Asus demonstrates prototype glasses-free 3D UHD monitor with 28 viewing positions

Asus has developed a 4k monitor that allows users to view 3D images without having to wear special glasses. When viewing 3D images, each eye is presented with a resolution of 1920×1080 pixels.

Such screens have been around for some time, but often had a small number of viewing positions from which the 3D effect looked good. The Asus screen has a viewing angle of 130 degrees for the 3d image and within that area there are no fewer than 28 positions from which the 3d effect is clearly visible. As a result, several people should be able to look at the screen simultaneously and experience the 3D effect. We were able to view the screen extensively with various demo videos and the claims of Asus seem to be correct: the 3D effect was not disturbed when we moved significantly from left to right, as we have seen with other screens.

The screen has a resolution of 3840 by 2160 pixels and can use all those pixels when displaying 2D images. As soon as the 3D image is switched over, each eye sees half the number of pixels in both height and width: 1920×1080 pixels, or Full HD. Because the native resolution of the screen is so high, the 3d images at half resolution still look very nice.

Asus works together with Dolby for the monitor and uses the Dolby 3D technology. This is an alternative form of recording and storing 3D movie images, which is not compatible with the methods used by movie studios today. According to Asus, that’s why it only shows a hand-made prototype; at the moment there is simply too little content available to make such a screen interesting for sale to private individuals.

That may change in the future. Last year, filmmaker James Cameron, known for the Terminator, Alien and Avatar films, announced that he will support Dolby’s technology. Cameron was one of the first directors to embrace 3D with his film Avatar.