Coming soon... 3D TV

David Harding|Metro11 April 2012
The Weekender

Sign up to our free weekly newsletter for exclusive competitions, offers and theatre ticket deals

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

TV, computer games and even photographs could soon be viewed in 3D - and nobody will have to wear green and red glasses.

It has been made possible by a breakthrough in using liquid crystal displays like those found computer monitors and watches. Scientists were able to transform the LCDs into 3D screens by putting one over another.

The technique has still to be refined to overcome key drawbacks.

Viewers must sit within an inch or so of the ideal position to be able to see an image clearly. That also means only one person at a time can see the screen.

The technology involves a device called a 'parallax barrier', which separates the LCDs into a series of vertical and opaque stripes.

The barrier can block out images from being shown to the left eye and show them only to the right eye and vice-versa.

The effect can be reversed just by turning off the barrier, which means

the viewer will have a choice of whether to view images in the traditional way or in 3D.

And it is not just TV viewers who are set to benefit, reports New Scientist magazine.

The technique, developed in Oxford by Japanese giant Sharp, can also be used to transform images on mobile phones, computer games and even holiday snaps.

It has already proved popular in Japan, where mobile phones that take photos can have their images converted into 3D.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in