# Obscure 3D Technology Idea From the Early 1980s? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 12, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080 "2022-06-12T20:36:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/1 "2022-06-12T20:36:08Z")
Now this one you’d have to be alive in the early 80’s to even remember. Because I haven’t heard anything about it since then. It was the early 1980s. And I was about 11 or 12, if you must know. And there was this human interest show on at primetime called _Real People_. Anyways, this enterprising inventor was trying to showcase his new invention. Basically a method for showing three dimensional images on ordinary TV. Basically he had images in front, and the background would move from side to side, creating the illusion of three dimensions. I saw it. And it worked, it seemed. He just needed to refine it a little. But he thought he’d make millions off it. He of course never did, because I never heard anything of it again. Anyone else know what became of him? Or his invention? I’ve literally wondered all these years. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/2 "2022-06-12T22:08:40Z")
I don’t quite get your description of this technology. Is it like cel animation with foreground cels, midrange cels and background cels? Then it wouldn’t be 3D or an invention of the 80s, so I must be misunderstanding something. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/3 "2022-06-12T22:25:20Z")
@naita Example: there were cheerleaders in the front of the picture (cheering, of course). And the football field behind them was moving horizontally from side to side, while the cheerleaders stood still. This was the sample image they showed on _Real People_. That’s all I can tell you. It did seem to create the illusion of three dimensions. The show broadcasted this in the early 1980s. And the guy claimed the idea was his and new. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/4 "2022-06-12T22:39:27Z")
Also, if I didn’t make clear in my OP, this kind of a reminiscencing thread too. Do you remember-----too? Whatever happened to-----? But it has a question too. Which is why I put it in IMHO 🙂 . ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/5 "2022-06-12T22:54:33Z")
> [@Jim\_B](#): > > Also, if I didn’t make clear in my OP, this kind of a reminiscencing thread too. Ah, I almost posted something from that era but then didn’t. You made me remember the Nimslo camera, which was also about 3D images. > **[Nimslo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nimslo)** > > The Nimslo is a stereo camera with a brightfield viewfinder that produces 3D pictures that can be viewed without glasses. This is done using lenticular printing. It uses common 35 mm film in 135 film format cartridges. It was produced in the 1980s by Nimstec of Atlanta, and manufactured by Timex in Dundee, Scotland. > The Nimslo had fixed focus and automatic exposure. It featured a leathered metal body and glass lenses. Using its four lenses, four images from slightly different viewing angles were... I remember reading about them but I never saw a photo taken with one. If you remember those 3D baseball cards where the surface was plastic and had ridges, I think that’s what they were supposed to be like. Tilt the card a bit and a different image appears. > **[1991 Kellogg's 3D Baseball Card Pick | eBay](https://www.ebay.com/itm/322547635646)** > > Cards are in NM-Mint Condition unless noted otherwise. You may have to wait to get a combined invoice if it did not combine automatically. ETA more about lenticular printing. > **[Lenticular printing](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenticular_printing)** > > Lenticular printing is a technology in which lenticular lenses (a technology also used for 3D displays) are used to produce printed images with an illusion of depth, or the ability to change or move as they are viewed from different angles. > Examples include flip and animation effects such as winking eyes, and modern advertising graphics whose messages change depending on the viewing angle. > Colloquial terms for lenticular prints include "flickers", "winkies", "wiggle pictures", and "tilt cards... ---
**Author:** ![engineer\_comp\_geek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/engineer_comp_geek/32/504_2.png) [@engineer\_comp\_geek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/engineer_comp_geek)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 10:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/6 "2022-06-12T22:56:46Z")
It wasn’t invented in the 1980s. It’s basically using multiple layers of images and a bit of parallax to simulate 3d. As for his “invention”, I have seen it used on a lot of historical shows to bring a bit of life to old photographs, which makes them a bit more interesting visually. There are also apps for cell phones to make an animated 3d background using the same effect. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/7 "2022-06-12T23:30:30Z")
Probably not the same technique, as it uses two tone glasses to have moving objects appear to be at different depths, but it’s a technology that saw some small use in the 80s and 90s. > **[Pulfrich effect](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulfrich_effect)** > > The Pulfrich effect is a psychophysical percept wherein lateral motion of an object in the field of view is interpreted by the visual cortex as having a depth component, due to a relative difference in signal timings between the two eyes. > The effect is generally induced by placing a dark filter over one eye but can also occur spontaneously in several eye diseases such as cataract, optic neuritis, or multiple sclerosis. In such cases, symptoms such as difficulties judging the paths of oncoming ca... ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/8 "2022-06-12T23:32:35Z")
This inventor doesn’t appear to have made enough of a splash with his technology to make it into the Wikipedia entries on 3D displays. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/9 "2022-06-12T23:38:37Z")
I thought I knew most of the 3D technologies out there, but that one is new to me. Neat. Try watching this video with some sunglasses covering just your right eye: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/Q-v4LsbFc5c/maxresdefault.jpg "This Video Is 2D And 3D Simultaneously: the Pulfrich Effect") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-v4LsbFc5c) The effect is quite striking. To the OP: are you sure the program didn’t require you use sunglasses or some other way of darkening the image from one eye? ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 12, 2022, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/10 "2022-06-12T23:42:39Z")
> [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > I thought I knew most of the 3D technologies out there, but that one is new to me. Neat. Try watching this video with some sunglasses covering just your right eye: I remember seeing that video, but I can’t remember actually testing it out … Will have to do that now! ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/11 "2022-06-13T00:07:14Z")
The show actually has many/most of their episodes uploaded to YouTube: > **[Real People](https://www.youtube.com/c/RealPeopletv)** > > On April 18, 1979 at 8pm a new kind of television series was born. The format was so different no one had a way to describe it yet. The New York Times said it blurred the lines between news and entertainment. Producer George Schlatter agreed and... I wasn’t able to find the 3D inventor guy. It does show some slightly… strange inventions: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/QGKGNHBCxms/maxresdefault.jpg "Best of Crazy Inventions | Real People | George Schlatter") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGKGNHBCxms) It’s obviously not meant to show be a serious look at new technologies. My money is on the 3D effect being entirely in the imagination of the viewer, unless it really did require some extra equipment. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/12 "2022-06-13T00:12:13Z")
> [@naita](#): > > I remember seeing that video, but I can’t remember actually testing it out I tried a few other videos that claimed to demonstrate the effect, but none were close to as good as this one. They did a good job with getting the velocity right, and I think it helps that it was shot in HD resolution, as compared to some of the others that were blurry. It also helps that Scott, the background, and the occasional swipe of his arm are the only objects in the scene. That gives you a nice distinct three levels of depth. ---
**Author:** ![Jim\_B](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jim_b/32/4338_2.png) [@Jim\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jim_B)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/13 "2022-06-13T07:34:18Z")
@Dr.Strangelove _To the OP: are you sure the program didn’t require you use sunglasses or some other way of darkening the image from one eye?_ Very. No extra equipment was required at all. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 8:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/14 "2022-06-13T08:02:48Z")
Then I can say pretty confidently that it was not stereoscopic 3D. Maybe it used some optical illusion to give some sense of 3Dness, but stereoscopic 3D requires each eye to have a different view, which means there must be some way of distinguishing the eyes somehow. Did it require any preparation first, such as staring at the screen with one eye closed? I suppose it might be possible to use color fatigue to get some kind of anaglyph 3D effect. ---
**Author:** ![lobotomyboy63](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lobotomyboy63/32/2900_2.png) [@lobotomyboy63](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lobotomyboy63)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/15 "2022-06-13T13:02:39Z")
Panasonic has this. [https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-12-5mm-Thirds-Interchangeable-Cameras/dp/B0043VE292](https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-12-5mm-Thirds-Interchangeable-Cameras/dp/B0043VE292) The product description says: > The TV alternately reproduces the left-eye and right-eye images, which are viewed through 3D Eyewear. To play back 3D images, simple insert an SD Memory Card in the slot of a Panasonic VIERA 3DTV or use a mini HDMI cable to connect the camera to a VIERA 3DTV. You can get one for Canon to use for VR. Not cheap, but to be fair, they’re dual fisheyes. [https://www.amazon.com/Canon-RF5-2mm-F2-8-Dual-Fisheye/dp/B09HVBDKFY/ref=asc\_df\_B09HVBDKFY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532600627865&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4007945700336674876&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026937&hvtargid=pla-1441206772233&psc=1](https://www.amazon.com/Canon-RF5-2mm-F2-8-Dual-Fisheye/dp/B09HVBDKFY/ref=asc_df_B09HVBDKFY/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=532600627865&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4007945700336674876&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9026937&hvtargid=pla-1441206772233&psc=1) ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/16 "2022-06-13T13:52:36Z")
Just an aside: There was a bit of a retro fad in the early ‘80s for 3D movies on local TV. You would get your glasses for a few cents at 7-11 so you could watch _Creature From the Black Lagoon_ or some other old (usually B&W) movie in 3D on Elvira or some other local show on TV. If you didn’t have glasses they gave you instructions at the start on how to turn the color off on your TV. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/17 "2022-06-13T13:56:55Z")
This sounds like they found a way to use the “multiplane camera” for live-action films: [Multiplane camera - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplane_camera#:~:text=The%20most%20famous%20multiplane%20camera,Award%20for%20Animated%20Short%20Film). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/18 "2022-06-13T14:01:19Z")
I recall something being shown on local TV news around 1980. I didn’t get to see it but descriptions sort of match the Pultrich effect. There was some mention of the image sort o2f blinking, maybe with interleaved images. Nobody I talked to was very impressed but I’m afraid that working in 3D graphics at the time the people around me who saw it were being tech snobbish. I never heard another thing about it though. I am surprised [Integral imaging](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Integral_imaging) hasn’t been the focus of attention for the future of interactive 3D. The resolution requirements are quite high, the images have to be shot and viewed through a microlens array which also is a practical resolution limitation, but the display density and processing speed are definitely up to the task now. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/19 "2022-06-13T14:10:02Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > This sounds like they found a way to use the “multiplane camera” for live-action films: Sorry, didn’t pick up a reference in the link to live-action film. Did I miss something? Multiplane cameras have been used in animation for a long time but it was a labor intensive process that didn’t become practical until it could be done virtually. Disney insisted on using the multiplane for Snow White and other movies and it led to delays and cost overruns in production, but the eventual success of the films did justify it. It’s certainly possible to film separate parts of a scene at different distance ranges from the camera and re-integrate them with the effect, but that’s standard CGI work these days. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [June 13, 2022, 2:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080/20 "2022-06-13T14:43:16Z")
> [@Bonum\_Legatum](#): > > This sounds like they found a way to use the “multiplane camera” for live-action films: > > [Multiplane camera - Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multiplane_camera#:~:text=The%20most%20famous%20multiplane%20camera,Award%20for%20Animated%20Short%20Film). Live action films are already “multiplane”. Infinite planes in fact. My WAG is that it did something similar though. If you look at a near object and wiggle your head, the object moves around relative to the foreground. Maybe if the different “planes” in a flat, moving image move in a similar fashion we perceive it the same way and get a 3D effect? Anyone tried searching the patent library? Maybe this guy patented his invention? If not I call dibs!\* \*I know that’s not how patents work. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/obscure-3d-technology-idea-from-the-early-1980s/966080.md?page=2)