[photo-3d] shutter glasses have changed

[Tom Deering <photo-3d@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I was wrong.  And I going to admit it publicly, right here.

I've repeatedly thought disparaging things about shutter glasses.  I 
owned an early pair, and they were crap.  And it wasn't until 
recently, when I started working in 3D video, that I discovered how 
far they had come along.

If you are already clued, then forgive me for telling you what you 
already know.  But if you haven't seen a pair of modern shutter 
glasses, let me tell you--WOW!  Here are some details about the 
current state-of-the-art.

At one time, there was plenty to hate about computer 3D:  The shutter 
glasses were bulky and heavy.  At first shutter glasses were quite 
expensive, and they flickered, which gave me headaches.  Some 
required special video cards, and others required software my 
Macintosh couldn't run. Bah, I said.

But things have sure changed.  Everything, really.  1) Mac users can 
now use cheap shutter glasses.  This is because 2) there's a new kind 
that requires no special video card, no special drivers, no software 
at all.  3) Shutter glasses have come way down in price. $29 will get 
you a pair you won't hate.  4) Monitors with high refresh rates are 
much more common, so the flicker is gone.  5) They're not goggles 
anymore.  You could wear a wireless pair in public and no one would 
notice.  6) It seems like 3D content is popping up all over the web 
and elsewhere.

And how did I come to see the light?  Well, a vendor I work with sent 
me a couple pair of the new glasses for a 3D video project.  It was 
only a matter of time before I was using them for computer images in 
addition to video.

And tonight I enjoyed viewing 42 of John Baird's images that were on 
the latest 3D-CD that Dan Shelley graciously lent me. It got me 
thinking how easy it would be to share images if we all had this 
technology.  And it dawned on me that I would have to stop hating 
shutter glasses.  Okay, I was wrong, and I admit it.

I will set up a demo at the NSA convention in Mesa in a few weeks.  I 
will have some shutter glasses for you to try, and I will gather up 
some images, too.  I have at least one _animation_ that I think you 
will like.

Looking forward to seeing everyone in Mesa.

Tom
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tmd@xxxxxxxxxxx    http://www.deering.org