Is Glasses-Free 3D Finally Ready?
Ultra-D looks very fascinating. Ultra-D is a way for converting existing 2D or 3D content to a glasses-free 3D, 4K format. This is exciting because, as they state, it can be incorporated into existing TVs, tablets, and pretty much any screen. I imagine there is some limitation, but the press release doesn’t mention any. If anything, this helps to push 3D innovation to make it easier to use, and more ubiquitous.
PR after the break.
ABOUT THE TECHNOLOGY
Ultra-D™
Ultra-D is the only proprietary glasses-free “real-life” 3D technology that delivers BOTH display and content conversion, which means, unlike other companies/technology in the new glasses-free 3D space, Ultra-D technology doesn’t require the human eye to do all the work. Ultra-D converts all content (even non-3D) into stunning and realistic detail, alleviating complaints of motion sickness, limited viewing angles and the need to be in a “sweet spot” to see images in 3D. A room full of people can simultaneously experience Ultra-D’s vibrant no-glasses-required 3D. Any sense of “gimmicky” looking 3D is eliminated by use of Ultra-D’s patented hardware, middleware and sophisticated-software algorithms, which visually transport TV, computer or any other platform/device viewer, into an unrivaled real-world 3D experience.
Ultra-D™ is the result of years of research and development in the field of 3D optical delivery. Ultra-D™ is a proprietary combination of hardware and software in perfect sync. It introduces a proprietary optical stack to a standard Plasma/LCD/LED/OLED panel that directs light from the sub-pixel level at an optimal angle to create a 3D image for the human eye.
The result is a state of the art display that allows the unassisted human eye to view live and recorded content in true glasses free 3D – or “free-D” – enabling the freedom to enjoy depth, detail and clarity in a totally immersive viewing experience free of clumsy glasses, like opening a window to a world that is just beyond reach. Behind the scenes, there is a vigorous play by a matrix of sophisticated software algorithms that scan incoming feeds to decipher the different layers that may be used to generate depth. Once identified, they are given depth that may be either user-defined or computer-generated and packaged into the Ultra-D™ 2160p format. All this happens in microseconds, keeping the video latency to levels that cannot be discerned by the human eye. This is what auto stereoscopic 3D or Glasses Free 3D should be.
THE RESULT IS A GREAT 3D VIEWING EXPERIENCE – NO GLASSES REQUIRED!
The World of Ultra-D™
Devices
Ultra-D™ technology is adaptable to panels of nearly any size and is compatible with touch screen features as well. This means that consumers can have a seamless experience with virtually any device – televisions, tablets, smartphones, portable game players, laptops, all-in-one computers and more – with resolutions up to 2160p.
Content Delivery
Since conversion into Ultra-D™ 2160p format and 3D rendering are done locally, content owners do not need to convert their original programs to our glasses-free 3D format, nor will distributors need to invest in additional bandwidth to deliver high-resolution content. The existing infrastructure can take full advantage of benefits offered by the Ultra-D™2160p format.
Ultra-D™ 2160p
(Ultra High Definition) panels consist of 4K x 2K active pixels or precisely 3840×2160 pixels in a panel with a 16:9 aspect ratio. This translates into 8.3 million pixels that project an image as opposed to a 1080p (HD) panel with 1920 x 1080 pixels or 2 million pixels.
Stream TV Networks, Inc. and its R&D subsidiary SeeCubic, B.V have developed a groundbreaking technology that provides a true glasses-free 3D viewing experience. A proprietary software algorithm in our seeCube™ 4K converter device takes the original 1080p input signal and from the pixel and occlusion data builds additional pixels. These new pixels are incorporated then processed along with the original pixel data as a 2160p auto-stereoscopic Ultra-D format signal by Stream TV Networks’ proprietary rendering chip, which results in an ultra high definition Glasses Free 3D view on the Ultra-D™ 2160p enabled display. Image quality as seen on the display will be dependent on both input quality and input resolution, so a 1080p Blu-ray full-frame 3D HD signal will look better than a side-by-side squeezed file, which will look better than a standard definition DVD, etc. The seeCube™ 4K is significant for two reasons: (1) it can convert both 2D content and 3D with glasses into 2160p glasses-free 3D in real time and (2) the viewing experience is fully user adjustable allowing you to customize the 3D to your liking!