Information Madness

Sony’s personal 3D viewer is decent, expensive and a little strange looking. But its three dimensional effect pushes to the side the blurry things that we see on many 3D televisions and in cinemas.

In 1939, 3D technology started its new chapter when an Oregon postcard manufacturer invented the View Master. It was a clever invention. Even today, the three dimensional effect you get by viewing pictures in the View Master is more clear than what you see on television and 3D movies. This happens because in the View Master technology, the discs place separate images directly in front of your eye balls and your brain blends them together into one wholesome picture. The television and 3D films overlay two images on one screen and make you wear special glasses to focus on them.

Sony’s Personal 3D Viewer, HMZ-T1, priced at $800, is a high definition video View Master using the latest technology. You will look at twin OLED screens that give you 720 pixels video from an external source. Built-in headphones will give you the stereo effect. The HMZ-T1 is a revision of Sony’s 1997 product known as `Glasstron’ that used LCD screens but was not a 3D gadget.

To use this viewer, you need a device that gives a 3D output. Sony’s own PlayStation 3 is capable of doing that job. As it is also a gaming console, you can get the added benefit of 3D games. The viewer comes with a small box that looks like a hard cover novel that you can hook up to your video source with an HDMI cable. It is not very heavy. You can strap it to your head with an adjustable headband.