Toshiba to launch 'world's first' glasses-free 3D TV

TOKYO: Japanese electronics giant Toshiba on Monday said it will launch the first liquid crystal display 3D television that does not require users to wear special glasses.

Toshiba will offer 20-inch and 12-inch Regza GL1 Series sets in Japan from the end of December, the company said.

The 12-inch model is expected to sell for about 120,000 yen (1,400 dollars) and the 20-inch model will carry a price tag of 240,000 yen, Dow Jones Newswires reported.

Current 3D-capable televisions require viewers to wear glasses that act as filters to separate images to each eye to create the illusion of depth.

Makers have turned to 3D sets in a bid to boost demand for new TVs and halt a slide in prices, but the key challenge has been how to enable groups of viewers to all see 3D from different angles at the same time without glasses.

Toshiba's screens use processing technology to create depth-filled images from any angle.

The company added that it planned to offer larger screen models that use glasses as well as smaller personal screens.

Rival Sharp earlier this year unveiled a small glasses-free LCD touchscreen that shows 3D images for use in mobile phones, digital cameras and games consoles such as Nintendo's 3DS, to be released in Japan in February 2011.