Toshiba LCD Prototype Displays 2D and 3D Simultaneously

The wonder of 3D is a phrase often accompanied by its not so beloved sibling, the woes of 3D. Basically, 3D displays have, thus far, been a bitter-sweet solution, as the immersion and viewing experience is genuinely enhanced, but only if one can bring him/herself to actually put the glasses on, and keep them there. To circumvent this problem altogether, panel makers have been experimenting with various techniques meant to enable glasses-free 3D.

Some prototypes of eye gear-free displays have emerged over time, but neither was actually able to truly be called a solution, because they either had a narrow viewing angle, a low visibility or were simply not far enough along on the development track. Some unusual inventions have cropped out, however, and the most recent one has just been demonstrated at SID 2010.

The one to awe bystanders this time is none other than Toshiba. What the company did was come up with a 12-inch screen that can supposedly display both 2D images and 3D images at the very same time. Apparently, the “integral imaging method” that has been in development provides nine viewpoints, by means of the "GRIN (gradient index) lens," which controls the gradient (orientation) of liquid crystal molecules and, thus, changes the distribution of refraction indexes. The pixel count of the screen is 1440 x 1050 for 2D, while 3D images are displayed in a resolution of 466 x 350.

The LCD that generates the GRIN lens is positioned in front of the LCD that actually displays the images. 2D is shown when the GRIN panel is turned off. When the power is turned on, the crystal molecules arrange radially, in parallel with the electrodes arranged like stripes in the vertical direction. Displaying 2D and 3D at the same time is possible by only partially turning on this second panel. Unfortunately, the technology is in early prototype stages, which means one may never actually see products based on it inside stores.