Follow Sony's patents to their logical conclusion and I think you end up with Vuzix goggles.
If you buy a 3D TV later in the year you may eventually get some bonus capabilities you never considered. According to recently filed patents, Sony is pursuing technology which would allow multiple people to view different images on the same screen. New 3D TVs use shuttering glasses that alternatively close the left and right lenses in time with alternating images on the monitor. Generally companies want to use this for stereoscopic displays (3D TV). Sony’s new patents wouldn’t be displaying a right and left image, but rather two completely different images. This means that Person A could be watching a cartoon on Channel 12 while Person B watches reality TV on Channel 5 as the TV rapidly switches between images and their glasses are tuned to different shuttering patterns. With the right shuttering algorithms you could display both channels in 3D as well. It’s a cool idea and one that could have a whole bunch of applications from video games to censoring television for kids. But we may do better by just making each pair of glasses be its own TV.
Here's the magical idea: the TV flashes different images at different times, matched by different shutters opening and closing on the glasses. Two people see different things thanks to the synchronization.
As I mentioned when we reviewed the developing 3D TV trend, one of the major drawbacks of these systems was that they require everyone to wear special glasses. These shuttering lenses may cost $50 or so a pair and you’d need a set for each person in your house, plus a few more for visitors. To me that investment is a little silly, but Sony’s new patents are making me take it serious. With these new shuttering protocols, one could essentially let each person with a pair of shuttering glasses to watch their own show. As one of the diagrams in the patents demonstrates, the glasses could be fit with ear buds so that each person could have their own audio as well. People could share the space but have their own personalized media experience.
That may sound a little anti-social, but there are some cool applications I can think. In video games, multiplayer games sometimes require you to split the screen so that each person gets their own viewpoint. Sony’s glasses would let each person use the full portion of the TV. Game developers could come up with many other uses for the technology such as quiz shows, sports, mazes – anything that benefits from giving different points of views to different players.
And that’s just in games. Kids and parents could watch TV at the same time but not watch the same channel. Parents can watch their scary adult-content crime procedurals, while kid’s watch even scarier edu-tainment. While I’m not one for censorship, TV could be broadcast with different censoring levels so parents can let their children watch shows with them, minus more graphic images and sounds. In business, a single screen could allow people to alternate between watching a shared image and switching to a personal one. This could allow for people to collaborate and tinker on their own at the same time. There are many more possible applications for personalized viewing in a shared space (I just thought of most of the above on the fly).
Add some ear buds..and you get personalized audio as well.
Once we each have our own glasses and our own audio and video, we’ve basically given each person their own TV. Which begs the question…why not just make the TVs the size of goggles and hand each person their own pair? Then you could have all the same benefits I just talked about, but you could take your TV-glasses anywhere, no need for a jumbo screen on a wall. And this technology is available right now from developers likes Vuzix. Their glasses are stereoscopic (just like the 3D TV) and there’s no limit on the number you can use in a room. Sony’s new patents look to be working on just 2-4 channels on the same screen. Not only that, but in a shared TV system, each new channel is degrading quality as each image has less time to be on the screen. When each person has their own goggles, quality stays the same no matter which channel you watch. There are other trade-offs such as screen resolution, eye fatigue, and comfort that may balance things in favor of the 3D TV systems…but the goggle TV idea is still pretty enticing.
So, would you rather buy a $4000 3D TV and half a dozen $50 glasses, or just shell out $400 a pop for 3D TV goggles? I’m starting to get the feeling that the really successful 3D TVs of the future could just be a small HD tuner box that broadcasts to everyone’s TV goggles in the house. I mean, c’mon – if you’re going to give everyone their own personalized viewing experience, why do it half-ass?
Two guys, two shows, one TV.
[image credit: US Patents via Free Patents Online]
[source: US Patent #20100177172, US Patent #20100177174]
Comments
This was done 5 years ago at comdex in a display for the Texas Instrument DLP chip display – same screen and 3 different video feeds based on the \”channel\” that your glasses were set to – looked great and they said it was running at 600hz.
There was also a display using a fresnel lens in front of a plasma display with alternating vertical lines which would send the information alternating from left to right so that the person on the left saw one interleaved video and the person on the left saw another – was shown in two applications – a living room with Football and Oprah, and a car with Nav to the driver and a DVD to the passenger.
Ok, how many people would love this for PVP video games with friends. No more split screen. Full screen action for both players!
very pleasure to visit this site. nice post. thanks for sharing.
man 3d is taking off. they now have touchable 3d and they are coming out with 3d displays that you dont need glasses for. crazy stuff. i still think its a bit of a gimmick though.
man 3d is taking off. they now have touchable 3d and they are coming out with 3d displays that you dont need glasses for. crazy stuff. i still think its a bit of a gimmick though.
i never anticipated 3d technology to lift off so significantly. I have been hearing a great deal in the media latley regarding products that are soon to be produced. 3d will likely be everywhere in the future.
i never anticipated 3d technology to lift off so significantly. I have been hearing a great deal in the media latley regarding products that are soon to be produced. 3d will likely be everywhere in the future.
I had the exact same idea. Always a day late and a dollar short
A couple of months ago I started to look at the technology of the 3D and figured it had to be shuttered glasses. It is old technology. Then I thought about instead of 3D, with left and right images alternating, put all the “left” channel through one set of glasses and all the “right” channel through another set of glasses (instead of left and right in each set of glasses). So I started looking up keywords and patents today and was very disappointed. Wouldn’t it have been interesting if I could have written up a patent and beaten Sony? I bet I would have gotten a phone call and a handsome offer to seell 
I had the exact same idea. Always a day late and a dollar short
A couple of months ago I started to look at the technology of the 3D and figured it had to be shuttered glasses. It is old technology. Then I thought about instead of 3D, with left and right images alternating, put all the “left” channel through one set of glasses and all the “right” channel through another set of glasses (instead of left and right in each set of glasses). So I started looking up keywords and patents today and was very disappointed. Wouldn’t it have been interesting if I could have written up a patent and beaten Sony? I bet I would have gotten a phone call and a handsome offer to seell 
It needs a bunch of idiots who are willing to fry their brains while paying through the nose for it.
But I am sure they will find them.
LUX E-Cigarette
It needs a bunch of idiots who are willing to fry their brains while paying through the nose for it.
But I am sure they will find them.
LUX E-Cigarette
Great article.
Coyotl – Vuzix doesn’t do a lot of advertising, which may explain the lack of “buzz”.
Great article.
Coyotl – Vuzix doesn’t do a lot of advertising, which may explain the lack of “buzz”.
Aaron, since you brought up the Vuzix glasses, I thought I’d ask your opinion about why there isn’t more buzz about video glasses? It seems wierd to me that they are still kind of low key. I would say its the price point, but then 3D TV is getting hype and it ain’t exactly cheap. HUDS and video glasses seem the next step to break free of larger and larger screens and rinky dink smartphone screens. It just seems strange that there isn’t more buzz about them yet.
Aaron, since you brought up the Vuzix glasses, I thought I’d ask your opinion about why there isn’t more buzz about video glasses? It seems wierd to me that they are still kind of low key. I would say its the price point, but then 3D TV is getting hype and it ain’t exactly cheap. HUDS and video glasses seem the next step to break free of larger and larger screens and rinky dink smartphone screens. It just seems strange that there isn’t more buzz about them yet.