By Rishabh Prasad:
Ever wondered how it would feel to be on the field with the players of an ongoing sport event being shown on your television just by sitting on your couch and relaxing. Now the time has come; what you imagine is right there in the market or we can say Science and Technology has evolved beyond your imagination. With 3D TVs, what we see is a whole new face of television. Nowadays, we see 3D movies at movie theatres but to imagine it at home is not crazy anymore. Delivering lifelike action that leaps off the screen, it adds new meaning to the term “reality television.”
How it works? Since our eyes are spaced apart, each eye sees things at slightly different angles. Our brains then combine the two angles, giving us true depth perception. A 3D television is a television set that employs techniques of 3D presentation, such as stereoscopic capture, multi-view capture, or 2D plus depth, and a 3D display – a special viewing device to project a television program into a realistic three-dimensional field. Stereoscopy (also known as 3D imaging) is the most widely accepted method for capturing and delivering 3D video. It involves capturing stereo pairs in a two-view setup, with cameras mounted side by side, and separated by the same distance as between a person’s pupils. If we imagine projecting an object point in a scene along the line-of-sight (for each eye, in turn) to a flat background screen, we may describe the location of this point mathematically.
These evolved televisions, when operating in 3D mode, also require users to wear LCD shutter glasses, where the TV tells the glasses which eye should see the image being exhibited at the moment, creating a stereoscopic image. These TV sets usually support HDMI 1.4 and a minimum (input and output) refresh rate of 120 Hz; glasses may be sold separately.
Watching a wildlife show on the Discovery Channel in which you can almost feel the dirt particles enter into your eyes is so much fun. Playing a 3D car racing game with the trees just passing by your head as you drive along is thrilling. Watching soccer is again an experience beyond explanations.
As of January 2010, Samsung, LG, Toshiba, Philips, Sony, and Panasonic all had plans to introduce 3D capabilities (mostly in higher-end models). Samsung has plans to launch 3D LED TVs in India. Sony is already out in the market with its Bravia 3D LCD TVs. LG, in partnership with the Valuable Group, is also getting ready to serve the 3D experience. Philips was developing a 3D TV which would not require any special glasses for viewing and had plans to make it available in the consumer market by 2011 but it was cancelled due to economic crisis and the slow adaptation of consumers from 2D to 3D. ESPN and Discovery have already started 3D broadcasts. ESPN has confirmed 3D broadcasts of the World Cup, Summer X Games and a long list of football and basketball games. Another player to get on the 3D bandwagon, the Indian Premier League, is set to telecast matches live in 3D.
You don’t just watch it, you live it.