What is 3D?
3D is based on the way the human brain and eyes work. Because the pupils of a person’s eye are about 6.5 cm (about 2.5”) apart, each eye views a scene from a different angle and generates a unique image.
The brain merges the images to create a single picture. The slight difference between the image from the right eye and the image from the left eye allows the brain to judge the depth. Stereoscopic vision is attained.
When a person views media such as photographs and television in 2D, each eye gathers essentially the same information. In other words, because the image has no real depth, there is only one way of viewing it. If there is any 3D impression at all, it comes from visual clues in the image, such as perspective.
The goal of 3D displays, then, is to get a distinct image into each eye of the viewer. From that point, the viewer’s brain takes over; processing each image in the same, natural way in which it processes the images it receives from the three-dimensional world. A characteristic common to all 3D displays is the creation and display of more than one view of a scene. Formerly, viewers had to wear special glasses to discern the views. In the last few years, autostereoscopic 3D displays - displays that do not require users to wear special 3D glasses - have been introduced.
What is the 2D-plus-Depth format?
There are several ways in which 3D content can be stored and transmitted. The 2D-plus-Depth format stores a greyscale representation of an image side-by-side with the 'real' image.
With the greyscale representation – the so-called depth map – a depth value is assigned to every pixel of the 2D content. These depth values – in shades of grey – are used to render a 3D representation on the 3D display. In the actual 3D experience, the lighter an area is in the depth map, the nearer it seems to the viewer.
A great advantage of this format is that it is compatible with various display devices, regardless of the technology used.
To decouple content creation from content visualization, a 3D file format is required that can easily be implemented into existing 2D creation and distribution infrastructures. For this, Philips developed the 2D-plus-Depth format. The 2D-plus-Depth format comprises additional depth information with every 2D image. The depth information indicates the position of each 2D image pixel on the Z (depth) axis in or out of the screen plane.
In order to generate a 3D image, the display requires a regular 2D representation of the image and a depth-map. This depth-map indicates the distance between each pixel and the viewer. The 2D image and the depth-map are used to create images on the screen, and these images are then merged by the viewer’s brain into a 3D sensation.
More information on the 2D-plus-Depth format can be found in the Display Interface white paper that can be downloaded from the Documentation section.
What is Declipse?
Declipse deals with the natural viewing phenomenon that you perceive slightly different sections of the background when you change your viewpoint.
For a realistic 3D viewing experience – like the one enabled by the 2D-plus-Depth format and the 3D displays – you quite naturally expect a similar "look-around" effect in a composition with background and foreground layers. However, this effect is only possible if the display receives information on what is actually behind a foreground object. In other words, it needs to know what is 'hidden' by the object in the foreground.
The Declipse technology addresses this deficiency. It adds an extra layer of 2D-plus-Depth data to the final video; this extra layer contains the information about those objects/areas that were hidden by the foreground. The Declipse technology uses this information to fill in the correct pixels in the hidden areas; thus the hidden objects can be reproduced.
Declipse enables an even better viewing 3D experience and a true look-around effect along with the 3D visualization by the addition of 'background' information. Furthermore, easy creation of 3D overlays is provided by applying Declipse.
More information on Declipse can be found in the Display Interface white paper that can be downloaded from the Documentation section.
What kind of of PC do I need to run a Philips 3D display?
We recommend the following setup:
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Pentium 4, ≥ 3 GHz or Dual core ≥ 1.7 GHz
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≥ 512 MB internal memory for Windows XP, ≥ 1024 MB internal memory for Windows Vista
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7200 rpm hard disk with 8 Mbyte cache (minimal sustained throughput 10 MB/s)
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Video card
- based on NVIDIA for 7600 or 8600 chipsets or above
- or based on NVIDIA Quadro for example FX1400 (windows XP only),
- or based on ATI for example X1650 (Windows XP only).
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Windows XP SP2 or Windows Vista
I am seeing a split image - 2D on the left, a grey image on the right. What can I do?
The display does not recognize your video as a 3D video, therefore you are watching the native 2D plus depth format. Potential reasons are:
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The display does not run in its native resolution. The 42-inch 3D Display requires 1920x1080, the 20-inch 3D Display 1600x1200.
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You have a firmware version before 1.0 build 7. This applies to displays that have been built before 2007. Please visit the Software downloads section to update your display firmware.
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Applications using the OpenGL Control or the OpenGL or DirectX Visualizers need to run in full screen mode.
What is the benefit of upgrading my display firmware? Is there any risk?
From version 1.2 onwards the firmware features Clear Crisp. Clear Crisp improves the overall sharpness of your 3D videos, therefore the update is highly recommended. The update takes about 7 minutes and there is no known risk. Even if you pull the cable (power or DVI) during the update you can easily recover the display. Please check the enclosed instructions for the details.
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