This is the product announcement I've been waiting for.
While Sharp previously had their 3D display technology o­nly in their RD3D line of notebooks, they've finally gotten around to bringing out a normal LCD screen with the same technology.

Sharp will begin accepting orders o­n the 18th for the "LL-151D," a 15" LCD that supports the display of 3D without need for special glasses. The price is Open Price, but the estimated retail price is around 110,000 yen. Domestic shipments are scheduled to begin in August. It is being marketed at enterprise users to use for business purposes.

This product can display 3D images without the need for users to wear special glasses. While the technology has been featured in notebooks, this is the first time it is being sold seperately. It is furnished with a 2D/3D switching button, and the display can be changed with o­ne touch.

After the special drivers are installed and the LL-151D is connected to the PC with a USB cable, software that supports Sharp 3D Technology will automatically switch the screen between 2D and 3D modes. The supported operating system is Windows XP. The sceen can be used in other OSes, provided the drivers are developed.

The main specifications include a 1024 x 768 dot display of 16,190,000 colors, a 25ms response time, and a contrast ratio of 500:1. When using 2D mode, the maximum brightness is 370cd/m², and when using 3D mode, 140cd/m². The viewing angle is 115 degrees vertical and 130 degrees horizontal (2D mode).

The interface is DVI-I. 1W + 1W stereo speakers, a USB port for plugging in the 2D/3D mode switching cable, and a stereo mini jack input are furnished.

An exhibition was held o­n the 10th at the "LL-151D" announcement event. Makoto Taniguchi, VP of Sharp's Telecommunications Division, explained the company's investment in 3D LCD technology and products.

The primary principle behind a 3D display is having the left and right eyes see two slightly different images, which is then interpreted as a 3D object.

On the product itself, the liquid crystal panel is composed of both TFT liquid crystals and "switch" liquid crystals; when the screen is in 3D mode, the "switch" liquid crystals interrupt the backlight by creating vertical slits called "parallax barriers." When this is done, the remaining light from between the slits reaches each eye. Light not seen with the left eye will be seen with the right eye - light not seen with the right eye will be seen with the left eye. As a result, the two eyes see a "slipped image" giving the perception of a 3D object.

As a result of this approach, in the event that a user's eyesight in the left and right eyes is extremely different, or in the event that they primarily use o­ne eye to view the screen, the users will not be able to view 3D objects. Sharp has also said that there may be cases where there are individuals who see different things, or the contents displayed prevent the ease of perceiving a 3D object.

The topic the background for the product investment was brought up - there are four necessary elements to develop a 3D system: 3D supporting hardware, software, contents, and delivery infrastructure, all of which are being prepared. As for uses, Sharp has said that the display would be useful for the medical treatment, training/education, design/construction CAD, advertisement, and amusement industries.

Software is beginning to take shape that would allow for the effective use of a 3D display; Shade and Maya plugins, MRI systems, and solutions to convert existing 2D contents into 3D are currently in development. Also, regarding the development of new software, Sharp has said that they will release an SDK in July.

On the games side primarily driven by amusement, when an Nvidia card is used with the "3D Stereo Driver" currently distributed by Nvidia, current 3D games can be viewed as 3D objects.

This consists of the 3D Stereo Driver creating two slightly different images from a single point in the game's space. The GPU then takes these two images and again combines it into o­ne, and then outputs to the display - and the display in 3D mode can use this image. However, this requires both Nvidia "ForceWare" and 3D Stereo Driver graphic drivers.

Plans from now o­n include using this same technology in displays of up to 19 inches, and raising the resolution by changing the width of the parallax barrier. Also, they plan o­n adding horizontal parallax barriers, to make a sort of lattice arrangement, allowing for the conversion of even small windows to 3D or changing just o­ne portion of the display to 3D.



Inspired by:
http://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/2004/0610/sharp.htm

Press Release:
http://www.sharp.co.jp/corporate/news/040610-a.html