What is 4D Television?

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Updated January 22, 2023

“What is 4D television?” You may ask. The answer is relatively simple. At this time, 4D televisions do not exist. The closest thing to a 4D television comes from the idea of “4D films.” These films are rides at amusement parks where you watch a video and simultaneously experience movement or effects. Yes, having a top-rated TV in 4D can be quite fun. However, some TVs do come with 3D features and others with 4K resolution.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

  • No television features 4D technology, though some companies may be combining 3D and 4K features to create the term 4D.
  • 3D TVs are available that utilize anaglyph, active shutter, polarized, or autostereoscopic 3D systems.
  • TVs with 4K include ultra-high definition (UHD) images and 4,000 pixels across the horizontal axis.

3D TVs vs. 2D TVs

TVs with 3D systems include anaglyph, active shutter, polarized, or autostereoscopic features. If you like 3D content, you may want to check out 3D projector vs 3D TV to see which one will be best for you. You can also learn how 3D TVs work if you are curious.

How Anaglyph 3D Systems Work

3D movies released in the past used an anaglyph system. These systems require the use of glasses with color filters built into the lens. One eye shows one color and the other another color, usually red and cyan. When looking at these images without the glasses, you may experience a blur effect because the colors are in separate image areas but still slightly overlapping.

How Active Shutter 3D Systems Work

Active shutter 3D systems block your right eye and show an image in your left eye. Then, an image from a slightly different perspective shows in your right eye while your left eye is blocked. These switches happen so fast that your brain creates a 3D image based on a fusion of these images.

How Polarized 3D Systems Work

The polarized 3D system uses polarized glasses to create the appearance of 3D images. This effect occurs when two images show in the glasses. Each eye blocks the light that is polarized in the opposite direction. The light that is polarized the same way shows through the filters. This method projects the same image from similar but slightly different perspectives.

How Autostereoscopic Systems Work

Autostereoscopic systems work by displaying images with a binocular perception of 3D depth without the use of glasses. One manufacturer was working on creating a TV that would show these images. However, after it became apparent that 3D did not become popular as quickly as they had hoped, they stopped working on that TV.

What Are 3D-ready TVs?

TVs featuring a marker saying 3D-ready can interpret and show 3D shows and movies. Typically, these TVs will be able to handle the 3D content as it comes out. However, most TVs do not feature 3D systems anymore, and most channels do not broadcast in 3D either. Therefore, 3D-ready TVs operate in 2D mode as well.

What are Full 3D TVs?

Full 3D TVs utilize a multi-core processor to enhance upscaling to 4K resolution. Different brands created these TVs before the introduction of 4K content. In addition, these sets feature a directional lenticular lens filter. However, lenticular lens filters may create dead spots. If you also experience a green screen, you can simply learn what happens when your tv screen turns green. Finally, the resolution for 3D images on a 1080p display resembles the lower resolution 720p images.

How Does 4K Resolution Affect a TV?

TVs with 4K have approximately 4,000 pixels across the horizontal axis. Although most 4K TVs contain less than 4K pixels along the horizontal axis, they are still considered to be ultra-high definition (UHD.) Each TV presents a resolution of 3840×2160. You may also benefit from understanding what is a 4K Ultra TV. In more recent years, brands have begun working on 8K TVs. To read about a 4K TV, you can check out our Samsung Q70R review.

F.A.Q.

What is 3D TV?

A TV with 3D capabilities uses various techniques to create an image with more dimensions than flat (2D) pictures.


What is 4K?

TVs with 4K resolution have a higher resolution than their high-definition counterparts. These TVs typically contain roughly 4,000 pixels along the horizontal axis.


What is the difference between smart and 4K TVs?

These two TV types are not mutually exclusive. For example, a TV with smart features, like web and streaming capabilities, has a 4K resolution.



STAT: As of 2018, around 31 percent of U.S. television households used 4K Ultra HDTV products. (source)

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