Hyundai is offering — in Japan only — the first product for watching the 3D programs that cable stations in Japan now broadcast about four times a day.

There are a few catches:

The 46-inch liquid-crystal display requires 3D glasses; it’s expensive — $3,960, including two pairs of glasses, or about 25 percent more than a comparable regular LCD TV; and the only programs available so far include just a few minutes of video from Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido — shots from the zoo, motorcycle races and other short scenes.

Seen on regular TVs, 3D programs split the screen vertically so the same image appears in both the left and right halves. Conversely, wearing the 3D glasses while watching regular programming on the Hyundai 3D TV produces a slight 3D effect.

The TV uses stereoscopic technology called TriDef from DDD Group Plc in Santa Monica, California, which works by sending the same image separately for the left eye and the right eye.

Source: CNN