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Off with their specs

Toshiba has been working on developing glasses-free 3D technology. Speaking at the IFA International expo in Berlin, Marco Perino, General Manager EMEA of Digital Products and Services, explains the background of the integral imaging concept to RICHARD BARNS.

The‚ÄàIntegral‚ÄàImaging‚Äàconcept‚Äàwe‚Äà use‚Äà to‚Äà deliver‚Äà glassesfree‚Äà 3D‚Äà was‚Äà developed‚Äà in‚Äàthe‚Äàearly‚Äà20th‚Äàcentury‚Äàby‚Äàthe‚Äàphysicist‚Äàand‚ÄàNobel‚Äàlaureate‚ÄàGabriel Lippmann.

To‚Äàperceive‚Äàa‚Äà3D‚Äàimpression,‚Äàthe‚Äà left‚Äà and‚Äà the right eye‚Äàneed‚Äàto‚Äàsee‚Äàdifferent‚Äàimages‚Äàwith‚Äàdifferent‚Äàparallaxes.‚ÄàThe‚Äàhuman‚Äà brain‚Äà superimposes‚Äàthose‚Äà two‚Äà images‚Äà to‚Äà turn‚Äàthe information into a 3D picture.‚Äà Until‚Äà now,‚Äà 3D‚Äà TVs‚Äàhave‚Äàrequired‚Äàthe‚Äàviewer‚Äàto‚Äàwear‚Äà special‚Äà glasses‚Äà with‚Äàintegrated‚Äàfilters‚Äàto‚Äàseparate‚Äàthe information for the left and‚Äà right‚Äà eye.‚Äà However,‚Äàan‚Äà alternative‚Äà solution‚Äà to‚Äàproviding‚Äàthe‚Äàtwo‚Äàeyes‚Äàwith‚Äàdifferent‚Äàinformation‚Äàalready‚Äàexisted:‚Äàthe‚Äàintegral‚Äàimaging method.

But,‚Äà although‚Äà it‚Äà had‚Äàbeen‚Äà understood‚Äà for‚Äàmore‚Äà than‚Äà a‚Äà century,‚Äànobody‚Äà had‚Äà succeeded‚Äà in‚Äàmaking‚Äà integral‚Äà imaging‚Äàcommercially‚Äà available.‚ÄàToshiba’s‚Äà engineers‚Äà made‚Äàthe‚Äàbreakthrough‚Äà and,‚Äà in‚ÄàDecember‚Äà 2010,‚Äà the‚Äà first‚Äà3D‚Äàglasses-free‚ÄàTVs‚Äàwent‚Äàon‚Äàsale‚Äàin‚ÄàJapan.

Why are you investing so much effort into this particular technology?

Our‚Äàresearch‚Äàshows‚Äàthat‚Äàthe‚Äàmost‚Äàcommon‚Äàreason‚Äàfor‚Äànot‚Äàbuying‚Äàa‚Äà3D‚ÄàTV‚Äàis‚Äàthe‚Äàneed‚Äàto‚Äà wear‚Äà glasses.‚Äà Sixty-eight‚Äàper‚Äà cent‚Äà of‚Äà our‚Äà research‚Äàgroup‚Äà described‚Äà glasses‚Äà as‚Äà‚annoying’,‚Äàso‚Äàthere’s‚Äàa‚Äàclear‚Äàdemand.‚Äà And‚Äà we‚Äà are‚Äà not‚Äàlimiting‚Äà this‚Äà technology‚Äà to‚ÄàTVs‚Äà ‚Äî‚Äà Toshiba‚Äà is‚Äà preparing‚Äàto‚Äà launch‚Äà a‚Äà full‚Äà range‚Äà of‚Äàglasses-free‚Äà 3D‚Äà products‚Äàfrom‚Äà TVs‚Äà and‚Äà laptops‚Äà to‚Äàall-in-one‚Äà computers‚Äà and‚Äàtablets.

How close are you to getting these glasses-free 3D products to market?

Several‚Äà products have‚Äàalready‚Äàbeen‚Äàshipped‚Äàthe‚ÄàQosmio‚ÄàF750‚Äà3D‚Äàlaptop‚Äàfor‚Äàexample‚Äàand‚Äàmore‚Äàwill‚Äàbe‚Äàon‚Äàsale‚Äàby‚Äàthe‚Äàend‚Äàof‚Äà2011,‚Äàsuch‚Äà as‚Äà the‚Äà ZL2‚Äà family‚Äà of‚Äà40-inch-plus‚ÄàTVs.‚ÄàOur‚Äàhighend‚Äàglasses free‚Äà3D‚Äàproducts‚Äàare‚Äà largely‚Äà targeted‚Äà at‚Äàtechnology‚Äà enthusiasts and‚Äàearly‚Äàadopters.‚ÄàNevertheless,‚Äàwe‚Äàbelieve‚Äàthat,‚Äàby‚Äàthe‚Äàend‚Äàof‚Äà 2012,‚Äà some‚Äà of‚Äà these‚Äàproducts‚Äà will‚Äà have‚Äà reached‚Äàthe‚Äàmass‚Äàmarket.

What’s new from Toshiba at IFA?

We are‚Äà launching‚Äà 16‚Äàproducts‚Äà from‚Äà across‚Äà our‚ÄàTV ,‚Äà PC‚Äà and‚Äà multimedia‚Äàranges,‚Äà including‚Äà two‚Äà new‚Äà3D-TV‚Äàproducts:‚Äàthe‚ÄàToshiba‚Äàglasses-free‚Äà 3D‚Äà TV‚Äà 55ZL2‚Äà and‚Äàthe‚ÄàToshiba‚Äà3D‚ÄàTV‚ÄàRL838‚Äàand‚ÄàTL838/868‚Äàranges.‚ÄàThe‚Äà55ZL2‚Äàis‚Äàthe‚Äàworld’s‚Äàfirst‚Äàlarge-screen,‚Äà glasses-free‚Äà3D‚Äà TV ,‚Äàwhile‚Äàthe‚ÄàRL‚Äàand‚ÄàTL‚Äàsets‚Äà deliver‚Äà home-network‚Äàintegration,‚Äàweb‚Äàaccess‚Äàand‚Äà3D‚ÄàTV‚Äàat‚Äàa‚Äàreasonable‚Äàprice.‚ÄàWe are‚Äà also‚Äà launching‚Äàtwo‚Äà new‚Äà Blu-ray‚Äà players‚Äà‚Äî‚Äà the‚Äà BDX1250KE‚Äà and‚ÄàBDX2250KE‚Äà offer‚Äà Full-HD‚ÄàBlu-ray‚Äà playback,‚Äà while‚Äà the‚ÄàBDX2250KE‚Äà also‚Äà supports‚Äàvideo‚Äà and‚Äà photo‚Äà web‚Äàservices.

The  Toshiba  Tablet  AT200 is  a  new  ultra-thin  25.7cm (10.1  inch)  tablet  that  is only  7.7mm  thick.  And  a very exciting launch for the company  is  the  Qosmio DX730, which is a complete entertainment hub providing high-end  audio,  video and computing performance. In  the  multimedia  area, we  are  expanding  the Camileo  X  series  with  the X200  and  X400  Full  HD digital  camcorders,  as  well as the  mini  Camileo  Clip —  an  extremely  small  and lightweight  digital  action camcorder  with  Full  HD resolution

* This article is reproduced in Gadget courtesy of IFA International, Official daily news source for international visitors at IFA

* Follow Gadget on Twitter on @gadgetza

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