Spatial View with auto-stereoscopic may be the answer to geeky eyewear for 3D entertainment
By Jeffrey Jolson-Colburn
3D driving fast without nerdy glasses
HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 7/27/10 – A remarkable new technology has emerged for the explosive 3D market – Spatial View, a lenticular screen you can put on your favorite Apple products to let you see 3D on the go. And when someone asks you if you want paper or plastic (glasses), you can say neither, as this imaginative sheet lets you see the 3D action on photos, games, videos without eyewear.
Developed in Canada at Spatial View, the “3DeeSlide” requires the slide screen, which looks like the average screen protector for your IPad, IPhone or IPod. However you slide it on each time you want 3D, it is not something you want to look through if reading a fine print newspaper online. So you use a case, like the ones you use to protect your device, only with one end open to put the slide screen in.
The screen is auto-stereoscopic, meaning essentially crystals. Now you need content, as movie studios, games providers, video companies and online photo labs should make auto-stereoscopic an option. In the 60 days since I have been testing the product, the successful launch of the Spatial View has drawn numerous content providers to its side.
Enough providers now that Spatial View is working on a removable screen cover for laptops called the 3DeeFlector – and I’m hoping that one day they will be able to do it for the big-screen HD in the living room. That way I won’t have to buy one of these new 3D big-screens after I just laid out the dough for this 50” 1080p.
Plus 3D TVs, like the uber-trendy 3D movie theaters still require glasses, meaning you sit in your living room or theater looking like a 1950s nerd. Years from now they will laugh at the photos of audiences from the 2010s like they do from the 50s.
Whether auto-stereoscopic is the answer to this remains a question. But this company is certainly on the right track and innovators like this must be encouraged by the time Spider-Man 4 or Avatar 2 comes out. The people yearn to be glasses-free!
Next Spatial View is working on live 3D broadcast and 3d photos. According to a company spokesperson:
“You’ll be able to download 3D content or tune into a live 3D broadcast and experience the event on your home computer screen as if you were there. This fall, Spatial View will launch 3DeeCentral. It will be the only content distribution system to provide stereo 3D content on the iPhone and iPod touch, when used with Spatial View’s 3DeeSlide. 3D enthusiasts and creative professionals will be able to view and interact with compelling stereo 3D content in the home or on the move with their mobile, laptop and desktop devices.
With the introduction of digital stereo cameras, photography will never be the same. Imagine looking into the LCD screen of your digital camera and seeing the scene you’re about to shoot in 3D, with all the depth and realism that exists in the real world. Now imagine sharing those photos in auto-stereographic 3D on a variety of devices like your mobile, laptops or desktop. Spatial View’s solutions make that possible.”
5 responses so far ↓
1 SFVN - All for share // Jul 27, 2010 at 1:06 am
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2 Clyde // Jul 27, 2010 at 5:11 am
The “cumbersomeness” of 3D glasses is nothing compared to having to do the head “cha-cha” with lenticular / barrier based overlays such as these.
It’s alright to have it as a 3D photoframe and a single viewer option but nothing more.
It won’t be in the living room anytime soon, as past efforts from Stereographics (now RealD) , X3D, Opticality and Philips tried.
Autostereo displays (glasses less) technology has not matured enough.
And if that were not enough, you would need at least 4 to 5 cameras to “capture 3D content”. It’s easy to do that in CG, that’s why autostereo displays are used in Advertising and Signage… but try building a camera for live action that is effective in normal everyday movie-making scenarios.
using conventional 2view material and interpolating (synthesizing) new views creates less than spectacular 3D for these screens.
Oh..and the bigger the display..the more the edges Ghost due to limitations of the lenticular / barriers.
Regards.
3 Donna Teggart // Jul 27, 2010 at 12:42 pm
We agree that glasses-free (autostereoscopic) viewing of movies in theaters and on big screen TVs is still years away. The auto-stereoscopic displays you mention are fine for digital signage, where people are moving and stopping to look for a few seconds. However, it is a great way to attract attention and transmit the message in a new and innovative way.
On mobile personal viewing devices the experience is much different. In fact, glasses are less acceptable than in the living room. What Spatial View’s 3DeeSlide does accomplish, is provide a good S3D user experience on mobile devices to a single viewer. On laptops and other devices with front facing cameras, (iPhone 4 as an example), eye tracking is used to provide feedback and keep the eyes in the viewing cone, by dynamically adjusting the interlacing, so no need for the head “cha-cha” you mention. As to ghosting and other artifacts, we have done extensive research on the lenticular lens/LCD display interaction and have optimized the technology to minimize ghosting and moire, two of the most common criticisms you mention.
So although not yet perfect, our user testing indicates that our solution provides an enjoyable and positive S3D (auto-stereoscopic) experience on mobile and notebook platforms. We all know that glasses-free 3D is the holy grail, and are confident that as displays and S3D technology evolve, Jeffrey’s statement, “Years from now they will laugh at the photos of audiences from the 2010s like they do from the 50s” will be absolutely correct. We are hopeful that our work in multi-view generation, content adaptation and 2D to 3D conversion will be a significant contributor to the evolution of S3D.
4 Clyde // Jul 27, 2010 at 1:28 pm
Come to think of it, an IPAD or a laptop with such a slip on screen just may help people carry around a portfolio of their 3D work to show clients.( 3D short films, ad films, concept 3d models etc)
Using eye tracking is a great idea for laptops and the iphone and yes, that will help in centering the sweet-spot.
I will follow the development. Thanks for the insight.
5 Anthony Coogan // Jul 28, 2010 at 7:44 am
The comment… “The screen is auto-stereoscopic, meaning essentially crystals.”, I believe the word “crystals” in this instance may be incorrect. If the screen is lenticular, which I believe it is, it means there are a series of tiny lenses arranged vertically across the screen (each lens is actually a distal prism).
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