Texas Instruments Developing Technology to Enable Simultaneous Viewing

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Texas Instruments is developing a technology that would enable viewers to watch two different television programs simultaneously on the same TV—without a split screen.

The report continues by saying that the processing technology would allow 2-D, 3-D, and “dual view mode.” The dual view mode combines two images on the same screen—similar to 3-D—but unlike 3-D, the two images are different. It will therefore be necessary for each viewer to wear a different pair of glasses (like those used for watching 3-D material) to watch their chosen program. At least one viewer will also have to wear headphones in order to hear the audio from their program.

The report adds that Texas Instruments’s DLP 3-D chip combines left and right stereo images in a checkerboard pattern, thereby preserving horizontal and vertical resolution of both views. The Hollywood Reporter report does not mention if dual view mode is accomplished using the same method.

There is no word on when the chip will make its way into TVs. However, the report mentions that Texas Instruments plans to “begin to preview” the technology at year’s end.