Eclipse 3D Systems Announces a New Technology for 3D Movies

Eclipse 3D Systems, an innovator in stereoscopic 3D displays, announced a new patent pending technology for displaying 3D movies in theaters and homes. The Eclipse 3D technology promises to be less expensive and brighter than polarized projection which some theaters have used to show 3D movies. The new technology is applicable to digital projectors and flat panel displays opening the possibility of distributing high quality 3D through most of the major movie distribution channels including movie theaters, DVD sales and rental, and digital TV.

The Eclipse 3D technology combines a monochrome image with a full-color image to produce full-color 3D. The 3D images can be viewed with Eclipse colored filter glasses. The images can be projected on any white screen or surface. Since a silver screen is not needed, the Eclipse 3D format is less expensive and more portable than the polarized format.

Due to the properties of the human visual system, the monochrome image is perceived with a brightness gain of about four times while not contributing significantly to color vision. This process is similar to night vision. In contrast, the full-color image is perceived with normal brightness and color. Color perception comes almost entirely from the full-color image. The gain in brightness for the monochrome image means that little brightness is used in adding 3D to a display. As a result, Eclipse 3D images can be about four times brighter than polarized alternatives.

Eclipse 3D enabled displays use four primary colors to produce the monochrome and full-color images. The monochrome image is typically rendered with a yellow primary color while the full-color image is rendered with red, green, and blue primary colors. When not used for 3D, the extra yellow primary color can be used to widen the color gamut and brighten 2D images.

Eclipse 3D images do not cause the visual discomfort associated with conventional red/blue or red/cyan 3D images. "Red/Cyan images typically have unbalanced contrast in the left and right eye images which causes visual stress," says Dr. Monte Ramstad, developer of the Eclipse 3D format. "Our first step was to figure out how to remove the visual stress from red/cyan images. Then we added full-color."

Source: Eclipse 3D Systems