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MIT has developed a movie theater screen that displays 3D without glasses

By Shawn Knight · 19 replies
Jul 25, 2016
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  1. A team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Lab (CSAIL) with help from Israel’s Weizmann Institute of Science has developed a new display that allows movie theater audiences to watch films in 3D without those annoying glasses that are somehow always either scuffed or scratched.

    As explained in the short clip above, traditional display technology attempts to cover a wide angle of view – a technique that results in poor resolution. MIT’s new technique, Cinema 3D, delivers a narrow view of angular images to each individual seat in the theater using an array of mirrors and lenses that make the 3D effect pop from multiple angles.

    Some are no doubt wondering what the big deal is considering most 3D televisions for the home are capable of displaying the effect without glasses. The method used by home TVs, which involve a series of slits in front of the screen that allow each eye to see a different set of pixels, simply isn’t scalable to movie theaters as the parallax barriers they create need to be a consistent distance from the viewer. In a large movie theater with potentially dozens of rows, it just won’t work.

    The researchers behind the prototype say it’s not yet ready to hit the market but they seem confident that future revisions would be suitable for widespread consumer use.

    Permalink to story.

  2. psycros

    psycros TS Evangelist Posts: 1,642   +1,035

    Finally. This has been in the theoretical realm for a long time now. Good to know it finally being realized. Of course if it *is* implemented the industry morons will just ticket raise prices again, and that would finally be the last straw for most consumers. I already draw the line at $10 for admission - its simply not worth it to me when I can *own* a film for the price of two tickets and watch it in a place that doesn't smell like a barn with morons talking on their phones behind me. The snacks are also cheaper at my house.
    Raoul Duke and NeoFlux like this.
  3. SirGCal

    SirGCal TS Maniac Posts: 365   +136

    I have not been to a movie in well over a decade. I just can't stand it anymore... I do not mind waiting a few months to get it on BluRay instead.
    toxicfiend and trgz like this.
  4. dylannnnnn

    dylannnnnn TS Rookie Posts: 18   +13

    In other news....MIT has wasted millions developing a 3D technology that we didn't want the first....second and definitely not for the third time!
  5. ikesmasher

    ikesmasher TS Evangelist Posts: 2,826   +1,141

    I'm starting to think people just hate anything innovative and new unless it directly benefits them
    mbrowne5061 and qking like this.
  6. trgz

    trgz TS Booster Posts: 183   +33

    Hmm, so I'm probably wrong but is this the same as the lenticular method? Whatever, 3D generally tends to kill creativity in my eyes (slight pun intended)
    NeoFlux likes this.
  7. captaincranky

    captaincranky TechSpot Addict Posts: 12,365   +2,232

    Not to mention the fact if Hillary Clinton get elected, the ushers, cashiers, and juvenile delinquents they'll have to hire to clean all those mirrors, (leaving scratches and streaks in the process), will be making 15 dollars an hour. So, instead of ticket prices doubling, they'll more than likely quadruple......:eek:

    And speaking of theaters smelling like "barns", we need to bring back drive ins. That way, whatever your car smells like after the movie, you have only yourselves to blame...:p(y)
    toxicfiend likes this.
  8. captaincranky

    captaincranky TechSpot Addict Posts: 12,365   +2,232

    That more or less depends or what you deem to be, "innovation". For example, those with severe cognitive disorders truly believe that the reality show, "Keeping Up with The Kardashians" a huge advancement in innovative program content. I wouldn't watch that crap with your eyes, let alone pick up a, (loathsome to me), smartphone to "tweet" about it.
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016
    mosu likes this.
  9. davislane1

    davislane1 Inquisitor Posts: 4,420   +3,389

    With Hillary as POTUS the movie theatre experience in most areas would improve. Wages would go up to $15/hr. and all of those theatres would provide better, cleaner facilities because, in a $15 environment, 90% of your staff are robots.
  10. mbrowne5061

    mbrowne5061 TS Evangelist Posts: 632   +274

    I can promise you MIT didn't spend a single cent on this - research universities rarely spend their own cash on research project. They put their endowments towards facilities, mostly. This probably all came from research grants, grants that can probably be traced back to Hollywood VFX studios or 3D-obsessed producers.
  11. wiyosaya

    wiyosaya TS Evangelist Posts: 1,435   +460

    With Trump as president, all movie theaters will erect walls around them that Mexico will pay for. Even less people will want to work at one, so the wall will serve to keep people from getting moldy popcorn and getting stuck to the floors like giant rat sticky traps.
  12. wiyosaya

    wiyosaya TS Evangelist Posts: 1,435   +460

    As long as the robots are programmed not to run over little kids...
  13. wiyosaya

    wiyosaya TS Evangelist Posts: 1,435   +460

    Until we have true holographic projection, 3D will always be a gimmick.
  14. davislane1

    davislane1 Inquisitor Posts: 4,420   +3,389

    No kids allowed.
    wiyosaya likes this.
  15. toxicfiend

    toxicfiend TS Enthusiast Posts: 41   +11

    why I love 3d and there are still people who want to see movies in 3d and I always buy the Bluray in 3d if it is available
  16. davislane1

    davislane1 Inquisitor Posts: 4,420   +3,389

    "We" rule of the Internet: "We" = "Me"
  17. captaincranky

    captaincranky TechSpot Addict Posts: 12,365   +2,232

    As long as the US side of the wall is suitable for use as a projection screen, and therefore people in our south west can use it to revive the drive-in movie, I'm all for it...! (y)
    I don't know if you've noticed it but, with the drugs going around these days, most of the young people running around these days are virtually robots anyway. Accordingly, there's no need to supply them with 15 bucks an hour, as they'll only use that more money, to buy more drugs.

    Hillary should take on the big telecoms, about outrageous charges for data overages if she wants to gain the vote of the,"cell phone to the ear, all day, everyday", set.
  18. Darth Shiv

    Darth Shiv TS Evangelist Posts: 1,745   +425

    3D in movies has largely been a gimmick to date. Can we please see a citation of how the technology *can* be used in an innovative sense?
  19. captaincranky

    captaincranky TechSpot Addict Posts: 12,365   +2,232

    Well, as someone who grew up with 480i analog broadcast TV, I'm certainly not addicted to 4K or 3D or 4K-3D, or whatever else the industry can foist off on us in the way of "improvement".(*)

    I have heard that 4K is so sharp you can see every blade of grass in a field. So that when I take up watching grass grow as a technical pursuit, I'll be right there, credit card in hand, begging for one o' dem 4K-3D jobbies.

    (*) Please note, "improvement" is ad-speak for, "now we're going to take the paltry bit of, "disposable income", you might hopefully, have left.
  20. captaincranky

    captaincranky TechSpot Addict Posts: 12,365   +2,232

    That's easy, just go to "R" (or above) rated movies. And besides, why would anyone care? If history is any indicator, the world will produce a whole lot more little kids than it has the room or resources to deal with..:eek: You squash one with a robot usher, two more will take its place.

    My prediction is, that by the middle of this century, a good 10% of China's population will live on inner tubes floating in the South China Sea.
    Last edited: Jul 26, 2016

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