P3D Re: miniaturization & cross-viewing

[fj834@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx (Dr. George A. Themelis)]

>My idea is very different. While it has advantages over
>the conventional method, it certainly has disadvantages
>as well. At present I really don't think I will do it,
>but it sounds like fun!  :-)

I went along the same path when I was a suffering graduate student
and I wanted to show my stereo research work in a small audience.
Instead of thinking that I could train people to cross view, I was
looking at some mirror devices that could do the cross viewing for
you.  

The way I see it today, yes, it could be fun among some expert
audience for a short while.  In the Richmond NSA convention we were
shown stereo views projected in a 2d projection.  Half the audience
was cross viewing for fun.  In the process I discovered that quite
a number of stereo views were reversed mounted.  I knew because
the depth was correct in the cross-viwed images.

For small audiences we have cheap viewers ("we" means those in 41x101
mounts... I don't know if there are cheap beampslitter viewers)  For
serious business we have polarized projection.  Of course, this
requires screen, glasses and two regular or a stereo projection.
This is the nature of the beast.  But how often would one need to
use stereo projection?  Come to think about it, I don't even remember
when was the last time that regular 2D slide projection was used at
my work place.  I think the last time that slides were projected 
was when I had a stereo presentation 2 years ago.  Today eveyone
uses either overhead projection or video.  But stereo fanatics
maintain a polarized stereo projection setup always ready in their
houses, and those associated with stereo clubs get to enjoy it
once a month.

Finally, the computer appears to be the instrument for sharing
stereo images among a small (or large) group in the future.

>As for which is easier, parallel or cross-eyed, I find
>cross-eyed easier. As to what most people can do more
>easily, I don't know. That's why I asked. 

I have heard reports from both sides so there is no definite answer.
As for me, I prefer parallel viewing because, as Greg says, it relaxes
the eyes instead of straining them.

George Themelis