The Japanese conglomerate Hyundai has unveiled a 46in 3D LCD TV. With a 1920 x 1080 resolution the screen produces a 3D image using stereoscopics.

Stereoscopics creates the illusion of 3D by displaying two different images at high speed, one for the left eye, the other for the right.

Those of you who remember 'Jaws' in 3D at the cinema will also remember that to benefit from the 3D effect required the use of special glasses. Unfortunately, the new system from Hyundai also requires the use of special glasses, although the technologies used differ.

Jaws 3D was shot using the Arrivision 3D system. This is a means of shooting 3D movies in normal colour with a single camera and single strip of film. The technique uses a special twin-lens adapter fitted to the film camera, and divides the 35 mm film frame in half along the middle, capturing the left-eye image in the upper half of the frame and the right-eye image in the lower half.

The 3D TV relies on special stereoscopic broadcasts, which have been up and running for a while in Japan but offer limited content.

Other manufacturers, notably Philips are working on 3D technologies which do not require the use of 3D glasses. The 3D 'WOWvx' system from Philips is being used mainly for commercial purposes at the moment, and still relies on 3D enabled content.