Toshiba builds glasses-free 3D TV

Toshiba plans to begin selling the first 3D TV that won't require viewers to wear glasses in December.

The autostereoscopic 3D TVs, which will be available initially in December, will cost a whopping €7,999 ($11,424). Toshiba didn't say when it may begin selling the new 3D TVs in the United States.

One of the most common complaints from cable and satellite subscribers who have purchased 3D TVs is that they require viewers to wear glasses to watch programming in 3D. Active-shutter glasses can cost more than $100. And while passive 3D glasses are inexpensive, they can be uncomfortable to wear for entire movie or sporting event delivered in 3D.

Very few consumers will shell out more than $10,000 for one of Toshiba's glasses-free 3D TVs, but Toshiba's move shows that the CE (consumer electronics) industry is making progress on developing autostereoscopic 3D TVs. It may be a decade before the costs of a glasses-free 3D TV are reduced to the point that they become a mass market product, but more programmers and producers will embrace the technology if it becomes easier and less expensive for viewers to watch 3D content.

It's not clear how much bandwidth will be required to deliver autostereoscopic 3D programming through multichannel video distribution platforms. While Comcast (Nasdaq: CMCSA), DirecTV (Nasdaq: DTV) and other distributors offering 3D programming have said that 3D content uses about the same bandwidth as a high-definition channel, it's likely distributors will set aside much more channel space to deliver high-resolution images to autostereoscopic 3DTVs.

For more:
- CNET has this story

Related articles:
Sony readies head-mounted 3DTV display
3DTV sees slow uptake in U.S. market