Posts Tagged ‘3D Glasses’

If you have problems viewing three-dimensional images, then conventional 2D TV sets are for you.

The depth perception is limited in around 5-10% of population. Far more people have other vision problems that may prevent them from seeing 3D images in movies or the new 3D TV.

To maike a 3D film requires two cameras that capture two images, simulating the different perspectives of the left and right eyes. 3D glasses enable each eye to see the proper perspective and the brain combines them into a stereoscopic image.

People whose eyes aren't perfectly aligned because of strabismus (eyes don't align when focusing) or amblyopia (one eye loses the ability to see details) or who struggle to keep their eyes lined up and moving together will probably have difficulty fusing the images into a 3D experience. Moreover, the challenge might cause eyestrain (dry, irritated, or painful eyes), which could lead to headache.

If you are having problems viewing 3D images, consult an ophthalmologist or optometrist.

There are some six million people in the UK, the Eyecare Trust claims, who have poor binocular vision. This means their eyes have difficulty processing and viewing the 3D effects, so they’re more likely to see blurred images, resulting in headaches and other unpleasantness.

The Eyecare Trust commented: “You may not have realised that you have poor binocular vision before because your brain will often try to compensate for any visual inadequacies.”

“The good news however is that binocular conditions can be easily detected during a routine eye examination and treatment may be as simple as a new pair of glasses or some vision therapy.”

Recent scientific research shows that major myth of 3D TV being dangerous to your health is not exactly true. Some experts aired a number of concerns. One of them was about the depth-of-field issue for your eyes. Some claimed that prolonged viewing can alter the viewer's depth of perception for up to several hours after they take their 3D glasses off, which could lead to serious accidents. Even Samsung, one of the leading 3D equipment manufacturers, clearly stated on their website a safety guidelines document, which has many precausions to 3D viewers.

These recent findings discovered that 2D actually causes more of a strain than 3D. It is understandable that like with anything else in human life, we should not want 3D TV excessively. Watching 3D television under normal conditions is unlikely to be damaging to the human visual system, scientists from The Vision Centre say.

Professor Colin Clifford of The Vision Centre and The University of Sydney, says it is very unlikely that 3D TV could cause any long-term harm, provided people only watched it for a few hours a day.

“For objects viewed beyond reading distance, the eyes are pretty much pointing in parallel and very little adjustment is required to see things in depth.” Since 3D TV is usually watched from a longer distance it is unlikely to affect how the eyes and brain perceive depth of field. “In actual fact, two-dimensional TV creates more of a conflict for our visual system than 3D TV, because we have to interpret a 3D image out of a flat screen, whereas 3D TV is just giving us a 3D picture.

Microsoft division displayed a new technology: 3D without glasses. Although it has been around for awhile but it has always had some limitations. One of the largest limitations is that it only works for one viewer and that viewer must keep their eyes within a specific area. The monitors do this by using lenses or filters that divide the image between the viewer's eyes creating a 3D effect.

Microsoft's new display relies on a wedge shaped lens that doubles as the screen. It uses motion tracking capability to track up to 4 viewers and display a 3D image to each of them. The motion tracking is necessary for displaying 3D without glasses as this form of 3D is impossible without knowing the viewer's head position. There is no need for head tracking but it only works for one viewer and that person must keep their head in a very specific position or the 3D effect will be lost. With the motion tracking ability the display can focus the 3D effect in real time on the viewer by detecting and constantly updating their position. 

The real breakthrough with this Microsoft display is the ability to track and display 3D to 4 viewers at once. Currently the technology is limited to a 20 degree viewing angle though the researchers feel they will be able to get it up to at least 40 degrees. In the case of LCD and LED screens you'll experience picture degradation at angles wider than this anyway so it's not such a big deal.

Taiwan researchers predict mass use of non-glasses 3D TV by 2015. This technology will be able to show depth of field without polarising lenses

Consumers will likely see 3D LCD TVs that don't require people to wear polarised glasses out on global markets by 2015, it was a forecast made by a Taiwanese research group.

Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute already displayed a 42-inch glasses-free 3D LCD TV, and the company can currently make them with screens as large as 65 inches, according to Stephen Jeng, director of ITRI's 3D System & Application Division.

The technology will foster getting 3D into more people's living rooms. Analysts say most people don't want to wear polarised glasses to watch 3D TV, and many balk at the price, up to $200 per pair for some of the glasses.

Jeng says ITRI's technology will be used in digital signs and 3D digital photo frames initially. The main issues for glasses-free 3D TV are broadcasting, availability of content, and eye safety, he said. Small quantities of glasses-free digital signage and 3D photo frames are already available on the market, he said, but may yet take a year or two to take off.

The glasses-free 3D LCD TV on display from ITRI this week showed pictures of objects that ITRI's software converted into a 3D image. The image was blurry and the technology appears to still be a long way from being ready.

To watch 3D videos on Youtube or Flickr you need a pair of special 3D glasses. Its lenses must be of two colors: red and cyan.

Usually the price for 3D glaases on eBay is around one dollar. However you can easily make them at home using a spare CD jewel case and some permanent marker pens.

Just scribble the transparent side of the jewel case with red and blue marker pens large enough to cover the width of your eyes. The blue (or cyan) color lens will be for the right eye while the red color will cover the left eye.

Alternatively, you may use a pair of sun-glasses that you already have and replace the lenses with colored pieces of transparent plastic. Or pick an old pair of eyeglasses and fill both the left and right lenses with red and blue permanent markers respectively.

If there's one element that is rather primitive in the beginning era of 3D television, it's the glasses that viewers have to wear. They're big, awkward, and consumers are not yet used to wearing glasses at home when watching TV. The problem grows as manufacturers are offering a variety of spectacles, incompatible with each other, not to mention their rather high price.

3D television is already at the door step to massively enter living rooms. Samsung, LG, Panasonic, and Sony are already selling 3D televisions, and other manufacturers will come up with more sets later . Movies are being made, 3D channels launched and cable networks upgraded.

3D may not be quite as revolutionary as TFT or plazma and high-definition TV, but manufacturers are hoping that 3D will eventually help sell more sets.

The problem with glasses is that the cheap, polarized spectacles handed out at movie theaters won't work at home. New 3D televisions require hi-end "active-shutter" glasses. The effect sometimes is even better than you'll get in theaters with the polarized glasses.

TV makers cannot afford to offer expensive models for the U.S. market, where sales are particularly sensitive to price. That is why they are trying to shift price margin into the active-shutter glasses, which is less risky for the TV manufacturer.

To achieve a 3D effect in the glasses, the specs have to electronically synchronize with the TV set. The 3D screens rapidly show alternating images for the left and right eye. The glasses open and close shutters over each eye so that each sees only the image intended for it, which is from a slightly different perspective. This is what gives us an illusion of stereoscopic or three-dimensional vision.

Most manufacturers are bundling one set of glasses with their 3D TVs. But outfitting a living room for movie watching can add another $450.

Consumers will have an option to watch non-3D TV but if they want to use their sets for 3D, they will need the right glasses. TV manufacturers are exploring different approaches that are incompatible with each other. A pair of glasses that works with Samsung won't work with Panasonic.

There are several ways that TV sets communicate to 3D glasses. Projectors typically use a flash of white light that bounces off the screen into the glasses. A few manufacturers link their LCDs with the glasses via radio technology, like Bluetooth. Most LCD and plasma makers are using infrared signals. But even they are incompatible, much as infrared remote controls won't work with different makes of TVs. Manufacturers also use different protocols, or software, to ensure fidelity and timing.

One solution may be universal glasses that will work across manufacturer lines, much like universal remotes can work with different sets.

A standard technology is expected to soon emerge and manufacturers will begin supplying universal eyewear with their sets. However there is trap that the big makers (Sony, Samsung, Panasonic) have got into: they didn't really have time to figure out the glasses in the rush to hit the market with 3D sets.