The trickle of 3D TV products may have started last year, but 2010 is set to be the year of 3D television. The major television manufacturers are all pumping out their various takes on the new tech on the block, while film distributors and TV channel providers are fast jumping on the bandwagon. All signs point to 3D TV being the current tech of the future but, for now at least, it all seems to be offered with mandatory glasses attached.
According to Engadget, a Los Angeles-based company, i3D, is combining proprietary hardware and software to create impressive glasses-free 3D. Although the company is not the first to develop glasses-free 3D displays, the company’s tech is already set to step on a few toes. The 7-inch prototype may be far from immersive in its proportions, but i3D is addressing the viewing angle problems that are inherent with glasses-free 3D; i3D claims that their 3D technology can be enjoyed at close to a 90 degree viewing angle.
Also impressive is the ability for the i3D tech to convert from 2D to 3D at the push of a button; a trick that seemed to be limited to glasses 3D TVs until now. Couple this with the further claim that the new tech can convert any resolution programming and it starts to become quite impressive. Check out the video below for a demonstration of the i3D technology (bear in mind that you won’t be able to see the 3D results, but there’s an interesting hands-on description explaining what’s going on).
We’d like to know what your thoughts are on what type of 3D you’d prefer in the comments below; the funky glasses variety or glasses-free.
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