The future of watching 3D movies is right around the corner

Growing up in the seventies, I recall those special occasions when a new 3D movie would come out in theaters. It was typically in the form of a bad horror movie but there was something fun about putting on those silly glasses, sitting and watching in wonder. Those days of wearing those silly glasses could soon be over. A recent study (Kim, et al., 2012) suggests that using a frontal projection-type auto-stereoscopic display together with a polarizer and a quarter-wave retarding film can bring 3D viewing without using 3D glasses. This is tone of the first studies that looks at the differences between frontal projection-type auto-stereoscopic displays and integral imaging by using a projector.

The researchers propose the use of a three-dimensional (3D) displays as vital for a stereoscopic display and an auto-stereoscopic display, such as in the parallax barrier method, the lenticular lens method, and the integral imaging method.

The researchers suggest that, "They permit spatial and/or temporal multiplexing to produce a larger display and have high-definition because the display devices and the screen are separated. One of the major merits of the projection-type auto-stereoscopic display is that only one projector is used. However, such an approach unfortunately limits spacing efficiency because additional optical components, such as a parallax barrier, a lenticular lens, and a lenslet array in front of the screen are needed for delivering different perspectives to the viewer, even though several methods of reflective projection-type 3D display have been reported."

Yes, it could be possible that wearing those silly 3D glasses could soon be coming to an end.


Two Forces:

Economical - The use of 3D in the home is still in its early stages as the everyday consumer has yet to buy-in to the value and cost benefit. Clear advancement in the technology has resulted in recent blockbuster hits as Avatar which showcases 3D technical capabilities.

Global - The use of 3D technology at home and in community movie theaters is primarily used in the western culture and limited in eastern cultures due to cost. 


Evan








Reference:
Youngmin Kim, Keehoon Hong, Jiwoon Yeom, Jisoo Hong, Jae-Hyun Jung, Yong Wook Lee, Jae-Hyeung Park, and Byoungho Lee  A frontal projection-type three-dimensional display

 http://www.opticsinfobase.org/oe/fulltext.cfm?uri=oe-20-18-20130&id=240807