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I'm working on a stereoscopy application in C++ and OpenGL (for medical image visualization). From what I understand, the technology was quite big news about 10 years ago but it seems to have died down since. Now, many companies seem to be investing in the technology... Including nVidia it would seem.

Stereoscopy is also known as "3D Stereo", primarily by nVidia (I think).

Does anyone see stereoscopy as a major technology in terms of how we visualize things? I'm talking in both a recreational and professional capacity.

Nick Bolton
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With nVidia's 3D kit you don't need to "make a stereoscopy application", drivers and video card take care of that. 10 years ago there was good quality stereoscopy with polarized glasses and extremely expensive monitors and low quality stereoscopy with red/cyan glasses. What you have now is both cheap and good quality. Right now all you need is 120Hz LCD, entry level graphics card and $100 shutter glasses.

So no doubt about it, it will be the next big thing. At least in entertainment.

vartec
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  • Ah, interesting. I was under the impression that 120Hz LCDs weren't available - perhaps I've been living in the past with the CRT sitting on my desk. Could you point me in the right direction? – Nick Bolton Mar 20 '09 at 11:25
  • For example Nvidia bundles it's kit with Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ. Sony sales 200Hz LCD Bravia Z since last year. 120Hz LCD is pretty much standard now. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_interpolation – vartec Mar 20 '09 at 11:39
  • BTW. You're serious about having CRT on your desk? Wow! – vartec Mar 20 '09 at 11:50
  • Haha, yes, I'd read in so many places that LCD doesn't support over 80Hz, and I believed it since that appeared to be common knowledge; I guess all the material I read must have been ancient and defunct. As a result of this, I bought a CRT. Now I feel a little embarrassed! – Nick Bolton Mar 20 '09 at 15:24
  • I bought it about 2 years ago mind. Since when has >80Hz been around? – Nick Bolton Mar 20 '09 at 15:25
  • Well, it was true about 2 years ago. The thing is, that fast LCD are TN, which don't give you colors as rich, as IPS or VA. – vartec Mar 20 '09 at 15:29
  • BTW. most entry level LCD still are 60Hz, although as long as you don't need stereoscopy, it doesn't really mater. – vartec Mar 20 '09 at 15:32
  • @vartec - I have 2 crt's on my desk :( – RYFN Mar 20 '09 at 16:37
  • @Zeus one for each eye, perfect for stereoscopy ;-) – vartec Mar 20 '09 at 17:05
  • I'm struggling to find a 120Hz LCD... Could someone name a few brands or models? – Nick Bolton Mar 22 '09 at 21:53
  • Ones explicitly named by Nvidia: Samsung SyncMaster 2233RZ and ViewSonic FuHzion VX2265wm. I'm sure there are more. It's a bit hard to find them though, as refresh Hz it's not something that's important LCD spec, so most don't even specify this. – vartec Mar 23 '09 at 08:52
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One reason why it is probably coming back is due to the fact that we know have screens with high enough refreshrate so that 3D is possible. I think I read that you will need somewhere around 100Hz for 3D-TV. So, no need for bulky glasses anymore.

Edit: To reiterate: You no longer need glasses in order to have 3D TV. This article was posted in a swedish magazine a few weeks ago: http://www.nyteknik.se/nyheter/it_telekom/tv/article510136.ece.

What it says is basically that instead of glasses you use a technique with vertical lenses on the screen. Problem with CRT is that they are not flat. Our more modern flat screens obviously hasn't got this problem. The second problem is that you need high frequency (at least 100 Hz as that makes the eye get 50 frames per second) and a lot of pixels, since each eye only gets half the pixels.

TV sets that support 3D without glasses have been sold by various companies since 2005.

Hannes Ovrén
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  • It seems to me that 3D TVs are still quite rare, I remember when Sharp tried this, but I haven't really seen that product recently (I think they stopped marketing it) - I think Zalman do one, right? Who else does them? What's the marketing keyword used most, "3D TV"? – Nick Bolton Mar 20 '09 at 11:26
  • Zalman does ones that use polarization, the 120Hz thing is based shutter glasses. – vartec Mar 20 '09 at 11:43
  • The 3D-without-glasses displays are technically known as "autosteroscopic". I've seen the Philips one and it's quite impressive (as a tradeshow gimmick anyway). – timday Jun 06 '09 at 11:31
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Enthusiasm for stereo display seems to come and go in cycles of hype and disappointment (e.g cinema). I don't expect TV and PCs will be any different.

For medical visualisation, if it was that useful there would be armies of clinicians sitting in front of expensive displays wearing shutter glasses already. Big hint: there aren't. And that market doesn't need 3D display tech to reach "impulse purchase" pricing levels as an enabler.

timday
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    Actually in the medical field, stereo 3D is quickly gaining popularity and is actively being used in multiple practices, including robotics and surgery. For example with the DaVinci robot, surgeons perform cases every day using a 3D display to operate with, and the technicians moving tools in and out of the robot/person's body (using a monitor) don't want to push anything too far into the patient and stab them. Normally the robot would prevent you from doing this, but it tends to malfunction and people just turn it off. So the need for depth perception is very important. – bparker Aug 11 '11 at 21:32