2010 is the year that consumers will see a new revolution in television and movie experience. Unlike what you have seen in the past, it is not just improvement in picture or sound. It is not just better resolution or slimmer screens. It’s about reality – television that is finally “real” – providing a truly immersive and involving experience.

Many consumers have experienced 3D in theaters, primarily with their children using filmsy colored glasses. While these experiences have been exciting and entertaining, they are barely the tip of the iceberg in what the future has to offer for 3D. 3D is much more than great animated children movies and trick effects that startle and impress the audience.

3D changes the game because it opens an entirely new world of experiences, because the new 3D television standard captures and reproduces images just like the human eye, without the limitations found in today’s great high definition 2D technology.

How Does 3D TV Work?

Humans have a marvelous vision system, with two eyes, slightly separated, which allows the brain to see both a left and right image, and then creates a “composite image” in our brain that has depth (the third dimension). But for more than 50 years, we have also watched flat images on television and at the theater, which our brains have also processed, without the sense of depth.

The new Full HD 3D standard is based on the same principle as the human eye – two Full HD 1080p cameras, slightly separated just like the human eye; simultaneously record the left and right images. These two 1080p images are stored on a new type of Blu-ray Disc, and played back in the home. Using a new HDMI 1.4 standard to connect to a Full HD 3DTV, both the right and left images are displayed sequentially very fast. In order for your brain to process these two images, active shutter LCD glasses, which are synchronized with the television alternately blank your left and right eyes, so your brain sees a left, then a right image. The images are displayed so fast that they are just a natural, comfortable viewing experience, and your brain creates a normal 3D composite image.

The New HDMI 1.4 Standard

Because these new 3D Blu-ray Disc players can play standard DVD’s, Blu-ray Discs as well as Full HD 3D Blu-ray Discs, a more intelligent connection between the player and the television is necessary – which is the new HDMI 1.4. HDMI 1.4 allows the player to tell the TV that the new signal is 2D or 3D, and then the TV will automatically switch on the correct processing circuits. This new HDMI standard should be completed by the end of 2009, and products should be available in mid-2010 with this new circuit.

Panasonic’s Venture into 3D

In order for this new standard to be created, Panasonic’s Hollywood Laboratory facility cooperated with leading studios, and developed a range of new technologies and processes. The lab, which has been a leader in helping studios author their 2D Blu-ray Discs (so the discs could be duplicated and made available in stores), created the authoring process for the new 3D standard as well. At Panasonic, new high-performance signal processing chips were created, and a new higher-speed Plasma television technology was created. Combined with the new Blu-ray Disc standard that Panasonic created and proposed, a new paradigm in home entertainment has been created. This standard has been supported by major studios and consumer electronics companies, and 2010 will be the year for consumers to migrate to this new technology. More info from Panasonic 3D site.

The 3D Experience

Simply put, watching full HD 3DTV is like actually attending the football game, or looking out the window. At the resolution of Full 1080p HD for each eye, combined with the natural left and right images which allow for depth perception, makes this an amazing experience. Unlike the 3D experiences that most of us have experienced, it’s sharp, clear, and incredibly immersive. And it’s not just children’s animated content that is driving this revolution – it’s sporting events, the full range of theatrical releases, computer games, documentaries and all the content you can imagine, the way you were meant to watch it – in three dimensions.

But this is just the beginning. While remote medical imaging, remote surgery and imaging are in their infancy, they are missing the third dimension. Remote controlled aircraft, video conferencing, live news – so many of today’s experiences and technologies will be dramatically changed as 3D becomes available.

In the market today, there are a variety of products marketed as 3D. There are differences between these products and the new Full HD 3D standard, so consumers will need to be armed with the right information in order to make the right choices. A quick checklist will help you understand the products you are looking at – does it have an HDMI 1.4 connection? Does it provide Full HD 3D, or lesser resolution? Does the display technology provide a good image? Fortunately, some simple questions and a review of specifications will help, along with your actual experience – because seeing is believing.

3DTV-Review.net is committed to providing the latest updates and reviews of 3D TV and related products to keep you up to date with this new game changing technology.