As fun as online gaming is, it will never be able to match the sheer joy of playing games with people in the same room.
But the biggest problem with local multiplayer (well, aside from getting four people into the same place) is having to put up with a split-screen that carves your beautifully large TV into four tiny sections, one for each player's perspective.
The MirraViz MultiView Display System could be the answer to our prayers. It's a panel that's able to play multiple video sources at the same time, and you'll see a completely different screen depending on where you're sitting in the room.
Directing the photons
MirraViz claims the screen works by directing the panel's photons (read: light) towards specific points in a room, rather than blasting light across a wide angle.
This light is directed by a series of projectors which each user would then sit near in order to see that specific image.
The obvious use-case for the technology is multiplayer gaming, but it could also be used to allow people to share a TV for multiple reasons. Two people could watch two different movies at a time, or one person could catch up on a TV show while another games.
This isn't the first time a company has tried to solve this particular problem. Previously, the technology that allowed 3D TVs to show a different image to each of your eyes was used to show different images to two different people.
However, the difference here is that this system is entirely glasses-free, making it potentially much more user-friendly - even if the system does rely on you mounting multiple projectors around your living room.
All this technology doesn't come cheap with screens starting at $699 for a 55-inch screen, but if you constantly find that people are fighting over the biggest screen in your house then you could find that the set pays for itself.
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