I bought myself a 42 inch HDTV a year ago and was pretty happy but then I heard that HD is over and 3D is in. I began saving for a 3DTV till I realized something. 3DTV's could be a thing of the past. After I watched the head tracking video's using both the Wii and DS to give someone a 360 degree window in which they can turn their heads to view different parts of the screen, I realized that is the future of TV's a TV that acts litterily as a window enabling the user to look around the enviroment.

Imagine watching a football game and being able to turn your head anytime you want to look anywhere you want in the football stadium. That would be awsome or a war movie where you can turn and see anything the cameraman can see.

So then I started wondering is the 3DTV really the future. Just as I was debating buying my 3DTV Nintendo announces the 3DS which will supposedly give the user the 3D experiance without the glasses. Another nail in my 3DTV coffin, if TV's exist that don't require 3D glasses why go out and buy a 3D TV.

So this had me wondering even more, how many options are out their. Is 3DTV really the future or is it already an outdated concept? Can you imagine watching headtracking through your Natal on a regular HDTV. Or how about watching 3D without the glasses. Is their really any reason for someone to go out and buy a 3DTV?

well, that headtracking technique has a serious flaw .. how do you create the same effect for several viewers at once? the screen has to adjustable to 4 or more people for that to become mainstream tech

I mean, you can see it if another person's head is tracked, but then it's not better than 3D now.

by the way, apart from that it needs:
- fast cameras (I think at least 240fps)
- a lot of processing power and very good software for headtracking with very little input lag

but I think it's less expensive to create a "real" 3D image than to adjust a TV (with motors or sth.) for several people at once to make them experience the 3D Window effect created by headtracking

edit: one method I can imagine to make it support 2 people (not more) is to use the light polarization technique, but that cuts the vertical or horizontal resolution in half and people would need to wear glasses

Autostereoscopic screens (the ones that don't need glasses) really are limited, they have sweet spots. And if more than a two or three people are watching, then it will fall short. Autostereoscopic screens are fine for one viewer applications like the 3DS or stereoscopic cameras right now, but not for a room of people.

But rest assured they will be the next thing.

autostereoscopic screens have problems with 2D images, because they have an uneven surface .. maybe they can adjust the picture to that with processing, but that probably won't look as good as on a normal TV

I remember a year or so ago watching on TV that a new TV was in development in Japan. That TV could host up to four different programs running on the same TV. It acted sort of like those pictures where if you look at them from different angles are actually different. They said ideally four people sitting at four different positions from the TV could all watch different programs on the same TV. Other TV's have also offered up to two people able to watch different programs on the same TV.  The one flaw was the audio.

Also you mention the camera needing to be fast, the Wiimote worked perfectly fine but that used LED's which would require a headset. But something like Natal for example should be more then sufficient. Now yes this TV would cost like 5-6k to buy but imagine a TV with four different view points and 4 seperate camera's that each focus on one persons head. Actually Natal is supposed to be able to do full motion capture of multiple people at a time it could perhaps even track all four.

That TV would be far more impressive then 3DTV.

4DTV, which will be industry standard as soon as the PS3 reaches 100% penetration.