Advances in 3D imaging systems: Are you ready to buy a new 3D TV set?

In recent years many viewers decided to replace their old TV sets mostly thanks to virtually worldwide transition from analogue to digital TV broadcasting. The new displays are flat, thin and most probably support high-definition. But now there is a growing interest in the media industry towards stereoscopic television (3DTV). This attention is caused by the content producers but also by the consumer sector (i.e. the display industry). At first the article presents an overview of development in the area of 3D presentation of moving images which actively started more than 60 years ago. The article aims to summarize the phenomena on which the 3D technologies are based but also presents the latest trends in this area. Diverse 3D display technologies are briefly explained, e.g. projection with special polarizing or colored glasses, flat displays combined with shutter glasses, autostereoscopic systems and other systems including volumetric imaging techniques. Stereoscopic systems have already settled firmly in public movie theaters. On the other hand the development in TV industry is still in its infancy. The article presents some recent recommendations for stereo TV systems and gives a prediction of 3D application spread into our homes.