I am sure you have all seen 3D content in some manner, whether the lowest tech way with the blue and red glasses to separate the pictures, or a slightly higher tech version with polarized glasses to achieve the same effect. There are some companies working on achieving the effect with no glasses at all, which is probably what it would take for the technology to gain mainstream appeal.
Phillips has two 42″ 3D displays on the market, one for extended viewing and one that has even better 3D effects, though may not be comfortable for extended viewing. Displays are in the $12k range, so you are not getting this technology cheaply. An issue that is still prevalent on the glass-less solution is the viewing range. The horizontal and vertical angles are very limited, and the distance from the screen the viewer must be is limited as well.
It is assumed that gaming will be the first mainstream application to take advantage of the technology when it is ready. It makes sense. The ability to develop, release gain acceptance of games in 3D is a much easier proposition than getting video out there.
Posted by Jeff
