Japan Display Inc. (JDI)　and NHK Media Technology, Inc. (NHK-MT) have added a video playback function to the 17.0-inch Light Field Display, which has been under joint research and development between the two companies, and supports 3D video.

In the real world, light travels in an infinite variety of directions, and we recognize our three-dimensional world by the way in which we see this light. A "Light Field" simulates this infinite light concept and enables stereoscopic vision by reproducing light emitted in many different directions.

The "17-inch light field display", based on JDI's 17-inch 8K LCD,　reproduces the reflected light from an object that corresponds to the actual visible position, thereby offering natural images rewuiring any special 3D glasses.

JDI and NHK-MT have collaborated to develop a new system that converts multiple light field images arranged in a tiled pattern into a compressed pixel array format suitable for the light field display in real time. With this system it is possible to reproduce an 8K light field video by using a practical playback device.　The system uses the latest digitizing and computer graphics production technologies, combined with digital content compressed with newly-created non-linear algorithms.

With this new system, 3D videos may be seen without any special glasses and without eye and/or brain fatigue.

The companies plan to start mass production of this product during their common FY2019 period, April 1, 2019 through March 31, 2020.