Introduction - 3DTV: Processing and Transmission of 3D Video Signals - page 7

images. The two stereoscopic views are superimposed, and the colour lenses
are used to filter out one of the views so that the left eye only sees the left view,
and the right eye only sees the right view. There are three key milestones
during the development of anaglyph image technology. The first milestone is
the publication of Wilhelm Rollmann's paper, which described the anaglyph
principle from experiments involving red and blue lines, viewed using red
and blue lenses [4]. In 1858, Joseph D'Almeida developed a system to project
two images, through red and blue lenses, onto a single screen [1]. The images
could then be viewed using glasses with red and blue lenses. The third key
milestone was reached by Louis Du Hauron, who was at the leading edge
of the development of colour photography. Du Hauron proposed a method
for combining the two stereoscopic views on to a single print [1]. This
eliminated the need for two lenses in projectors, and also enabled printed
anaglyph images to be produced.
Stereoscopic images and drawings became quite popular during the nine-
teenth century. However, the development of technology allowing the
capture and display of 3D movies proved to be highly challenging. Of
course, much of this can be put down to the primitive nature of motion
picture cameras (2D or 3D). Researchers and inventors were still struggling
to produce reliable cameras capable of filming at rates greater than a few
frames per second. However, some efforts were made, most notably by
Frederick Varley and William Friese-Greene. Friese-Greene is a particularly
notable figure, given the quotation on his tomb:
His genius bestowed upon humanity the boon of commercial cinematog-
raphy of which he was the first inventor and patentee.
Research by Brian Coe has subsequently shown that this claim is something
of an exaggeration [5]. Friese-Greene was certainly a very active inventor,
filing large numbers of patents. However, many of his inventions proved to
be either impractical or unreliable. This description at least partially matches
his stereoscopic camera, which he developed in collaboration with Frederick
Varley in 1890. By all accounts, the camera was unreliable and only capable
of capturing at a rate of a few frames per second, which is not enough to
create a true sensation of movement. Furthermore, there is no record of any
of the captured content being projected or displayed in a practical manner.
Shortly after this development, Friese-Greene was declared bankrupt, and
the realization of a commercially viable 3D system was not achieved until
the next century.
1.1.2 EarlyTwentieth-CenturyDevelopments
The early twentieth century saw the arrival of a number of key technologies,
the basic principles of which are still used in many of today's 3D technologies.