raison d'être."

      For the record, I'm fine with either interpretation.

    4. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by Lord+Ender · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Technology for the sake of technology has eventually lead to some really great things. How many people used computers for the sake of computers? Then, eventually, we slung together the Internet and flash video porn. That wouldn't have happened if people weren't using computers long before there was porn to be had.

      --
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    5. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by Nursie · · Score: 2, Insightful

      "Of course, I had to watch it in 2D since my home TV is not 3D enabled.

      Yo, you can't actually get 3D avatard for home use yet. For some reason the movie that was supposed to drive the 3D revolution hasn't had a 3D bluray outing. I think they probably figure they can re-release as 3D later on and cash in again.

    6. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by causality · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not only that, I was just reading a story at Ars about how Jon Landau believes everything should be 3D. He calls out studios on hasty 3D conversions. I'd say the pot is calling the kettle black. His film had plenty of problems.

      "Converting a movie from 2D to 3D is not a technical process. It is a creative process,"

      You know what? After watching your flick at IMAX in 3D and halfway through wanting to leave with my headache, you're doing it wrong. As has been brought up before in previous Slashdot discussions, you can't get a proper 3D effect that will fool the brain with current technology. Stop trying to convert 2D films to 3D, especially for the point of being "OMG 3D" like parent mentioned.

      The 3D effect worked decently well for me, better than I expected. There was one part of it that screwed with me though.

      If I was looking more or less at the center of the screen, to the periphery it would appear (fairly convincingly) that certain objects were jutting out, past the boundary of the screen. Then I would sometimes attempt to follow those objects with my eyes and the illusion would continue ... until my eyes reached the actual boundary of the screen. Then the entire image would suddenly collapse back into a 2D picture until I again was looking more directly at the screen.

      The 3D was far better than I was expecting, which wasn't much. It's still nothing like a true hologram where you could walk all the way around it and see it from many different angles. I couldn't even remain in my seat and move my eyes very far around it without dispelling the illusion. The headaches are something I did not experience but have heard often. I think that could be remedied by becoming conscious of whether you are straining your eyes in order to force a certain perception, as a setup like that might tempt you to do.

      --
      It is a miracle that curiosity survives formal education. - Einstein
    7. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by Belial6 · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Since the dawn of man there has been porn, and since the dawn of computers there has been computer porn. Computer porn was being produced on things that wouldn't even be called a coumputer today.

      http://asciiporn.us/

    8. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Do you remember punch card porn?

    9. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

      Sounds raisinable to me.

    10. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by aevan · · Score: 4, Insightful

      No but I remember being 10 and getting a floppy from a schoolmate that was filled with porn images. Porn on the commodore 64... was 'red-scale', heavily pixelated, and for some reason rotated 90 degrees... but dagnabbit thems was hooters I tells ya!

    11. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by el3mentary · · Score: 3, Funny

      Now I leave Slashdot forever, for no raisin!

      --
      I reject your reality and substitute my own.
    12. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by AmiMoJo · · Score: 3, Interesting

      I think you hit the nail on the head regarding the problems with current 3D. A lot of it could be solved by simply having all objects appear behind the screen (like looking out of a window) instead of trying to present them in front of it, but even then the temptation to move your head to see something just out of shot would not go away completely.

      The other major issue is focus. In 3D if something is out of focus your eyes assume it is because they are not focusing on it and try to adjust. Of course because it is recorded that way they can't ever bring it into focus but keep straining to anyway, which is what gives you a headache.

      --
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    13. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by mcgrew · · Score: 2, Interesting

      The headaches come from the fact that your vision percieves depth more than just stereoscopically. The eye (at least in younger folks whose focusing lenses haven't hardened) also perceives depth by focus. Your brain can tell how far away an object is by how much effort the focusing muscles are exerting.

      To varying degrees, depending on person, most vision is pretty much automatic, and your eyes' focus is tied to the parallax. In a 3D movie, the parallax is there, but not focus -- your eye is focused on the screen, which is a fixed distance away.

      You get headaches because your focus is fighting with your parallax. Personally, I find stereoscopy pretty cool but completely unnecessary; various forms of perspective are enough to give a sense of depth.

      If you get headaches reading, you'll probably get headaches with a 3D movie. If you can cross your eyes you probably won't, and if you can not only do that but move your eyes independantly you're almost certain to not get headaches with 3D.

    14. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by PNutts · · Score: 2, Funny

      "Raisin Daters" is so damned stupid it's hilarious, as it is always is when someone tries to look smart and fucks it up.

      Agreed, but look at his name: BadAnalogyGuy

    15. Re:I saw Avatar the other day by damien_kane · · Score: 2

      It's definitely dated

  2. Do not want by youngone · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Give me a decent script and acting I can believe.

    1. Re:Do not want by MichaelSmith · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Give me a decent script and acting I can believe.

      Me too but sometimes I want to watch the pretty pictures.

    2. Re:Do not want by Animaether · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I didn't realize scrip/acting and 3D were mutually exclusive.. does the same apply to CGI, HD video at home, surround sound and color, too?

    3. Re:Do not want by bloodhawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

      They shouldn't be, but hollywood certainly seems to be adamant that they are mutually exclusive.

    4. Re:Do not want by L4t3r4lu5 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They're not mutually exclusive, they just have a finite amount of money to throw at them both. More money on the script means less money on the effects.

      Remember that by making a script complex, you limit your audience to those who are capable of surmising by themselves, instead of having opinions smashed into their face repeatedly with small words and diagrams. Yet, that's the type of people who would spend the money to sit with 300 people of questionable cleanliness eating overpriced popcorn and drinking flat over-icy sugary beverages, all to watch Angelina Jolie get shot at by some henchmen and fight on top of a train.

      I have surround sound and a large screen on my computer, never mind the living room! I don't need to go to the cinema, ever. I don't make big movie companies any money by seeing box-office hits, so they don't make movies I would watch. It's just economics.

      --
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  3. So instead of having to wear glasses... by Zathain+Sicarius · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I have to pin point one of the 9 optimal viewing angles within a small margin of error and never move?
    The inconvenience has simply shifted. Makes sense in the handheld world, but this seems a bit ridiculous.

  4. ¥240,000 by NemoinSpace · · Score: 2, Informative

    They'll cost around ¥120,000 (US$1,430) and ¥240,000 respectively.

    and for the math challenged that works out to US$2,860 for the 20 inch model. :)

    1. Re:¥240,000 by treeves · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I can't believe x/y = 2x/2y got a +4 informative mod!

      --
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  5. Re:Child depth perception and development by Culture20 · · Score: 2, Funny

    I'd hate to buy one of these and have my kid grow up with borked eyes.

    Just don't watch the Swedish Chef and your child will be fine.

  6. Don't get excited by Lucas123 · · Score: 5, Informative

    I was at a Toshiba media event earlier this year and they were very clear that this generation of glassless screens have horrible fields of view and are only good for advertising in public places like airports where, by walking by them, you'll get the 3D effect. It's almost analogous to the old 3D baseball cards where you'd move them and get the illusion of depth.

    1. Re:Don't get excited by thebes · · Score: 2, Insightful

      So, like the Jaws add in Back to the Future....?

  7. Re:3d hype. by NFN_NLN · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't get the hype lately for 3d that requires glasses, I seem to recall 3d movies being around since The Three Stooges, let alone Jaws 3d and the like. I know it's not exactly the same as modern movies, but how is it so very different? A 3d display that doesn't require glasses, that's finally something worth getting interested in.

    Those old movies used "complementary color anaglyphs" to simulate 3D which resulted in distorted color. Modern 3D glasses use polarized light or timed shutters so there is no color distortion (just headaches for some).

    The glasses-less technology for Nintendo 3DS uses "autostereograms". I heard there was a study done by Sega 15 years ago that stated children with extended exposure to autostereograms developed vision problems.

  8. Re:Great, if it scales up. by XaXXon · · Score: 2, Informative

    I don't understand how people expect to see 3d without glasses in any useful way. In order to see 3d, a different picture needs to get to each eye. There are a limited number of ways of making that happen. You either emit the pictures in different directions resulting in a very small area in which they can be seen properly, or you emit them in all directions and wear glasses to only pick up on the correct one for the corresponding eye.

    There's no magic way to make 3d happen.

  9. 3D Parallax Barriers by sonicmerlin · · Score: 2, Informative

    Like the Nintendo 3DS, this will require that you look directly at the screen to see the 3D effect. Anyone looking at the screen from an angle will not see the effect.

    This of course makes it kind of useless as a TV, but I think it's perfect as a computer monitor. Just a bit too expensive.

    1. Re:3D Parallax Barriers by Yvan256 · · Score: 4, Funny

      Like the Nintendo 3DS, this will require that you look directly at the screen to see the 3D effect.

      Wait, so if I look at my feet instead of the screen, I won't see the 3D effect? What a rip-off!

    2. Re:3D Parallax Barriers by oldhack · · Score: 2, Funny

      Not their fault that you've got flat feet.

      --
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  10. Re:What's more annoying... by quenda · · Score: 2, Interesting

    There is a third alternative: contact lenses.
    You need a circular-polarising projector system, as used in cinemas, and matching contact lenses.
    It does not matter if the lens rotates.

    Now how do I get a patent for this?

  11. Re:Yeah... by Yvan256 · · Score: 2, Funny

    Give me 3D sports that I can walk through as though they're in the room, and I'll be happy.

    It's called playing sports.

  12. Re:Yeah... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    No, it's really not.

    But I understand you're just trying to make a witty comment. Good try! With practice you'll get it.

  13. Re:Don't see the point by cheekyjohnson · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Good for you, I really value and care about your lack of interest in my opinion. Please keep posting your deep insights in this comments section where one usually posts comments with opinions and/or facts.

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