Glasses-less-3dtvs-from-toshiba-will-be-available-in-japan-by-december-13D, 3D, 3D. Everyone's talking about the technology and films are raking in much higher returns by utilizing it, but do any of us actually want to sit down in our living room and put on a pair of special glasses in order to watch TV? Not really. If 3D TV is going to take off in the home, it's going to have to be sans specs. I've said in the past that it's only a matter of time until this happens, and Toshiba will soon be shipping some small TVs that fit the bill. However, 3D torchbearer James Cameron has his own take on how long it will be before most of us have a glasses-free unit in our own living room:

In Cameron's words, eight to ten years:

"Once we get to auto-stereoscopic, that's watching 3-D without glasses, it is going to be the way we watch all of our media. That's probably eight to 10 years away."

3D certainly has its detractors, among them Roger Ebert, but I can't help but agree with Cameron that it's a matter of when, not if.

Here's a clip of the aforementioned Toshiba units scheduled to ship in December to Japanese consumers:

I've wondered in the past where the 3D art films are, but Cameron reportedly spending $1 million/minute to add 16 extra minutes of footage to Avatar is perhaps an answer in and of itself. Still, with the technology making its way down to compact camcorders like the Panasonic AG3DA1 and even consumer cameras like the Panasonic GH2, I can't help but think that 3D capture technology is ahead of 3D display tech. For anyone out there who purchased a 3D TV for your home, do you find yourself watching much content in 3D, or are your glasses just gathering dust?

[via Gizmodo]

3dJames Cameron
Movies & TV