Recent developments in 3D technology have made it possible for manufacturers to create 3D televisions that many consumers will find entertaining and affordable. Before you spend your hard-earned money on a 3D television, though, you might want to learn about how this technology works.
Image by bark via Flickr
Image by bark via Flickr
An Image for Each Eye
3D television technology is very similar to the technology used to create 3D images in theaters. Essentially, each frame contains an image for each eye. When you remove your 3D glasses, you can see these two images mixed on the screen. You can still decipher what you are looking at, but the images are blurred and somewhat confusing. When you put on your 3D glasses, though, each image is directed at the intended eye. Researchers spent a lot of time measuring the average distance between eyes to make sure that images were interpreted correctly by the brain.
3D Glasses Bring it All Together
Today’s 3D glasses aren’t like those cheap glasses with the red and blue plastic lenses. Today’s lenses are sophisticated pieces of equipment that work in conjunction with images on the screen. Recently developed active shutter glasses rapidly block your eyes so that they receive the right image from the screen. The glasses will block your left eye, then your right, and so on. Most of the glasses can initiate this sequence 120 times per second, which means you probably won’t even notice the activity right in front of your face.
3D television is an exciting development in home entertainment that could revolutionize the way that people watch movies. Be sure to read reviews of the various TVs before committing to a specific one.
