A new glasses-free 3D technology called Ultra-D has received much praise from the first people who have seen it in action. One of the TV folks said that it is "good enough to give me goose bumps during a 3D demonstration of Life of Pi". The first TVs with Ultra D will be out by year’s end.

Glasses-free 3D TVs coming before year’s end
Display makers have researched in glasses-free 3D technology for many years, and Toshiba actually launched the first glasses-free 3D TV some time ago but due to poor 3D technology and a high price, it never proved successful.

A company called Stream TV hopes to change glasses-free 3D technology with their Ultra D technology. The technology was first exhibited at CES but has been refined a lot in recent months. It works on both LCD/LED and OLED TVs and can reproduce 3D without any need for 3D glasses. It is reported that the 3D effect is upheld from all angles, near and far.


The Ultra D technology can reproduce 3D without 3D glasses

One of the first TV industry observers to experience the technology in action is Mark Henninger from AVSforum. He says, "I have never seen anything like it" and that the 3D effect was "good enough to give me goose bumps during a 3D demonstration of Life of Pi". He generally praises the 3D experience and points out only very few weaknesses.

The technology utilizes the extremely high 4K resolution, where enough pixels are available to create the illusion of 3D. 3D images on the TV are not rendered in full 4K resolution but are more detailed than Full HD, according to Stream TV. Additionally, Ultra D requires a chip in the TV that takes care of image processing, and a thin film in front of the TV that spreads light. The film does not affect 2D picture quality, viewing angles or brightness of the TV panel, according to the company.

Ultra D will be integrated into the first TVs before 2013 ends. More specifically in Chinese Hisense’s new Ultra HD TVs that will be available in USA and other markets in 50, 58 and 65 inch sizes. The technology is also heading for a 31-inch 4K PC monitor.

Dolby and Philips are working on a similar glasses-free 3D technology called Dolby 3D.

- Source: AVSforum & Stream TV