Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Entertainment/2015 November 27

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November 27

What was the first mainstream example of autostereoscopy (glasses-free 3D) being used in entertainment?

What was the first mainstream example of autostereoscopy (glasses-free 3D) being used in entertainment? Ebaillargeon82 (talk) 22:39, 27 November 2015 (UTC)

As usual, definitions matter. It depends on how you mean mainstream: if you mean readily-available and affordable consumer products, the Nintendo 3DS was released in 2011. There were TVs launched before that, but the cost was very high ($20,000+). There are certainly many examples before these products, but nothing mainstream and affordable. Various technologies to allow this have been around for over 100 years. See Autostereoscopy. Mingmingla (talk) 02:14, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

I see. I just read an article about autostereoscopic cinema. According to the article, a glasses-free 3D cinema opened in Moscow in February 1941, then closed four months later due to WWII. Then: "On 20th February 1947 glasses-free 3D cinema reopened in Moscow with Ivanov et al. replacing the radial barrier with a radial lenticular optical arrangement. This paved the way for glasses-free cinemas in other Russian cities including Leningrad, Kiev and Odessa and enabled audiences to enjoy 3D films such as Robinson Crusoe, Machine 22-12, Crystals, May Night, Aleko, A Precious Gift, and the like.". The article can be found here: https://aut.researchgateway.ac.nz/bitstream/handle/10292/7872/Final%20B%20G%20Blundell%20White%20Paper%20Russian%20Cinema%20reduced%20copyright.pdf?sequence=6&isAllowed=y

Would this example of autostereoscopy be considered mainstream? Ebaillargeon82 (talk) 09:03, 28 November 2015 (UTC)

It certainly wasn't mainstream anywhere outside of Russia, and it wasn't in wide release even in Russia despite spreading to a few major cities. I'd be inclined to say no, but I would certainly agree that it wasn't a one-off either. Mingmingla (talk) 19:34, 28 November 2015 (UTC)