Probably the most interesting new application in evidence at InfoComm in Orlando this week is one that has jumped from the consumer side to the commercial AV side of the fence: inexpensive 3D, using just one DLP projector
LCD projection does not have fast enough image processing to do 120Hz time-sequential 3D, i.e. it can not put up two images, for left and right eye, fast enough in sequence to do 3D using just one projector. And while big-gun 3D-ready DLP projectors have been available from other manufacturers for the past couple years–Barco, Christie, Digital Projection, projectiondesign– new at this year’s InfoComm are affordable 120Hz time-sequential 3D compatible projectors that will ship later this year, from various manufacturers in the DLP camp: BenQ, Mitsubishi, Optoma, Sharp, Viewsonic (and Infocus with an update of a unit previously released).
All of these 3D-ready projectors are “3D-ready” because Texas Instruments has begun offering a firmware upgrade to its customers that enables 120Hz, 60Hz full-res image to each eye. Hence DLP projector manufacturers are coming to market with products that are competitive in the education market in particular, where 3D has many applications in teaching. All users need: a PC with a standard graphics card that can output 60Hz, or a 120Hz graphics card and of course 3D content from a PC (or, coming down the road, 3D Blu-ray).
Behind this move to market is TI’s new “DLP Link”, a new system that syncs–using a photo diode in the glasses that is reading the screen–the stereo switching to the content (instead of using an IR emitter to achieve this). This is now possible with DLP because 120Hz is fast enough that you can take down time in the processing, and use that extra speed, or bandwidth, to put in an extra layer to communicate back to the glasses with the sync signal. And for the education market, shutter glasses are now readily available from a variety of makers like XpanD, or in a bundled deal from RealD. (Some users may still want to use an emitter, which is still possible, as DLP is sync-agnostic.)
Fun, and the curiosity of students and teachers will drive 3D in the education market. And the possibilities for 3D in digital signage are huge. Those are big drivers, and they represent real growth opportunity for integrators and design consultants.