Japan’s electronics colossus Toshiba has said Monday that it is all set to launch the world’s first glasses-free, liquid crystal display 3D television.
The television, Regza GL1 series will be available in Japan from the end of December this year and will come in 12-inch and 20-inch sets. The Dow Jones Newswires have reported that the expected cost of the new television line is not to be sniffed at: the 20-inch model will sell for 240,000 yen, which is roughly $2,800, while the 12-inch version will be half that.
The new television is a breakthrough for 3D technology, which currently requires users to wear special glasses which separate and filter the image to each eye, which creates the illusion of depth and the 3D effect.
Recently television makers have turned to 3D sets in order to try and boost the sale of new television and reverse the increasingly rapid slide in television prices. The key challenge in creating glasses-free sets has been the problem of enabling a group of viewers to see the 3D effects from different angles.
The new Toshiba screens utilize processing technology, which enables depth-filled viewing from any angle.
Rival technology giant Sharp unveiled earlier in the year small screens for LCD touchscreens that can be used in 3D without glasses for applications such as mobile phones and cameras as well as video game consoles. They are set to be released in Japan in early 2011.
Toshiba says it plans on adding larger screen 3D televisions to its 3D series, as well as personal viewing screens.
