"HoloVizio True 3D Display Uses Voxels, No Goggles"

[Silversurfer]

This one is bound to cost the earth but nevertheless gizmodo.com is reporting the above. Here is the full article:

"HoloVizio may look like yet another 3D screen, but it completely changes the approach to three-dimensional displays using voxels instead of pixels. Each voxel can project multiple light beams—of different intensity and colors—in several directions, simultaneously. This means that anyone standing around the monitor will actually see an object from a different perspective, with no need for goggles or other stereoscopic tricks. The results are impressive, as you can see on the videos.
Right now, Holografika—the manufacturer—has two displays that work with Windows and Linux systems: the HoloVizio 128WLD and HoloVizio 720RC. These screens act like windows, with objects appearing to recede or pop out of the surface. As you move, you can see the object change perspective like any natural object, with no jumps, an effect that is called continuous motion parallax, which is key to achieve true 3D displays.
According to Holografika, there's also no need for head tracking or positioning, so many people can see the objects at the same time, with no discomfort of any kind.

HoloVizio 128WLD
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Screen size: 32" (792 mm) diagonal, 672 mm x 420 mm
3D resolution: 9.8 Mpixel
2D equivalent resolution from one angle: 512 x 320 pixel
Input: 4 x DVI-I or DVI-D monitor cable (single link)
Compatibility: PC & WorkStation
Viewing angle: 50° horizontal
Color: 16 Million (24 bit RGB)

HoloVizio 720RC
Aspect ratio: 16:9
Screen size: 72" (~1800 mm) diagonal. 1600 mm x 900 mm
3D resolution: 34.5 Mpixel
2D equivalent resolution from one angle: 1080 x 600 pixel
Input: Gigabit Ethernet (CAT6) or Infiniband
Compatibility: PC & WorkStation
Viewing angle: 50° – 70° horizontal
Color: 16 Million (24 bit RGB)
The price of each unit is probably the gross domestic product of Costa Rica. [Holografika via GizMag]

Article:
http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full ... no-goggles"

I only remember one game in the early 90s using voxels instead of pixels, can't remember its name but it looked very much better than the games of the time and played much faster on the hardware of the time so maybe that's the thinking behind this display?

[LukePC1]

pro:
-Many viewing angles,
-increadible high 3D resolution at first glance,
-No glasses

con:
-low 'real' resolution
-4 inputs at one of the screens show the HIGH bandwith and the needed rendering power.
-most certainly too expencive for consumers.

Lets calc a little:

3D resolution: 34.5 Mpixel
2D equivalent resolution from one angle: 1080 x 600 pixel

2D res is about 0.5Mpixel, that is 1/70th of the 3D resolution. That should mean the GPU renders up to 70 different pictures to provide pictures to 70 different angles!

3D resolution: 9.8 Mpixel
2D equivalent resolution from one angle: 512 x 320 pixel

10MP/(1/6MP) = ca 60different pictures


I'd like to see the driver and hardware to run these MONSTERS...

Fazit: Highend products for Demo purpose.
Might be nice to have them as demo-Machines in a shop or somewhere else. People would get interested in 3D 8)

[Silversurfer]

pro:
-Many viewing angles,
-increadible high 3D resolution at first glance,
-No glasses

con:
-low 'real' resolution
-4 inputs at one of the screens show the HIGH bandwith and the needed rendering power.
-most certainly too expencive for consumers.

Lets calc a little:

3D resolution: 34.5 Mpixel
2D equivalent resolution from one angle: 1080 x 600 pixel

2D res is about 0.5Mpixel, that is 1/70th of the 3D resolution. That should mean the GPU renders up to 70 different pictures to provide pictures to 70 different angles!

3D resolution: 9.8 Mpixel
2D equivalent resolution from one angle: 512 x 320 pixel

10MP/(1/6MP) = ca 60different pictures


I'd like to see the driver and hardware to run these MONSTERS...

Fazit: Highend products for Demo purpose.
Might be nice to have them as demo-Machines in a shop or somewhere else. People would get interested in 3D 8)

So that's how you do the calculation, damn I love this forum, Cheers

[cybereality]

That HoloVizio set is probably the most amazing thing right now. While its not actually holographic, it simulates a true volumetric display pretty well (at least from the videos I've seen). Who cares if the resolution sucks, its a real 3d display! Instant headtracking, unlimited number of viewers, without having to wear anything. This is the best possible thing that could happen for stereo3d. And no, I doubt anyone here can afford one. But they are for big advertisements and trade shows and things like that. These are the sets that will convince the mainstream that S3D is legit. They need to get these installed like at major sporting events so you can see the game in 3d on the big screens. That is what will sell 3D to the masses.

Also, here is a more recent video showing some gaming applications: http://youtube.com/watch?v=vyyvfE9Zm7A

@Silversurfer: There were a few games in the 90's that used voxels. The big one that had stereo3d support was Magic Carpet in '94. That was pretty cool at the time. There were some other games before that that used voxels. They had really amazing graphics back then, there weren't any real 3D games I don't think (just raycasting like wolfenstein). This may not be the first, but it was maybe the best back then: Comanche, a DOS game released in '92 ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViKnFBNPqOg ). Honestly, I think the graphics still look decent. Also, who remembers Descent? That game was sick!

[BlackShark]

The only one game that uses voxels i remember was Outcast, an amazing action/adventure game with incredible visuals and soundtrack.

Rendering 3D doesn't need to be that intensive. You still need to render only one 3D scene but the rendering method is so different that you'd have to change completely both the game code and GPU drivers to get it to work since there is no projection happening during rendering but rather a volume fill up.
I also wonder at how shaders could be created, how do you produce reflections with voxels for example ?

There is also one thing i'm very curious about is the true depth of the screen. According to the pixel figures, you'd have to stack 70 layers of pixels (i believe it's more like 64 layers). I believe it's perfectly doable but how deep does the screen becomes. The depth could be reduced using lenses but i still fear that it's no way close to what we call a "flat screen", is it ?

[cybereality]

There is also one thing i'm very curious about is the true depth of the screen. According to the pixel figures, you'd have to stack 70 layers of pixels (i believe it's more like 64 layers). I believe it's perfectly doable but how deep does the screen becomes. The depth could be reduced using lenses but i still fear that it's no way close to what we call a "flat screen", is it ?

I don't believe their technology works using stacks of pixels. It appears that each pixel can emit different colors from different angles. I'm only speculating based on the primer from their website:
http://holografika.com/index.php?option ... &Itemid=63

[artox]

It may be a great solution for advertising but I'm not entirely sure how it would work in games.
You can't achieve great depth, due to constrains of the box (screen) plus while playing you don't move around much meaning physically (you are pretty much sitting in one place- be it couch/chair) so it won't be of any benefit in gameplay ( yeah you can have a lot of people with no need of wearing glasses and sitting in an exact spot, but to you as the player there is no real benefit). I also can't say you can use it as a hmd, if it was a hologram sure (especially combined with a wii - imagine the possibilities ), but while it's stuck at screen mode, I don't think so. It probably won't be of any use in the movie industry either. Movies are shot from an exact angle, meaning how the director desires, you can't really view a movie from a different angle - it would ruin the experience.
So as interesting as the technology may be, I'm not sure how applicable it is for 3d gaming or in stereo movies. The real benefit will be that it may finally enlighten the casual users how great 3d stereo really is and get them excited about other solutions.

[Okta]

Im blown away by that. Absoultely awesome. Imagine a room sized 360 degree wrap around screen like that to play quake in This makes current 3d displays look very pale indeed. As mentioned above this would require some serious horsepower. I imagine a game would have a series of camera views matching the viewable angles of the screen so in theory all it needs is a driver/hook.

[cybereality]

There is also one thing i'm very curious about is the true depth of the screen. According to the pixel figures, you'd have to stack 70 layers of pixels (i believe it's more like 64 layers). I believe it's perfectly doable but how deep does the screen becomes. The depth could be reduced using lenses but i still fear that it's no way close to what we call a "flat screen", is it ?

I'm sorry BlackShark. I believe you were correct about this. I managed to find the exact dimensions of their display:

Dimensions (W x H x D)
944 mm x 602 mm x 445 mm

So that puts it about as thick as a modern CRT display, which is big, but I guess manageable. Here is the PDF I found with the specs:
http://www.inition.com/inition/pdf/ster ... ka_128.pdf

[mykee90]

Yeah it's hungarian. I love my country.

[NITRO1250]

Super sweet. Now lets wait a few more years and everyone can have one