Understanding 3D technology
Ever wonder how they do it? There are actually 3 major types of 3D technology being pioneered right now - Anaglyph, Eclipse and Autostereroscopic.
Anaglyph
Simple enough. These are the older style, rarely seen anymore except on the backs of cereal boxes. Two images, one red and one green and slightly offset from each other. You are given a pair of glasses, one lens is red the other is blue. The red lens sees the blue image and the blue lens sees the red image. Because your brain is a lot less awesome than you think it is, even though you KNOW this is happening, it will still compose both images into one and you get 3D!
Eclipse
This is the newer method. What happens is that during the projection of the image, it rapidly switches between a “left” and “right” version. The glasses you wear for this are synced with the refresh rate of these images. Meaning, when the image switches the glasses adjust so you are seeing it through the correct eye. This happens very fast (you won’t notice) and so your brain, again, sees 3D. The problem with this technique is that it is being pushed by TV manufacturers. Of course, since each pair of glasses need to be synced to the refresh rate of the TV, you can’t use your Sony 3D glasses with Panasonic 3D TV’s.
Autostereroscopic
This is the brand new approach. No one had anything similar that was a viable consumer ready application until Nintendo announced the 3DS. It works essentially like those old “3D” stickers that were ridged. This means that you get 3D without the glasses!
There you have it, a break down of 3D basics. Now when someone goes “3D movies are awesome” you can reply “only because your brain isn’t”.
