Toshiba Slams Down 8-Inch 3D Display, No Glasses Needed

The dream of a full-sized 3D TV that can work perfectly without glasses may be a way off still, but small panels can pull it off a bit more easily, and Toshiba appears to have enabled just that for a new 8-inch LCD.

The problem with no-glasses 3D screens is that they somehow need to project multiple instances of the same two sets of images.

Normally, 3D screens work by sending two image sets, one for each individual eye, which then get synchronized by glasses.

When glasses are not present, the panel must compensate, but this still means that the number of viewpoints form which the image is clearly seen is limited.

With displays meant for portable and/or small devices, this is easier to deal with, since users will hold the display close and usually up front anyway.

Toshiba, apparently, is the company that most recently claimed to have made a viable tablet 3D panel.

Granted, no one actually specifically said that the panel would end up in a tablet at any point in time, close or otherwise, but that it would “make sense” was allowed.

The folks over at Engadget are the ones who managed to get a close look at it during this year's SID Display Week.

The screen does not have the 10-inch form factor, like one would expect, but it does have a diagonal of 8 inches.

The 3D effect is only clearly enjoyable if one looks at it straight, as expected but, then again, no glasses-free panel in existence really has a way to remove that problem.

Either way, as one will no doubt be unsurprised to learn, there is no information on when practical implementations will be shown. Until some details emerge, those interested can check out the video which the Engadget team managed to shoot, embedded below.