20100203

3D with no glasses?

As I have said in my previous posts, unless 3D TV can be delivered with no requirement for glasses, it will never achieve mass-market consumer success in the home. Well, it seems someone heard me. A group in Singapore is claiming to have achieved a workable 3D system that does not require the use of glasses. In fact, they claim that the system will be demoed live at CeBit, the European tech-fest that occurs yearly in Hanover, Germany.

Cebit has been called the largest electronics show in the world. Some folks think that CES in Las Vegas is the biggest show. Lately I'm not sure. But in any case, this sucker is big. If you have the privilege to attend, try to find these guys and see their demo. And please let me know how it looks!

Naturally, I am skeptical that practical 3D can be delivered at any price without the aid of glasses or some special equipment. Other companies have claimed to have achieved this capability before. The "demo" usually consists of a large, glass-like box the observer needs to look into. The box has multiple panes of glass and/or mirrors that images can bounce off of.

3D? Possibly. Kind of. Sort of. But who cares? Is that what you want in your house? A huge, glass cube in the middle of your room? Think about it, the whole family sitting around this large obelisk, their heads bobbing to and fro, oohing and ahhing at the wonderful, 3D goodness? I don't think so.

The problem is, we consumers want it ALL. We want Avatar-quality 3D, in our homes, for no more than a 10-30% premium over what we pay now, with NO glasses, boxes, or other strange, room-encroaching apparati required.

Sorry, guys, but you may be able to demo something, and even get some press, but my prediction is that this is all you will get.

Let's wait and see. I'm always willing to be proven wrong.