/ 08.26.2010 12:00AM
Reports: Toshiba and Sony Prepare Glasses-free 3DTV
TOKYO: Toshiba plans to roll out glasses-free 3DTV
sets by the end of the year, according a Japanese newspaper article that caught
fire on the Web. CNet News said the
article in Yomiyuri
was not confirmed
nor denied by Toshiba.
A company spokeswoman told inquiring U.S. news outlets only that Toshiba was
indeed working on the technology. Techno
Gadgets said three models, including a 21-inch display, are in the
pipeline for a holiday season retail launch. The new imaging system is said to
emit light rays from various angles to produce the illusion of 3D.
Sony is also working on glasses-free 3DTV technology, according to a report
from
The
Press Association. A Sony executive told the U.K. wire service that
cost and technical obstacles had to be worked out before a retail launch could
be planned.
Glasses-free TV isn’t a new phenomena. Alioscopy, a French imaging company,
demonstrated glasses-free 3D displays two years ago in Singapore, according to
SlashGear.
Philips was said to have similar display technology. More have been popping up
over the last few months. A Tokyo company, NewSigh Japan, demonstrated a
70-inch glasses-free 3DTV set at Japan FineTech in April. The set used
parallax-barrier technology. (See “Glasses-free 3DTV
Demonstrated”) A company by the name of StreamTV was offering
glasses-free 3DTVs on Amazon in April as well. (See “More
Glasses-free 3DTVs Appear”)
LG Electronics showed a liquid lens, glasses-free 3DTV at the Society for
Information Display trade show in May. LG didn’t indicate a possible release
date for the technology at time.
-- Deborah D. McAdams