All Stereo Competitors

• Planar is a well established display company with a rich history of innovative display technology and a strong customer support team
• Many stereo experts have told us that the StereoMirror technology is the best image quality they have seen
• Our customers often use our SD monitors for 8-hour work shifts and tell us that the SD units are more comfortable than other systems
• Planar SD monitors continues to improve as LCD technology improves and we can quickly incorporate the latest display enhancements into our StereoMirror products

Volumetric

• Volumetric displays are extremely expensive
• The image they show is not solid; you can see through lines and surfaces that are supposed to be opaque
• Volumetric displays require a great deal of processing to show one frame
• What good is it to show multiple views when humans have only two eyes? It is much simpler to use amouse to turn an object or scene around in software than to walk around a virtual object

CRT Based Frame Sequential Stereo

• SD has higher brightness, better stereo contrast and less stereo crosstalk
• The flicker from stereo CRT's can cause eye fatigue, headaches and other discomfort
• SD takes up less space and weighs less
• SD uses less power and emits less heat
• SD will last longer (half-life of 40-50K hours versus 10-15K hours)
• LCD's have no geometrical distortion like a CRT
• SD is free of lead
• Just about all high-end CRTs capable of supporting stereo have been discontinued

Active glasses with a 120 Hz LCD monitor

• SD has higher brightness
• The flicker from active glasses can cause eye fatigue, headaches and other discomfort
• Interference can occur with the synchronization signal of active glasses which requires a direct line of sight to the IR emitter
• Flicker in the active glasses can be especially distracting from fluorescent and halogen lights
• SD supports higher resolution such as 1600x1200 and 1920x1200
• Active glasses are heavier, more expensive and require recharging whereas the SD glasses are lightweight and inexpensive

Head Mounted Displays (HMD)

• SD supports higher resolution
• SD can have multiple users simultaneously which is useful for collaboration
• HMD's prevent the user from seeing their environment so that communication with others is restricted and the user can feel isolated
• Bulky optics make HMD's uncomfortable to wear, especially for an extended period of time
• HMD's have lower image quality than large displays

Autostereo

• SD supports higher resolution
• Autostereo cuts the display resolution in half or more to achieve stereo
• Autostereo has a "sweet spot" to see stereo and if your eyes are even a cm away from this position it will be messy
• SD has a winder viewing envelope for stereo and can support multiple users simultaneously standing or sitting
• SD has higher brightness and stereo contrast
• SD is easier to interface to, especially two video sources

Layered Dual AMLCD

• SD supports higher resolution and has higher stereo contrast
• SD cost is less for comparable size/resolution and has better stereo image quality
• SD does not require complex processing for the stereo view
• SD has better motion response
• The dual layer competition requires a collimated backlight lamp that requires a fan to cool it and uses a lot of power
• The SD has a sharper image because there is no diffuser on the front surface

Stereo Projectors

• SD supports higher resolution and has better stereo contrast
• Can be used in standard office lighting whereas projection systems require a dark room
• SD monitors fit on a desktop
• Projection systems can consume a great deal of space and may require a dedicated room
• Projection systems are more expensive

	Planar StereoMirror	Active glasses w/ frame sequential CRT	Shutter Screen w/ frame sequential CRT	Active glasses w/120 Hz LCD	Autostereo w/ single viewing zone	Autostereo w/ multi viewing zones	Anaglyph	HMD	Stacked Dual LCD's	Dual monitor with isolated optical paths
Full HD (1920x1200) resolution available in stereo	•						•
Stereo brightness greater than 100 cd/m² per eye	•				•	•		•		•
Stereo Contrast greater than 200:1	•							•		•
Easy to switch between 2D and 3D modes	•	•	•	•	•	•			•
Eyewear	polarized glasses	synchronized active goggles	polarized glasses	synchronized active goggles	none	none	red/blue glasses	active goggles	polarized glasses	none
Allows multiple users	•	•	•	•		•	•		•
Flicker-free	•				•	•	•	•	•	•

Related Content

• Stereopsis: Two Eyes, One 3D Image
• Exploring 3-D display technology
• 20 Reasons Why Planar's StereoMirror Offers Superb Stereoscopic Viewing (pdf)