If you have been to the cinema in recent months, you will have noticed that more and more movies offer the option of watching your chosen film in 3D. Donning your 3D glasses will enable you to feel immersed in the atmosphere of what you are watching, as characters seem to reach out of the screen toward you.
Before long we won’t have to make the journey to the cinema to enjoy a three dimensional treat for the senses though, with 3D TV technology set to take the world by storm. Electronics manufacturers such as Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are all racing to create television sets that will allow 3D television to be displayed, and Sky TV is set to launch the first entirely 3D channel later this year. It seems the future is closer than we might think.
3D Technology
To fully understand this new 3D TV technology, let’s consider the following three popular questions:
How does
3D Television
work?
3D television could be claimed to be a misnamed technology, because nothing three dimensional is actually created. Your television screen will display a 2D image, just as on a normal TV, however your brain will be convinced that what you are watching is in three dimensions.
Essentially, 3D TV technology works by sending a different image into each of your two different eyes. These images are then put together by your brain to create what appears to be an image that is escaping from your television set. The technology is adapting all the time, so different ways of creating this effect have been utilised and still will be until 3D TV is perfected.
Will I need to wear glasses to watch 3D TV?
At present, the only way to enjoy 3D television is to wear a pair of glasses. You may remember that a few years ago, 3D TV meant wearing cardboard frames with one red and one green lens. They weren’t particularly comfortable or fashionable, and looking at anything other than the screen was a strange sensation.
Nowadays, 3D accessories like 3D glasses no longer need to utilise these coloured lenses, and the cardboard frames are usually replaced by more comfortably plastic equivalents for a more pleasurable viewing experience. While research is certainly being conducted into creating 3D TVs that you will be able to enjoy without the need for glasses, for now they will certainly still be a part of the technology.
How soon can I expect to see all TV in three dimensions?
Using the HD TV set-top boxes that Sky already have in place in homes around the country, a 3D channel will be broadcast later this year. However, you won’t be able to enjoy the third dimension unless your television set is equipped with the ability to display 3D content.
Although Sky 3D TV are set to appear within our stores soon, it will take time for the technology to be perfected. Viewing television with access to the third dimension seems likely to be the future of TV, but it will probably be a couple of years yet before you can watch all of your favourite shows in this manner.
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