Samsung Shows 55-inch 3-D TV That Doesn't Require Glasses ~ Technology And Information

There are plenty of 3-D TVs to choose from, but many consumers aren't comfortable paying more than $100 per pair of 3-D glasses. Samsung unveiled one potential alternative: a 55-inch 3-D TV that requires no glasses.

At the FPD China convention, Samsung is demoing a prototype of this new 3-D TV to attendees. The technology blog Tech-On! got a good look at it and reports that it can switch easily from 3-D to 2-D viewing.

The Samsung 3-D TV uses a special filter in the screen that changes the optical refraction index, making it possible to switch from 2-D to 3-D and back. The prototype uses older CCFL backlighting, but Samsung said the production model will likely use the more current LED backlighting technology.

Unfortunately, glasses-free 3-D technology still has some limitations. The Samsung TV only has nine points in front of the set where a viewer can properly see a 3-D image. And the optimal viewing distance is much tighter than other TVs, at 2.5 to 6 meters.

Samsung said this 3-D TV isn't ready for consumers yet, and it will probably be three years before the company brings it to market.(technewsdaily)