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Displays Hardware

NEC to Introduce 3D Laptop Next Year? 103

Posted by michael from the eyestrain dept.
Hoon Mihn Fao writes "For those of you for whom 2D laptops are not awesome enough, next year NEC is coming out with a 3D laptop. No, you don't have to wear those retro red and blue glasses, but the monitor is actually an LCD screen placed on top of a conventional monitor. The company is currently seeking gaming software companies to produce games for its technology. Each unit will cost an estimated $200 more than a conventional laptop."
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NEC to Introduce 3D Laptop Next Year? More

NEC to Introduce 3D Laptop Next Year?

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  • Huh? (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Empiric ( 675968 ) * on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:20AM (#6832258)
    NEC Corp. plans to market a laptop computer next year that can display 3-D images without requiring special glasses... The new laptop will feature a special liquid crystal display panel that is placed on top of a conventional screen. Users will be able to view digital photos of [sic] play online games with the 3-D image display or use the standard panel for viewing Web sites, Nikkei said. ... Mercury3D, a software company in Chiba Prefecture, Japan, will also provide a program that converts standard 2-D images to 3-D on the new laptop, Nikkei said.

    How is this supposed to work? No glasses, a special LCD on top of a standard monitor. How do we get actual or simulated 3D out of this? If it doesn't provide two different perspectives to each eye (as shutter glasses do), presumably the LCD must project the 3D image into midair. And how does the software generate 3D from a 2D image? There isn't enough data in the source image to do this properly. I'm betting vaporware here.

    Anyone have an insight?

    • Re:Huh? (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Anonymous Coward
      I'd like to know too. Does it have any relation to this [slashdot.org]?

    • Re:Huh? (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The very fact that your eyes are not in the same place generates a different perspective for each.

      The LCD screen can block a different part of the image for each eye. (try holding your finger in front of your face and close each eye in turn)

      TIOAG

    • Re:Huh? (Score:5, Informative)

      by boesOne ( 693775 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:38AM (#6832314)
      I dunno the exact method used.. but found this on my fav dutch hardware site : "The monitor contains two TFT panels separated by a parallax barrier, which directs pixel images to two separate regions so that each eye receives a slightly different image. In the end, the brain formulates the signals so that the image appears to be a three-dimensional object, Nakagawa said." So it seems that it is possible to project 2 slightly different images to both eyes without shutterglasses.

    • Re:Huh? (Score:3, Informative)

      by KH ( 28388 )
      I read the original japanese nikkei article [nikkei.co.jp]. Looks like the special LCD is not on ``top'' of the regular monitor, but ``over,'' or covering the first one. I assume that those two screens can produce slightly different images producing 3D illusion.

      Couldn't find anything about this at NEC site [slashdot.org]

      • Layered screens (Score:5, Informative)

        by achurch ( 201270 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @08:32AM (#6832461) Homepage
        Basically, this is correct. Here in Japan, Sharp (at least) has been doing these for a while; my current keitai even has one! I don't know the grisly details offhand, but from what I can tell, there are two layers, each of which are angled towards one of the two eyes; displaying stereoscopic images, one eye's worth on each layer then gives you essentially the same result as those old red+blue+purple displays with the red-and-blue glasses. It's certainly not perfect, but it's an acceptable imitation.
        • Question: So does this present a problem if you:
          • Lean too far to one side?
          • Move your head too close or too far away from the screen?
          • Rotate your head from left to right, effectively moving your right eye back and left eye forward, or vice versa?

          I'm curious to see how well this works if you're not seated in ideal conditions, which is the premise behind the moniker "laptop."

      • Re:Huh? (Score:2)

        by GiMP ( 10923 )
        In english, you can say that the second screen is "on top" of the first to mean that it is covering it.
    • This older slashdot story [slashdot.org] links to this story [com.com] at news.com.com.com.com..... .
      At the bottom of that article there is some more information.
      BTW you dont need to project images Midair to get 3d effects. All you need is to get the left and right eye to see different images and your brain will be confused into thinking its 3d. Just make sure a pixel appears different from LHS and the RHS and problem solved.
    • two tft's(or whatever) and something on it that makes it look so that you see another picture from different angle(so you see another of those tft's from your left eye and another with your right eye, so it's kind of like you had some fancy vr glasses with one display per eye).

      you see, this has been covered even on slashdot before, so i don't know why there wasn't a proper explanation on the story body.

      also i fail to see why wouldn't they go the same way that earlier 3d systems(shutter glasses&etc) ha

    • Re:Huh? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by PetoskeyGuy ( 648788 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @10:56AM (#6833117)
      I've seen these before. The interesting thing is that they are putting them on laptops.

      It works by having 1 standard LCD monitors and one special LCD monitor, one on top of the other. The top one is designed so that the color white shows up as transparent. You need a video card capable of driving two monitors at once, and to take advantage of the effect, you will need software that knows how to display each image. The slight difference in distance between them can make for some interesting 3D displays because your can tell that it really is overlapping.

      Mouse control is a little weird because you have to tell the computer your using top monitor or bottom monitor since they are more or less dual displays. Once software knows how to handle this hardware that could be fixed.

      The projected use I saw was using Maya with your controls on the back monitor and your 3D rendered creation showing up on the "front" monitor, rendered in real time. That was a stand alone monitor, but I'm guessing it's the same technology.

      There is a company that sells desktop LCD monitors for this right now. See http://www.deepvideo.com/ [deepvideo.com]
    • Having used 3D monitors before with LCD glasses, I imagine the LCD panel is simply synced to the monitor frequency, shunting each frame left and right. So you want a really, really high frame rate to keep flicker to a minimum (because you are halving it). If my guess is correct, only the size of the LCD panel and Monitor need line up, not the pixel density, however, there are probably distortion effects from pixel misalignment, like resizing your resolution on LCD displays.

  • All I need is.. (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Dynamoo ( 527749 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:21AM (#6832263) Homepage
    All I need is to figure out a business justification for one now :)

    More impressive 3D spreadsheets? Awesome presentations? Hmmm...

    • Nope, just a practical implementation for magic tech gizmos from Minority Report and Matrix Reloaded. If you have a 3D capable display that doesn't require glasses, you can add infrared tracking that Holotouch [slashdot.org] invented and you can suddenly track control objects with hands in 3D. Imagine being able to drag and drop or draw on the virtual screen (that floats in front of the actual screen) with your fingers. That's pretty cool and has a lot of applications in every area.
    • if they bought tablets they wil lfall for this one too. ;-)

  • Games... (Score:5, Funny)

    by Rumagent ( 86695 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:24AM (#6832273)
    Forget about games. This could usher in a new golden era of pr0n.

  • Hope you've got a strong lap (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Hieronymus Howard ( 215725 ) * on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:30AM (#6832283)
    but the monitor is actually an LCD screen placed on top of a conventional monitor.

    A laptop with an LCD screen and a conventional monitor! How big and heavy is this thing going to be?

    HH
    --
    • The original article says:

      special liquid crystal display panel that is placed on top of a conventional screen.

      A laptop conventionally has an LCD, not a CRT. I don't think they are talking about the Osborne 1.
    • LoL, yeah that wording can be totally confusing if you're half awake like me. For the sake of those who won't see it after it's been /.'d, the article actualy states:
      The new laptop will feature a special liquid crystal display panel that is placed on top of a conventional screen.
      Which sounds a lot less like it implies "LCD + CRT"

  • Ummm ... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by BillsPetMonkey ( 654200 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:30AM (#6832285)
    Will it be able to display hi-res jpg and mpeg images? Will they be better than these 3D jiggly pics [well.com]?
    • Yeh, I've seen that site before. Pretty cool. Perhaps some budding animators can try this with a sequence? Maybe alternate stereo frames at 50fps or something? I guess the right rate would have to be determined.
      • thats fun. I wonder why there are no E-cards/pr0n available or something. That could create a new hype for a week or so. Actually, I want a 3D-BSOD.
  • I highly doubt this will initially be released in the US. Like all other cool gadgetry, it will probably be out for years in asia before it makes its way to the us. *sigh*

  • Window$ (Score:2, Funny)

    by kamakot ( 661425 )
    So will I get to see Window$ crash in 3d?

  • All this talk of a visual implementation... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by CrackedButter ( 646746 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:31AM (#6832290) Homepage Journal
    And yet no images of the device...ironic some might say?

  • I already have a 3D Laptop (Score:5, Funny)

    by Avian visitor ( 257765 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:33AM (#6832297) Homepage
    next year NEC is coming out with a 3D laptop.

    As far as I can see, my laptop has height, width and depth. So it's 3D, right? Does that mean that we can expect thicker laptops in the future (that are of course more 3D than thin ultra portables we can see today?)

    actually an LCD screen placed on top of a conventional monitor.

    This is a really clever idea. Now I can see how they managed to get that real 3D feel. Using a conventional CRT monitor in a laptop certainly adds some third dimension.

    Now I can see what they are planning to do:

    1. Use CRT monitor in a laptop
    2. CRT monitors are cheaper than LCD panels, but laptop with CRT is more 3D, so it can be more expensive than conventional thin ones
    3. ...
    4. PROFIT!! :)
    • "As far as I can see, my laptop has height, width and depth. So it's 3D, right?"

      Just think of these poor 1inch think PowerBook owner that have so little 3D in their laptop.

      Yet another way in which Apple is bleaguered ;).

  • Not a monitor - another LCD (Score:5, Insightful)

    by danila ( 69889 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:36AM (#6832307) Homepage
    It's important to note that the extra LCD screen is placed on top of conventional LCD display (check the article), not a CRT monitor, as the blurb suggests.

    If it used a CRT monitor, it would hardly be a laptop, wouldn't it?
  • I thought the idea was to make laptops more and more 2D (thin), and now this :-)

  • Good (Score:5, Funny)

    by dupper ( 470576 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:41AM (#6832321) Journal
    Good, these 2D laptops are frigging impossible to use in my continuum. I mean, its kinda hard to type when you can't interract with the keyboard.

    What? Read the article? I didn't even read the post. Since when did have we slashdotters read past the title before posting?

  • Oh, man (Score:5, Funny)

    by jcsehak ( 559709 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:42AM (#6832325) Homepage
    For once, I RTFA. And what do I get? About 5 more words than the Slashdot blurb. No pictures, no nothing. That's it -- it's hearsay and conjecture from now on.

  • Target audience? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by ThePyro ( 645161 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:42AM (#6832328)
    So who are they targetting with this contraption? The hard-core gamers, who are the ones most likely to spend an extra $200 on a gimmick, would scoff at gaming on a laptop. The LCD is still universally acknoledged as inferior to the CRT as far as gaming goes.
    • kids who want to do starwars kid follow ups, dress up as the emperor, do an mpeg capture with their cam, and pretend to be talking to a 3d image of their master, whilst going mental jumping around with their golf ball retreivers.
    • So who are they targetting with this contraption?

      Maybe executives who want to add a little more "in-your-face" to their presentations:

      "This month's sales figures for Mountain Dew are [click] EXTREME!!!!"

    • Odd, the LCD screen on my laptop seems to be better at fooling my eyes for gaming than when it's connected to a CRT. Maybe I need a better CRT?

  • You've seen it before (Score:4, Informative)

    by miro2 ( 222748 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @07:43AM (#6832333)
    Lenticular images [lenticular.biz]

    Remember those little stickers, covered with ridges, where you turn them and watch the image change to one of 5 or 6 possibilities? If a computer screen is covered with verticle ridges, you could control the flow of light to left and right eye from limited viewing angles.

    Such a monitor would only work if the person's head was in certain positions.

    Other technologies are possible which would allow the viewer to be in any position and orientation. Think tiny lenses instead of long ridges.

  • Puffy baseballs (Score:1, Interesting)

    by mesmartyoudumb ( 471890 )
    "presumably the LCD must project the 3D image into midair. And how does the software generate 3D from a 2D image? There isn't enough data in the source image to do this properly. I'm betting vaporware here.

    Anyone have an insight?
    "
    The monitor stacks images - think of it as a 3d baseball card with puffy "3d" baseballs..

    Mmm...3d pr0n.
  • The article is plainly wrong - it is bound to be just an innovative display, although can't get google to say anything more informative.

  • New improved crash screen (Score:5, Funny)

    by RickyRay ( 73033 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @08:20AM (#6832425)
    So the famous Windows "blue screen of death" will become the "blue cube of death"? ;-)

    • Re:New improved crash screen (Score:1, Funny)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Alternatively it could be the "blue room of death" with optional padded walls. Talk about your immersive experiences. MS will finally have an answer to the question "where do you want to go today".

  • [Japanese] articles on this tech (Score:3, Informative)

    by Tx ( 96709 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @08:21AM (#6832428) Journal
    Seems this page [zdnet.co.jp] and this one [zdnet.co.jp] have more info and piccies on this technology. In Japanese, but readable with babelfish.

  • NEW - Worlds First 3D EULA (Score:4, Funny)

    by falsemover ( 190073 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @08:24AM (#6832441)
    Introducing the NEW Microsoft 3D EULA; a list box of EULA text with a couple of buttons, oh, and picture of Bill reaching out to grab your nads.

    3D Windows will be a whole new release packed with new features such as the
    - 3D blue screen of death
    - the 3D EULA (previously mentioned)
    - the 3D Microsoft Wallet; reaches right into your pocket and actually installs itself!

  • RTFA (Score:5, Insightful)

    by aardwolf64 ( 160070 ) on Saturday August 30, 2003 @08:26AM (#6832447) Homepage
    The new laptop will feature a special liquid crystal display panel that is placed on top of a conventional screen.

    It's not a conventional monitor... We're talking about a laptop here. It's a conventional LCD screen. (In case you're wondering the difference, a monitor is a free-standing device, while a screen is attached to something.)

  • this technology is being used already (Score:3, Informative)

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 30, 2003 @08:31AM (#6832460)
    Check here: http://www.lenticular.biz/3dlcd.html [lenticular.biz] for 3-D monitors for your desktop. I would imagine the laptop is just an extrapolation of this technology. However, I am sure it will be thicker than normal. but for people with "gaming laptops" such as the alienware area-51m, the extra thickness probably won't even be noticeable. it's still easier to lug a thick laptop to a lan party than even a micro desktop.
    • So if some gamers get slight motion sickness for 3-D games, will that phenomenon increase? As a gamer that gets motion sickness from certain FPS (not all, only some), I'd hate to see something with such potential just make it worse

  • Oh great! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by gunix ( 547717 )
    this means that laptops will be even more expensive... why isn't anyone interested in creating a linuxable laptop that is not so damn expensive?
  • but the monitor is actually an LCD screen placed on top of a conventional monitor.

    And you're supposed to fit a conventional monitor on your LAP?
  • Fascinating. I had a toshiba laptop about five years that had three dimensions. In fact, I thought the current trend was to move from 3D laptops to almost 2D ones with things like tablet PCs. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with trends.
  • that'll make your current LCD-screened laptop have a 3-D display. Sounds a lot cheaper [utoronto.ca] than this NEC will be.
    • Or you can just assume the individual is capable of overlaying the images on one another.

      The image has "phantom" edges hanging off of both sides, but is just as effective.

      I had written a drawing program for this on my old TI-82 (remember those stereograms about 5-6 years ago?). The basis was a screen made up in 2 sections, the left [x] pixels, and the right [x] pixels, divided in half.

      If we can get a user to "adjust" his eyes appropriately this generates a truly 3d image (since both eyes are looking at
  • They're interesting-but I think I would get a headache using it for too long. It's definitely only for 3d images, as browsing the web with it would kill you. There is a tracker to tell if you're viewing a 3d image or not, and then the effect switches off. At the institute where I work [mpi-cbg.de], we demoed one, and I had to give my opinions on it. I believe, however, that the place was charging 500 euro for the screen or something like that? We had a cell modeling program that would display a 3d image of the cel

  • Wow. (Score:2, Funny)

    by boola-boola ( 586978 )
    but the monitor is actually an LCD screen placed on top of a conventional monitor

    ...sounds like portable vertigo, to me! _Exactly_ what I need at 40,000 feet in the air with my ears popping and my stomach ill with air-sickness.

  • Most of the software I've tried on 3D screens (like games) is unaware of the screen, which just passively outputs two images at a pre- defined stereobase.

    So everything that approaches the viewer and breaks the 1/30 rule + touches edges, ends up breaking up the stereo illusion.

    Here's one article [216.239.53.104] that illustrates the phenomenon.

    It seems tough to fight this without some interaction with the viewing device, or without switching to a more advanced technology, such as holography.

    So yeah, nice.

    J
  • what they do is take two images and then bind them into one to create the 3d effect.
  • If you have a need to look at 3D images on the computer regularly, just learn to cross your eyes; it doesn't take long. Here [starosta.com]
    ">Here is one of many howto's.

    While it's a cute novelty, any laptop-sized 3D display is going to be somewhat disappointing in the long run. Essentially, you get roughly the same 3D effect as you would by arranging objects inside a shoebox. Furthermore, objects will seem to move relative to one another as you move your head, which is decidedly unnatural and no good for games any
  • Hurray for Nec for such a bold move. But why doesn't any company try for the pixel cube ? instead of pixels making a 2d flat area, they could be little cubes arranged in cubic fashion and make a true 3d display.

    By the way, true 3d could revive the arcade industry (offtopic, yeah, I know).

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