stereoscope 3d

If the HDTV was the biggest breakthrough for home consumer technology in in the first decade of the second millennium, then that throne for the second decade will undoubtedly belong to the 3D TV. It should be known that 3D imaging technology is not new at all – it dates back all the way to 1844 and David Brewster’s invention of the stereoscope: a device that took photos in 3D. In fact the first 3D movie was made in 1915, and many more were released to the public in theaters throughout the first half of the 20th century. However, popularity of these 3D formats decreased when television technology developed and watching movies with a color tainted cardboard glasses no longer was deemed tolerable.

old 3d

That is until 2010, where many of the biggest TV makers, with Sony at the forefront, lead the charge to bring high quality 3D TV viewing experience inside your living room. The technology won’t be adopted overnight (as showcased with the slow HDTV adoption rate), and it may take years until the experience is optimized and global standards are reached – but today we already have a slew of 3D TV technology available to fit modern needs.

How does 3D TV work?

how 3d works

The abbreviation 3-D: stands for 3 dimensional – but it is a word that is often misused. In the case of 3-D TV, the image will actually be on a 2D surface and it is the brain that will be tricked into believing it is 3D. To understand how this can happen, we need to understand how it is that our eyes work. You might have at one point in your life had to cover one of your eyes, maybe because of having sun in your eyes, an injury, or maybe just out of boredom. When you use only one eye, you can witness a lack of depth and what feels almost like a 2D image. But when both of your eyes are open, the brain gets 2 sets of separate inputs and it can automatically process this information to create a 3-D image. It uses the distance between your eyes, and the different inputs coming from the eyes, to merge it all together into 3D vision. Yes, the brain is known to do fantastic things.

3d tv new

This is also how 3D TVs tend to work. Different tools have been used to create this effect, but in essence 3D TV’s are meant to send a different image into each of your eyes so that your brain can process them, and turn the 2 different 2D inputs, into one merged 3 Dimensional one.

Accomplishing such a feat is by no means an easy task – which is why for decades we have been forced to wear color filtered glasses to enjoy 3D imagery. Today, there are far better techniques used to achieve the same purpose, some still using glasses of one form or another, but also other 3D Televisions being developed will allow you to  view 3D content without the need of any glasses.

Stay tuned to our coverage of everything 3D TV as next time we look at the different 3D technology available to us today and in the near future.