Lightspeed Design and InFocus prepare DepthQ high definition 3D projectors

Posted by Al Warmington on Wed 6 Aug 2008

Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi; you're my only hope...

Lightspeed Design Inc, purveyor of stereo 3D technology, has hooked up with projector manufacturer InFocus to come up with the world's first portable, high definition 3D projectors, named DepthQ HD 3D Projectors.

3D projectors are capable of generating three-dimensional images for superbly enjoyable viewing and incredibly immersive gaming. Admittedly, there's a catch; 3D projectors don't magically bounce light off thin air. We're talking 3D as in BIG PLASTIC GLASSES. Sorry.

We have, however, come a very long way since those horrible blue and red plastic atrocities found inside cereal packets; modern liquid crystal eyewear is considerably more sophisticated and much less of a fashion disaster. Many of the designs floating around this year's Consumer Electronics Show could almost be worn in public without incurring a shower of rotten groceries.

DepthQ projectors raise the bar for 3D projection on a number of counts. Firstly, they work using a single lens; older 3D systems required two projectors to be stacked and calibrated together. Some other projectors have managed to cut down to one lens, but only at far lower resolutions. Lightspeed's new projectors are offering picture resolution of 1024x768 or 1280x720, aka 720p HD.

Although referred to as 'portable', we assume that Lightspeed actually means 'you could quite reasonably put one in your house without building a personal Cineplex'. However, that goes hand in hand with a significant price cut, and Lightspeed reckons that they'll be selling for below $6,000 - significantly less than other single-lens 3D projectors.

No word on when DepthQ projectors will be coming out, or in what kind of quantity, but with a single-lens HD breakthrough like this, it won't be long before the technology becomes more widely available.

Lightspeed Design (via Marketwatch)