My Cart - There’s been plenty written in the Press, this blog included, about the difficulties in getting 3DTV off the ground. Consumers aren’t quite as eager to embrace the new technology as manufactures initially anticipated thanks to the high price tag, lack of content and the requirement to wear 3D glasses, which in many cases were sold separately to the TVs!
However, world renowned electronics giant Toshiba have managed to solve one of these problems that hindered the launch of 3DTVs. The company has recently unveiled a 3DTV that does not require the viewers to wear the specialist glasses.
The new TVs seemed to impress visitors to last week’s CEATEC technology show where they were on display. Curious people were keen to try the new technology out for themselves and many remarked on the clarity of the picture and how it was just as good as watching a standard 3DTV with glasses.
However, it’s not all plain sailing for the new TVs and whilst eliminating one major flaw with 3DTV, the requirement for viewers to wear special 3D glasses, they’ve created a new one. The 3D effect of Toshiba’s new TV can only be experienced from 9 specific viewing angles. If you don’t view the picture from one of the designated positions then all you’ll see is a ghosting blur, much like what you’d see if you took your 3D glasses off whilst watching a standard 3DTV.
It is quite likely that having to view the TV screen from certain angles in order to achieve the 3D effect is going to put consumers off, which is probably why Toshiba haven’t announced any plans to make these TVs available outside of Japan. So, it seems that for the meantime there’ll be little opportunity for people in the UK to experience this new product themselves. However, with most high street stores stocking an extensive range of cheap plasma TVs, LCD sets and standard 3DTVs it seems unlikely that Toshiba’s new TVs will be missed.
Nevertheless, although there are obvious drawbacks to this new type of 3DTV the fact that a TV which allows viewers to experience 3D images without glasses has been created shows that the technology is advancing significantly. Perhaps a glasses-free 3DTV set that can be viewed from any angle is just around the corner.
