Introduction to
ChromaDepthTM 3-D
ChromaDepthTM 3-D is so simple it can be confusing: to see 3-D all you need is any color picture and a pair of C3DTM Glasses. For great 3-D the image should be designed in ChromaDepthTM 3-D. Read on, and also see our Design Guide.
ChromaDepthTM
3-D is the most versatile 3-D image method
available. This new process
allows spectacular 3-D images
to be created and presented in
print, film, video, television, computer
graphic, and laser show formats.
Creating exciting ChromaDepthTM
3-D images is most easily accomplished
when
the artist has an understanding
of the functions of both the
ChromaDepthTM 3-D glasses
and the ChromaDepthTM
3-D depth encoding process.
The patented
ChromaDepthTM 3-D process
enables the creation of 'normal' looking color images
that can be viewed as two dimensional
images without ChromaDepthTM
3-D glasses, but which jump into
dramatic 3-D when viewed through
the revolutionary ChromaDepthTM
3-D glasses. The ChromaDepthTM
3-D process is entirely new, but to understand how it works
we need to first discuss the
old 3-D methods.
When you see an image
in 3-D both your left and right eyes see slightly different images from
each other. The differences in these two images, called a stereo pair,
conveys depth information to
your brain. If you remember the old 3-D
comics, you will recall that the pictures consisted of two overlapping
line drawings printed in red
and blue. The red and blue glasses
that came with the comic (if
you were lucky) allowed only one
image through to each eye, thus
making a stereo pair. The red
and blue glasses 3-D
method is called anaglyph 3-D.
The ChromaDepthTM
3-D glasses are completely clear,
unlike any other kind of 3-D glasses. Although
they look simply like clear plastic,
each of the lenses in the ChromaDepthTM
3-D glasses actually incorporate
a high precision system of micro-optics
which creates a stereo pair from
a single image. The lenses accomplish
this by shifting the image colors
in different directions for each eye. The concept of ChromaDepthTM
3-D is straight-forward; encode
depth into an image by means
of color, then decode the color
by means of optics, producing a true,
stereoscopic, three dimensional
image.
Since color
is used to represent depth information,
the depth encoded image is a
single image. Depending on the subject
matter and the skill of the image
creator, the effect of the ChromaDepthTM
3-D depth encoding may be to
make the image look completely artificial,
like a fantasy computer graphic,
or to look completely natural.
Lovely examples of completely
natural-looking ChromaDepthTM
3-D images can be found
in almost any book of underwater
reef photography. The natural
colors of this world often fall
accidentally into exactly the
right depth encoding to make
the image beautifully 3-D when
viewed with ChromaDepthTM3-D
glasses.
A wide
range of depth effects is possible
with ChromaDepthTM
3-D. The glasses optics come
in two different varieties, Standard
and HD, and the depth-to-color
relationship (the ChromaDepthTM
3-D mapping) depends on the choice
of background color.
To learn more, see our
Design Guide and Color Models
pages.
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Chromatek Inc.
The ChromaDepthTM 3-D Company
1246 Old Alpharetta Road
Alpharetta, GA 30005
1-888-NOW-UC3D
(770) 772-9852
(770) 663-4726 Fax