Saw this one on eBay, made an offer to a somewhat local company that does electronics recycling, and won it for a song :)

This is a Toshiba Regza 20GL1 from 2011. It was the very first 3D HDTV ever made with no glasses required, and was only introduced to the Japan market...never brought to the US. Here's a press release from Toshiba about the set:

http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2010_10/pr0402.htm

The controls, being labeled in Japanese only, took me a little bit and the help of a couple friends to figure out. Many of the functions are controlled with the remote, which I unfortunately don't have....yet.

It wouldn't work on standard cable, and I figured out why. I had to investigate how TV in Japan works. The reason it won't work with cable TV is that it's not designed for that. The cable inputs are designed for the Japan CS1, CS2 and BS satellite bands. It's got 4 HDMI inputs and a couple I've never seen. All I had to do was plug in the HDMI out of the cable box, and done! WOW what a picture!

To those who have never seen 3D TV, it's more like a depth effect....the feeling that the TV is more of a window on a house rather than stuff flying out at you. It may only have a 20" screen, but I now own a very rare Japan market 3D HDTV! :)

How in the world does it work with no glasses?
Does it require special 3-D content such as a Bluray?

There's a selection of 3-D movies on Netflix Streaming, I tried a couple of them just to see how it looked (my set requires glasses) it was pretty neat but I can live with 2-D just fine.

Found this picture of the remote BTW. Also in Japanese. :yes:

Cool! Gotta love the more obscure sets huh? This one takes the cake in that regard.

Wow, congratulations on your find.

The explanation of operation is interesting.

Found this picture of the remote BTW. Also in Japanese. :yes:

Where the heck did you find that? Here's hoping there's a shot of the back of it with a model number...I have a friend in Hong Kong that *might* be able to help me get one :)

Where the heck did you find that? Here's hoping there's a shot of the back of it with a model number...I have a friend in Hong Kong that *might* be able to help me get one :)Looks like the remote model number is on the front, just under the Toshiba name.

How the heck did I miss that?!?!?

Thanks! There's an ebay seller that has a ton of em! :D

How in the world does it work with no glasses?


In the 80's Sony demonstrated a 3D system that required no glasses on a
regular off the shelf looking 21" Trinatron TV. It was on a local news broadcast
and then I never saw it again..... They had the camera, a tv, and people throwing
a ball, and Frisbee. The reactions from people made it sure look like it was
working..... For all I know it was a local NJ company and they just used a
Sony tv..... Maybe they couldn't get it sold to a tv maker....

I imagine it was too expensive, and no real market for it....

I for one don't have any interest in it. The few movies I have seen with 3D
effects were of no substance as it was just a showcase for the effect. Besides,
can you imagine how much more annoying car commercials would be in 3D...
and how tv news would have those noisy graphics jump out of the screen and
come dam near hitting you in the face every 4 minutes...... 3D needs to die
an expensive slow death....

thank you!

.

.

Congratulations on a wonderful score! Rare to this side of the Pacific makes it so collectible.
Kevin

The more I use the set, the more I realize that (at least to me) it seems that the set's more of a test bed for an emergent technology (marketed to early adopters who have to have the first, latest, and greatest) than it is meant to be used as a daily set.

Take a look at the attached pic, this is taken from a YouTube video of an electronics trade show in Germany. In order to get the 3D effect, this is pretty much how you have to sit. With a 45 degree 3D viewing area, it doesn't leave much room for more than 2 people to watch at the same time.

My two sons, 11 and 14, aren't as impressed with it as I am.....of course when you're a teenager and have seen the 72" 3D sets at the box stores costing several thousand dollars, it's no wonder why I guess.

This article seems to support that theory. Toshiba had expected to sell 1,000 per month, but only sold a total of 500 in 5 months. Almost like a modern day CT-100 story:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/02/07/toshiba_3dtv_sales_are_poor/

Neat score ! You have a knack for that, though... (grin)

Downloaded Google Chrome with an automatic translator to go on to Toshiba's Japan website, and downloaded a manual....so I now have a manual for my set!

This isn't going to get me too far though ;)

Didn't Toshiba market the "Regza" flat screens in the US as well as in Japan, several years ago? :scratch2: It seems to me that Toshiba did have a line of large flat screens they marketed in this country under that name, built for the US ATSC television standard. I think the US versions of these TVs were something on the order of 32 inches up to perhaps 50 inches, nothing larger than 50 or smaller than 32. I'll look at Toshiba's US website to see if these sets are still being made.

I've seen the "Regza" name on most of the Toshiba LCD sets I've found here (Australia) - though never on anything smaller than 26" or without a digital tuner. The earlier sets without digital tuners had a different name that I don't recall right now. The couple of smaller than 26" sets I've had were just "Toshiba" as was the most recent (2011ish) 32".

I remember reading about these 3d sets .. the narrow viewing angle has always been the problem with these types of systems.

One day they will crack it! But is there a market?

And great find!!!

....... But is there a market?......


:D Could be , but I know of at least one squirrel that ain't buyin :D


PS , Very nice set Tim ! You must have one hell of a big basement ;)

On a "glasses-free" (or autostereoscopic) 3-D display, the LCD displays alternating vertical strips containing the "left" and "right" parts of the image. Then there is a lenticular lens over the LCD that makes sure the "left" part of the image goes to the left eye and the "right" part of the image goes to the right eye. You have to be centered on the screen for the 3-D effect to work. The same is actually possible with photographic images, you can print these out yourself and buy the lenticular lenses to apply to prints, and various companies also make premade 3-D prints.

I have a Fujifilm 3DW3 camera which has an autostereoscopic display. Fuji also made a 3D picture frame and Sharp made a cell phone with 3D camera and autostereo LCD. Here in Rochester there is a company called DTI (Dimension Technologies Inc, dti3d.com) that made a small (15" IIRC) autostereo LCD monitor. They have some patents around the technology and went after Sharp in court for infringing on them. I saw a demo of their monitor, good 3-D effect when you were lined up right with it. The power LED had a filter on it so that you could only see it when you were properly lined up for 3-D viewing. Multiple people could line up to view in 3-D side-by-side.

The company I work for has a 40ish inch Regza in the break room that has been running almost 24/7 for about 6 years, It gets shut off on weekends if there is no overtime. They have never had a problem with it. The DirecTV dish on the roof is another story...Keeps getting off target with the satellite and we get to watch the DirecTV logo bouncing around the screen for a week until someone can come reaim it.

https://s19.postimg.cc/88m73yllv/Panasonic_TH-43_K1_DP.jpg

I'm curios, did this set gives you head ackes or completly lackes that dizzines effect of 3D with glasses?

Nope, never once. Zenithfan1 now owns the set, delivered to him at this year's ETF convention :)

What was the 3D source video for this? A twin-lens camera for broadcast (glasses needed)? The handful of 3D theatrical movies (Hugo needed glasses)?

Nope, never once. Zenithfan1 now owns the set, delivered to him at this year's ETF convention :)

It never gave you dizziness?

It never gave you dizziness?

No, not at all. This is the best 3D tv made, the ones with glasses suck.

I have to ask just out of curiosity, did you ever get the remote for this set? I saw someone said their was a seller on Ebay with them.

Thanks,
Dennis

Yep, that's where I got the remote :)