Sony Makes Peripheral That Adds 3D to Laptop Screen
Sony is releasing an external lenticular screen "peripheral" that adds 3D to non-3D laptops.
During the IFA electronics show in Berlin last week, Sony revealed a 3-mm sheet that was placed over the front side of a standard notebook's screen, providing glasses-free 3D imagery. Additional dedicated software took advantage of the laptop's built-in webcam to determine the user's face and adjusted the 3D images accordingly.
According to reports, the 3D sheet/software bundle will be commercially released alongside the launch of Sony's 15.5-inch VAIO VPCSE1Z9E (S Series) laptop over in Europe next month. This could mean that there's a good chance consumers with other non-Sony 15.5-inch laptops will be able to convert to glasses-free 3D as well.
The 3D sheet reportedly measures just under 15.5-inches and is based on the lenticular method: a parallax is created by arraying lenses that are thin and long and have a semicircular cross section. In this case, the 3D images are created by the software based on the viewer's position. Faces can be detected at a distance of 11.8-inches to 39.3-inches from the display, and at an angle of 60 to 120° to the display horizontally.
So far there's no word when the display peripheral will arrive here in the States, or if Sony plans to develop additional sizes. However, the screen is expected to retail for 129 euro (approx $183 USD) when it goes on sale next month in Europe.

yall DO realize we live in 3D world....
so far life hasn't gouged my eyeballs.....yet
yall DO realize we live in 3D world....
so far life hasn't gouged my eyeballs.....yet
wouldn't you want 3D at all? I can't see it hurting anyone. You have extra data in the same space. It's fantastic (provided it's used right). Have you ever tried 3D gaming? It actually works Really Really well, and improves the immersion by quite a bit. I agree that they are pushing it to much in the theaters, and not in the right way, but it certainly is the future. I just wish that the glasses were standard.
Anyhow this seems to be really nice, you can add 3D support to any LCD device, although it'll be half resolution it's still nice.
We actually live in 4D but who's counting...
Yeah, but no way in hell I'm payin $183 for a piece of plastic to stick on my monitor.
Actually, I do think that Sony is heading the right direction. however, you wish that Glasses were standard, i pressume you dont wear glasses everyday, so for the guys that do wear glasses, its a problem to wear 3D glasses, Glasses free 3D is great way to go for everyone.
As the last 7 years, im happy to "wait and see" when it comes to new technologies.
As the last 7 years, im happy to "wait and see" when it comes to new technologies.
Huh ... non-working glass's?
I've been doing stereoscopic 3D for 10 years now, and I've ~NEVER~ had stereoscopic glass's not work. LCD shutter glass's are simple, very little to break / screw up. Now polarization glass's really depend on the quality of the glass's and the matching screen / projection technique. It's the reason I only go to two theater's in my city, the rest use really poor glass's that aren't properly cleaned between use's.
Well, you also need a webcam to track you (and adjust accordingly). So you'd have to be the only one watching. If someone else pops their head closer to the camera, the effect may be lost (although they probably could ignore the second face via software).
But let's say it does come in various shapes and sizes to perfectly fit my screen size (and dot pitch). If they use one lens for 2 (or more) pixels that would effectively reduce the resolution possibly by more than half.
Anyway. Almost $200 for a piece of plastic and some software. Um, I don't know...
PS: And it's glasses, theatres not "theatre's". The apostrophe stands for "is". You're basically saying "theatre is" (just like "you're" stands for "you are").
I'm not trying to be mean or anything but when I see "glass's" I rage a bit, on the inside.
We actually live in an 11D world but most of the higher dimensions are not percievable unless you are a minor god or a Gallifreyan Timelord, but who's counting...
The blacking of one eye at a time, is quite similar to the flickering caused by CRT monitors. While a low refresh rate did cause headaches, I have never heard of CRT's damaging your eyes as a result.