3D Testing Services

The future is 3D. With fast-paced innovations heralding a new era in cinema and video displays, box-office successes have shown that consumers simply can't get enough of 3D entertainment. And they want to enjoy 3D content at home, with affordable, quality 3D projection devices. Now wonder the retail market is following the lead, providing a wide variety of display systems for the latest in 3D movies, 3D video games, 3D TV broadcasting and 2D-3D software converters. But what makes a good quality display? As the world's only certified testing body for 3D display systems, TÜV Rheinland has the answer.

With its years of experience in third-party testing of 3D display equipment, TÜV Rheinland is the partner consumers trust when it comes to making the right purchase decisions. So, give your customers peace of mind that when it comes to your display systems, the 3D experience they are getting is state-of-the-art. For more enjoyment and comfort.

With TÜV Rheinland as your partner for internationally recognized 3D tests, you:

• Benefit from over 25 years of experience in third-party testing and certification of display devices
• Ensure compliance with statutory and voluntary requirements
• Provide consumers with safe and tested products
• Boost confidence in the quality and safety of your products
• Foster improvements in the image quality of 3D displays through tailor-made programs
• Gain a competitive edges thanks to an independent quality mark

TÜV Rheinland can provide various evaluation reports, depending on the technologies applied.

In addition to typical 2D testing for compliance, for example, with VESA or ISO standards, stereoscopic display systems can also be evaluated in our laboratories for the following factors:

• Flicker
• Cross talk (ghosting)
• Stereo luminance levels
• Stereo contrast ratio
• Stereo color and luminance uniformity
• Glass transmission ratio
• Degree of polarization

The "3D tested" signet (in German: "3D geprüft") verifies that a display meets the requirements for contrast, color, flicker, and cross talk. These criteria are used to ensure comfortable enjoyment of 3D content – free of unstable images, annoying shadows, and unbalanced color and luminance performance. In 2010, TÜV Rheinland became the first testing body to be able to certify “flicker-free 3D” displays.

“Ghosting” is one of the most critical causes of discomfort when watching 3D images. Ideally, 3D images should be free of any ghosting artefacts. Typically, display systems are optimized for centre viewing, which makes ghosting, also called “cross talk,” more apparent at the image borders and at extended viewing angles.

TÜV Rheinland's long experience with third-party testing and certification of display devices has made us uniquely equipped with the testing capabilities needed to certify 3D display systems, and to foster improvements in the image quality of 3D displays.

3D display systems can be based on flat panels or projection-device technology. Similar 3D-image devices include 3D TVs and 3D projectors. Compliance routes are aligned to the different technologies involved, which are then used as quality criteria for comparing different 3D products.

Although stereoscopic display technologies are continuously undergoing improvements, a number of factors still render the 3D viewing experience slightly uncomfortable. This is the case both for auto-stereoscopic display technologies as well as with technologies that rely on aids, such as shutter or polarized glasses.

TÜV Rheinland offers testing services for the following product groups associated with 3D displays:

Auto-stereoscopic displays

• Parallax barrier
• Lenticular lens
• Head-tracking

Glasses-based display systems

• Active glasses
• Dichroic filters (or anaglyph images)
• Passive glasses