Tuesday, October 26, 2010

3-D Television or television for 2 ?

3D Television is hot. To talk about...
Despite getting the impression from magazines, exhibitions and showcases that 3-D  is coming fast to all of us, I have not actually seen one in the shops. And certainly I do not know anybody who has one. And most reviews I hear or see all mention the fact that it is 'just not really there'. The 3-D images do not look 'real', and most televisions suffer from 'shading' or contrast problems. And the fact that everybody has to wear 'electric sunglasses' probably does not help either.
Anyway, technology will improve fast and we'll probably see some decent screens at a reasonable price level by the end of next year. What I have not seen yet is a different application that might be more interesting to a lot of people: dual view. 3-D televisions repetitively show two different images. And the 'shutter glasses' just cover one eye at the time in so each eye sees only a slightly different image, thus creating the 3-D effect. But what if you fed the TV with two completely different programs and have the shutters cover both eyes at the time ? This way your wife can watch episode19745 of  'As the World Turns' while you are watching tonight's major league football match !.
(Yeah, I know you would both have to wear a headset as well, but I suppose that could be integrated in the glasses.)