3D without the TV cont…

3D gaming

The ability of laptops like the Acer Aspire 5745DG 3D to add 3D effects into PC games is even more impressive.

When a computer creates a game world, it’s already done the hard work by figuring out the 3D position of all the objects on screen. By adding a second camera angle – one for each eye – and synchronising the display with your glasses it can turn almost any existing game into a 3D masterpiece.

Using the same principle, both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are capable of playing games in 3D if you have a compatible TV. Only specifically developed titles will support it, though.

Nintendo, however, is about to really revolutionise gaming by launching a 3D-enabled version of its popular handheld console, which it calls the 3DS.

Just like its predecessor, the Nintendo DS, it has two screens: the bottom one is touch sensitive and doubles up as a controller, but the top one is 3D compatible.

If you’re worried about wearing 3D specs while playing in public, though, don’t be. The Nintendo 3DS uses one of the first of an entirely new type of 3D screen, which doesn’t require you to wear glasses.

However, children under the age of six-years-old aren’t recommended to use this, as their eyes haven’t fully developed, so please bear this in mind.

Glasses-free 3D: what you need to know

There are two ways of getting 3D images to your eyes without using glasses which will be coming to a gadget near you this year.

Lenticular displays divide the screen up into thin vertical strips, which are angled so that half the screen is visible to each eye. They’re exactly like the 3D pictures that have been available on children’s toys and jigsaws for many years, but for a moving image.

The 3DS, however, uses a more sophisticated and convincing technology called a ‘parralax barrier‘ to create a 3D image.

Like the lenticular display, different columns of pixels are arranged alternately between left eye and right eye pictures. This time, though, a filter with a series of angled slits sits in front of the screen and blocks the ‘wrong’ eye from seeing a the wrong scene.

Whichever you look at it, 3D is here to stay and thanks to the backing of companies like FujiFilm, Acer and Nintendo, it’s where some of the most exciting innovations are happening in all forms of entertainment.