IBM demos low-cost 3D TV techAt the 22nd annual Flat Information Displays conference sponsored by iSuppli here, IBM's display laboratories demonstrated a low-cost way to get high-resolution 3D images from a large-screen television or home-cinema projector that's already on the market.
Santoro wouldn't release all the specifics of the IBM technology, which does not yet have an official name, but he did say the software is compatible with all OpenGL and Direct3D applications, which are widely used in PC video games. The converter box can be retrofitted onto existing projectors for a little more than US$1,000, Santoro said. That's a fraction of the cost of competing products such as the ZScreen monitor, which retails starting at US$1,895. IBM's hardware is compatible with current VESA three-pin stereo interfaces. Viewing traditional 3D content in the theater or on a television screen required two projectors. The new generation of digital projectors, such as the one IBM demonstrated, translates 3D content with just one machine, alternating rapidly between images meant to be seen by the right and left eyes. The technology used in the "Chicken Little" film shows 144 frames per second, for example. In one example, Santoro showed amateur footage of a high school basketball game that was shot in 3D. "This is just in the testing phase now, but many sports broadcasters have expressed an interest in showing games in 3D," Santoro said. "Imagine 'Monday Night Football' in 3D. I'm a big football fan, so for me that would be great."
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