3-D TV and Gaming: Apple To The Rescue?
So far, sales of 3-D TVs haven’t exactly set the world on fire. Maybe… just maybe… that might change. Maybe.
Our friends at Apple have told the London Daily Telegraph they’re working on new 3-D technology that would function without special glasses. Oh, and it handles holographic images as well.
Apple’s patent reads: “An exceptional aspect of the invention is that it can produce viewing experiences that are virtuallyindistinguishable from viewing a true hologram. Such a ‘pseudo-holographic’
image is a direct result of the ability to track and respond to observer movements.”
OK. Wow. They didn’t say when this technology will become available, but Apple hopes to apply it to computers, to televisions and to movie screens.
Leander Kahney, who wrote a book called The Cult of Mac, noted “As well as
watching 3-D movies, Apple’s system would have a ton of applications in science, engineering, design and education, while 3-D iPhones and iPads would be killer. It’s easy to imagine things like amazing 3-D textbooks and instructional videos. 3-D gaming on an iPad would be an incredibly immersive gaming experience.”
The problem isn’t technology. It’s content. Thus far I haven’t come across a single movie that motivated me to spend the money to see the 3-D version, and of course my 3-D cable channel remains unlit. I’m not sure what it’ll take to get my business, but if 3-D follows the trends of previous media launches, it’ll be the porn industry that makes it happen.
If it works the way it reads, it’ll be amazing (as if that wasn’t obvious). I have no interest in a 3-D TV now partly because of my desire not to wear bulky 3-D glasses over my normal ones, but mostly because there’s virtually no 3-D content that interests me.
Yup. I’m with you 100%, Brandon. But if it happens, it’ll be fun to see George Lucas go back and remake all of his movies still once again.
Isn’t he already updating them for a 3-D theatrical release? I thought I read that somewhere.
It does not, in fact, involve holograms – it involves “pseudo-holographic” images.
I suspect that they mean that it produces a 2D image that changes relative to the viewer’s position and thus appears to be three dimensional and floating in space behind the picture plane – like this one.
I can’t find the article from a couple years ago about a guy who modified some Wii gear to simulate the effect, but here’s a guy who has carried it further for a science-fair project and actually uses it with (anaglyph) 3D images…
(He’s 16, BTW.)
If it works the way it reads, it'll be amazing (as if that wasn't obvious). I have no interest in a 3-D TV now partly because of my desire not to wear bulky 3-D glasses over my normal ones, but mostly because there's virtually no 3-D content that interests me.
Yup. I'm with you 100%, Brandon. But if it happens, it'll be fun to see George Lucas go back and remake all of his movies still once again.
Isn't he already updating them for a 3-D theatrical release? I thought I read that somewhere.
It does not, in fact, involve holograms – it involves "pseudo-holographic" images.I suspect that they mean that it produces a 2D image that changes relative to the viewer's position and thus appears to be three dimensional and floating in space behind the picture plane – like this one.I can't find the article from a couple years ago about a guy who modified some Wii gear to simulate the effect, but here's <a href="http://www.ottawacitizen.com/Lisgar+student+takes+next+level+science+fair/4006139/story.html" rel="nofollow">a guy who has carried it further for a science-fair project and actually uses it with (anaglyph) 3D images…(He's 16, BTW.)