3-D TELEVISIONIt exists, folks. We may not have flying cars or entire meals in pill form, but we have 3-dimensional television. I'm not joking.
Okay, here comes the science bit... the most popular technique to create 3-D imagery at the moment uses software processing to pass high-definition video streams through a converter chip, that creates 8 stereo views on-the-fly. When a filter is applied to project each of the eight views in a slightly different direction on an LCD monitor, the human eye picks up the different scenes and composites them into a coherent three-dimensional view.
Voila, your brain essentially translates a 3-D image for you! Without the need for those silly 3-D specs!
Well, actually, there is some debate about how this technology is being overly-hyped. It's not quite at the level of what you'd expect 3-D television to look like, but it's very, very close. They're already selling 3-D computer monitors here and Philips have announced a 3-D TV for 2008.
So this isn’t a pipe dream. 3-D TV and movies is definitely on the way to the consumer, a movement gaining a lot of momentum in Hollywood -– mainly from the passionate James Cameron. "We're on the cusp of a stereo renaissance," said the Titanic director. "I'm doing all my films in stereo from now on, and just waiting for the display technology to catch up, both at the theater and the consumer level."
George Lucas and Robert Rodriguez are also supporters of the technology, with 7-minutes of Star Wars Episode IV already converted to 3-D as a test!
Oh yes, that's another remarkable thing about this technology... old 2-D images can be converted into 3-D! Jurassic Park, Laurence Of Arabia, Saving Private Ryan, Lord Of The Rings, Independence Day, Superman, The Matrix... imagine them in 3-D! Well, actually there is debate about how great this 3-D conversion actually is... with many people speculating that converted 2-D images won't be as great as footage specifically filmed for 3-D display using the latest cameras.
But there are exciting times ahead, that's for sure. I'm sure HDTV will eventually claw its way into peoples' homes, but 3-D pictures will be the next true revolution –- something so totally amazing and "futuristic" that it's worthy of an expensive upgrade to all your home theatre kit.
In the San Fernando Valley there is a company called Deep Light who are working on this technology to produce 3-D images that can even project different things to different people in the same room! Basically, if you had 8 people watching one of their 3-D screens (from 8 different angles; sat, crouched, standing, etc), each person can be watching something totally different! Of course, sound would be an issue... but I suppose if they each had earphones, it would be okay!
In Japan, Sony has already sold 3 million 3-D mobile phones, and has also released a laptop that can toggle between 2-D and 3-D images!
Amazingly, if you have an X-BOX 360, that console already has built-in support for 3-D video games! The Halo 2 video game has also been programmed in 3-D, too! And don't worry, Playstation 3 is also compatible with 3-D.
Plus, when 3-D becomes a standard display method for TV, cinemas and monitors, imagine how the Internet will evolve! You could broadcast 3-D images around the world, and send 3-D photos to all your friends... the level and quality of interaction would be unparalleled.
Phew. I need to sit down now. I'm sure you can grasp how amazing this will all be, but it will be very expensive for quite a few years. Those humble monitors are all in the $3,000 category, while the televisions will probably retail for £12,000. But, they'll come down in price... these things always do...
