CES: Acer Showcases Curved and Glasses-Free 3D Monitors

Acer brought a fleet of new Predator gaming monitors to CES, including the curved colossus spanning 57-inches, the Predator Z57, and glasses-free 3D Predator SpatialLabs View 27, a mass market spin on the company’s SpatialLabs professional display. Sprawling across 7,680 x 2,160 pixels, the flagship Z57 MiniLED runs at 120Hz, with 2,304 dimming zones, dual HDR and peak brightness of 1,000 nits, according to Acer, which has it priced at $2,500, calendared in Q2, as is the $2,000 View 27. The Ultra HD 3D monitor boasts a 160Hz refresh rate and AMD FreeSync and Nvidia G-Sync for fluid gameplay. Continue reading CES: Acer Showcases Curved and Glasses-Free 3D Monitors

Lenovo Offers Glasses-Free 3D at 4K via ThinkVision Monitor

It’s an ideal time to outfit hybrid home workers, and Lenovo is going all-in on the concept, rolling out new tools for digital business users. Foremost among the digital offerings is the ThinkVision 27 3D, a 27-inch glasses-free 2D/3D compatible monitor with real-time eye-tracking. Designed for developers and professional content creators like graphic artists or product designers who can benefit from immersive 3D visualization, ThinkVision has a max resolution of 1920×2160 for 3D and displays flat at 3840×2160, thanks to a lenticular lens in the monitor that can toggle between the two. Continue reading Lenovo Offers Glasses-Free 3D at 4K via ThinkVision Monitor

Neo3Do: New Android Tablet Offers Glasses-Free 3D Experience

Some consumers enjoy 3D, but don’t care much for the required glasses. The Neo3Do tablet offers users the 3D experience without the spectacles. The $349 Android tablet plays 3D videos and also converts standard video into 3D. However, the 3D effect is spotty, according to this review, and sometimes works well and other times far less so. In a demo featuring a clip from the Blu-ray 3D version of “Predator,” the 3D feature was highly impressive. It also worked well with games such as “Fruit Ninja.” Continue reading Neo3Do: New Android Tablet Offers Glasses-Free 3D Experience

NICT Demonstrates Largest Full HD Glasses-Free 3D Display

  • NICT, working with JVC Kenwood, has developed a 200-inch autostereoscopic full HD 3D display (the world’s largest), that shows video from 57 different angles. The unit was presented at CEATEC Japan this month.
  • According to the presentation, “no matter which angle you’re viewing from, you can see a Full High Definition resolution image. With an ordinary display, the viewing range is basically around 180 degrees, but with this one, it’s 13 degrees, which is very narrow.”
  • “To show such a large range of viewing angles, the display uses 57 projectors in an array, with each one specially tuned to create uniform levels of brightness and color balance across all viewpoints,” reports DigInfo TV.
  • ETCentric staffer Phil Lelyveld comments: “With 57 projectors(!) this is an interesting brute-force approach to autostereo 3D…”

CEATEC News: Toshiba Unveils New 55-Inch Naked-Eye 3D TV

  • Toshiba is showcasing its 55-inch Regza 55X3 TV at CEATEC this week in Japan. The unit boasts a resolution of 3,840×2,160 — and glasses-free 3D at 1,280×720 — for what TechCrunch is calling “the first TV of its kind.”
  • “The TV features 5,000:1 contrast ratio, LED backlight, a new processor called ‘REGZA Engine CEVO Duo,’ a face-tracking function to enable high-quality 3D pictures for viewers, REGZA LINK, five digital tuners, 10W×2ch+10W speakers, four HDMI ports, and two USB ports,” reports TechCrunch.
  • TechRadar reports that the Toshiba TV joins Sony’s VPL-VW1000ES projector and Sharp’s 60-inch LCD in the 4K offerings featured at CEATEC this week. The report also suggests Toshiba hopes to ship 1,000 units a month of the Regza 55X3. “This is high hopes for a technology that’s burgeoning in the cinema market but is brand new in the home,” indicates TechRadar. “And with the economic climate as it is will be something of a battle, even with both Sony and Toshiba on board.”
  • The Regza 55X3 will be available by December in Japan for $11,730 (U.S.).

Toshiba ZL2 TV: Glasses-Free 3D, 4K2K and Face Tracking

  • Toshiba announced its new flagship 3D TV, the ZL2 series, which offers glasses-free 3D, 4096 x 2160 resolution, upscaling of low-res to high-res 3D, and facial recognition used to customize viewing angles.
  • The TV uses lenticular “lenslets” that can be modified for up to nine different viewing angles.
  • Check out the article for the author’s impression after watching 3D on the ZL2. Introduction: “I got a chance to watch the TV’s 3D mode in action, and it’s pretty great. It’s not magical, however. Instead of the typical dimming of shutter-based 3D TVs, it feels like you can see the black lines dividing the pixels. It’s not that the picture is actually low resolution, however, there’s still plenty of detail on screen, it just happens to ‘show the seams’ more than I’d like. It’s very pleasant to watch, and I didn’t get a 3DS headache or any nausea.”
  • The ZL2 is not for everyone: current pricing of the 55-inch model is equivalent to $11,424 U.S. dollars.

Has MasterImage 3D Created the Best Glasses-Free 3D Yet?

  • MasterImage 3D is developing a 3D screen for smartphones and tablets that doesn’t require special glasses.
  • The screen uses what the company calls “cell matrix parallax barrier” technology, which it claims is more sophisticated than the autostereoscopic technology currently available.
  • GamesBeat lead writer Dean Takahashi points out that the viewing experience is vastly improved as compared to disappointments such as the Nintendo 3DS: “But the glasses-free experience MasterImage 3D has developed is something altogether different. From what I’ve seen so far, it’s going to offer an outstanding 3D experience on smartphones and tablets.”
  • Roy Taylor, executive vice president and general manager for MasterImage 3D, demonstrated a working prototype for Takahashi, who was very impressed: “The quality blew me away. On a 4.3-inch WVGA screen, Taylor showed a 3D movie running in stereoscopic 3D. I didn’t need to wear glasses to see the sharp 3D imagery. When I moved my head, it didn’t get blurry. And if I moved my head too far to the side, it gracefully transitioned to a two-dimensional image.”

Toshiba Glasses-Free 3D Laptop Available this Month

  • CNET offers a largely positive hands-on review of Toshiba’s new glasses-free 3D laptop, the Qosmio F755.
  • A prototype of the 3D laptop was awarded CNET’s “Best of CES” award in January and Toshiba wasted little time bringing the concept to market (the post includes a video review of the prototype from CES 2011).
  • The $1,699 Qosmio F755 will be available in the U.S. starting August 16.
  • Toshiba’s new laptop “has a 15-inch 1080p display that uses special eye-tracking software to track the viewer’s head movement and adjust the stereoscopic image accordingly, via the built-in Webcam.”
  • Features include an Intel Core i7-2630QM CPU, 6GB of RAM, an NVIDIA GeForce GT540M, a 750GB hard drive and a Blu-ray-RW drive.
  • According to CNET: “Blu-ray content in 3D looked excellent, but took a resolution hit. Like a 3D TV, it requires a few moments to orient your eyes, especially if you’re not used to watching 3D content. But the eye-tracking allowed for a reasonable amount of freedom of movement, and the 3D effect worked from an off-axis side view.”

Hitachi Announces LCD Screen: 720p and Glasses-Free 3D

  • Smartphone screens may continue to get larger. Hitachi announced it has developed a high resolution 4.5-inch, 720p display that the company hopes will be used for portable TVs, phones or handheld game devices.
  • The 1280×710 resolution may enable 720p HD movies to be viewed in native resolution on phones — and the backlit LCD would be an IPS-based display, allowing for a wide viewing angle like that on the iPhone.
  • Additionally, this new 3D-capable display uses a lenticular lens (rather than a barrier approach) that would enable glasses-free 3D.
  • ETCentric contributor Phil Lelyveld points out: “3D is driving the display industry towards higher and higher resolution phone screens, since 3D effectively halves the resolution. Resolution has become a marketing point in this highly competitive market.”

LG Debuts Glasses-Free 3D Computer Display

  • LG Electronics, a long-time supporter of the 3D TV market, enters a new product category with the introduction of its 20-inch 3D computer monitor that doesn’t require the use of 3D glasses.
  • A sensor on the D2000 detects the position of the user to shift the 3D imagery while the user is looking at games, movies or photos.
  • The company also points out that its eye-tracking technology works in tandem with LG’s 2D-to-3D conversion technologies to enhance 2D movies, games and other content.
  • “LG’s position has always been that 3D will and must eventually function without glasses. The D2000 is a look at what the future has in store.”
  • Expect the display to become available later this year.

Portable, Glasses-Free 3D from Nintendo

The Nintendo 3DS has launched in Japan with plans to hit the U.S. and European markets next month. The portable device is the first of its kind to offer glasses-free 3D gaming.

Despite the sellout of pre-order stocks, gaming enthusiasts showed up in droves for the Japanese release.  However, it remains to be seen how the 3DS will compete worldwide with the new casual gaming capabilities of tablet PCs, the Apple iPhone, Android-powered smartphones, and the next generation portable from Sony (expected to launch in 10 months).

According to Reuters, Nintendo will initially run with the formula that has traditionally worked with its DS: “a dedicated portable games device with software available on cartridges that cost $30 or more.”