Glasses-free 3D TVs haven't really taken off yet, but that may change if Netherlands-based Dimenco's Kickstarter campaign proves successful. The company is developing a 4K-resolution 3D TV featuring a 39-inch display that's being pitched to early backers for €899 (about US$1,250).
What sets Dimenco's 3D TV apart from other models and research efforts is the patented technique that's used to create a special lenticular lens, allowing viewers to see images in 3D. Each lenticular lens contains many micro lenses that fractures the light emitted through it and sends it in different directions. This allows different images to be projected on each of the viewer's eyes, resulting in a 3D effect. The lens is optically bonded to a 4K resolution LCD panel and additionally integrated with a 3D image processor to create the Dimenco display.
Even though viewers can experience 3D at a resolution of 3840 x 2160, the lenticular overlay reduces the visible resolution to around 1080p in 2D mode, which the company claims is comparable to a Full HD TV. A specially developed chip enables real-time processing of all the inputs into the format required by the display.
One of the major issues that glassed-free 3D TV manufacturers have had to deal with is that of restricted viewing angles. Typically there's a "sweet spot" viewing angle, and if the viewer shifts their head a bit, the image gets blurry. Some systems try to work around this issue by attempting to track the viewer's eye positions, but that becomes problematic if more than one person wants to watch TV.
Dimenco claims that its unique optical overlay solves this issue, enabling the displays to offer multiple 3D views over a 150 degree viewing angle that not only allows multiple viewers, but also allows viewers to change positions when they're watching TV, regardless of sideways movement and distance from the screen.
The team is currently working on adding speakers and more TV input and output functionality to their prototype.
Check out the Kickstarter pitch video below.
Sources: Dimenco, Kickstarter
