Samsung has spoken out about glasses-less 3D TV, saying that it is unlikely to release an auto-stereoscopic model for at least 10 years.
The problem is twofold. First, those 3D sweet spots; there are only certain viewing angles that will allow TV watchers to enjoy that three dimensional fun and without enough of them, the 3D TV is no good for the living room.
Secondly, content; consumers won't go big on 3D TV until there's enough content to watch. Samsung says that means mega-infrastructure rejiggery which will take a lot of time to put in place.
We could make it if we felt like it
As Samsung writes in a statement, "Considering our current technology, Samsung can make glasses-free 3D TV at the R&D level.
"However, it can only be viewed from a few viewing spots. To make naturally viewed glasses-free 3D TV, for instance in a living room where several people can watch TV from various angles, the technology needs to deliver 3D to at least 32 viewing spots.
"We believe that creating a prototype for lab-grade glasses-free 3D TV, broadcasting system and display will take about five years. For mass commercialisation to become possible, manufacturing costs must come down and TV broadcasters will have to upgrade infrastructure, which includes securing transmission bandwidth.
"Attempts to put glasses-free 3D TV to market within the next 10 years will be difficult."
We're not entirely convinced that people will still have an appetite for 3D in their homes in one year, let alone ten, with many viewing it as somewhat of a gimmick.
Still, if something's worth doing, it's worth doing right so good on Samsung for not simply rushing out a sub-standard product – like the 55-inch prototype with just nine viewing spots that was shown off at FPD China 2011 this week.
From SlashGear
