Tokyo (Japan) - Epson says it has developed a new high resolution 3D LCD display which offers extra freedom for viewing, including not needing special glasses to enjoy applications like movies and games. There is no word yet on when this prototype will actually make its way to retail shelves.

Epson feels conventional 3D displays are not up to the task due to "limited viewing zones and low resolution." The company believes its newly developed 3D display changes the playing field with a lenticular lens (a columnar array of cylindrical lenses that determine the view width by refraction) which is optimally designed for a view width of 31 to 32.5mm. It reportedly will provide "sharp, vivid 3D images over a wider viewing zone than was previously possible."

Plans are afoot to push this new LCD display’s 31-32.5mm view width as an industry standard. The company says this multiview system will make it capable of better 3D image reproduction, because it plans to enhance the traditional ability to observe visible changes in an image that "changes along with the observer’s vantage point relative to the screen" by using something it calls "step 3D pixel array." This jumble of words means an image processing technology described by Epson as taking "into account the sensitivity of the human eye to resolution loss in the horizontal direction."

The "best" 3D viewing distance is 450 mm or about 1.5 feet. The maximum resolution of the prototype display is 1024x768 pixel.

This new image processing will, as Epson believes, improve "perceived image quality to provide viewers with sharper, more vivid 3D images."

No word on pricing and availability yet.