Sony unveils Spatial Reality Display, a 4K screen offering glasses-free 3D

3D-ready TV displays never fail to fascinate us, but what if you had a display that could offer you the 3D experience in 4K resolution without the need for special glasses? Believe it or not, that is exactly what Sony is bringing to the table with its ELF-SR1, also known as the Spatial Reality Display.

Resembling a conventional computer monitor fixed on a 45-degree recline with a triangular frame, the Spatial Reality Display is initially targeting professionals in the content creation business. The display combines a modest 15.6-inch screen with a micro optical lens coating and an eye-tracking camera.

Split into two sets of 2K arrays for your right and left eyes, the display effectively offers 4K resolution, along with tracking the movement of the viewer’s pupils live and precisely aligning the micro-lenses atop the pixels to deliver a crisp and ultra-realistic 3D experience. The final result is getting to see digital 3D objects that appear to be floating right in front of the screen, changing perspectives along with the movement of your eyes and head.

Essentially, this is a bit like seeing computer-generated holograms come to life and being able to view them from whatever angle you prefer. While the screen size is certainly not immense, the experience is certainly worth it. Another bummer is the fact that the Spatial Reality Display appears to be optimized for a single person viewing it at any one time.

For now, Sony wants to peddle this alluring display to content creators in the 3D computer graphics field, especially movie makers and animators. However, there is every possibility this kind of glasses-free 3D visualization will become common for the masses in the future.

The Spatial Reality Display will have a price tag of $5,000 and will start shipping sometime in November 2020.