Method and apparatus for projecting 2d and 3d motion pictures at high frame rates

Abstract

High-frame-rate stereoscopic projection using a single digital projector provides a powerful sense of immersion when shown on wide screens, and the human eye perceives each frame as unique and separate from the others by virtue of the natural left-right “shuttering” that occurs via the chosen 3D projection technology. Techniques are provided for the introduction of one or more consecutive “digital dark frames” into the image streams presented to the dual projectors in such a manner that the sequence of out-of-phase photography is replicated via out-of-phase projection. This is achieved by alternately introducing the dark frames so that the sequence of stereoscopic images is presented in proper temporal continuity.

1 . A method of projecting moving images, the method comprising:
 projecting, using a digital image projector, a plurality of digital image frames interleaved in time with a plurality of digital dark frames thereby replicating mechanically shuttering film projectors and ridding digital projection at any frame rate that results if the projector has no shutter.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising interleaving the plurality of digital dark frames in a 48, 60, 72, 96, 120, or 144 frames per second (fps) image stream in two-dimensional (2D) or three-dimensional (3D) movies. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising interleaving alternating digital image frames and digital dark frames on the image streams of 48, 60, 72, 96, 120, or 144 fps using a dual projection laser system. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising interleaving the digital dark frames into dual image streams for dual projector three-dimensional (3D) systems in such a manner as to replicate the temporal continuity at which the frames were photographed. 
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising including a mechanical or electronic shuttering mechanism within a single digital projector to enable 6P dual laser sets to achieve dichroic three-dimensional (3D), while retaining a 50% duty cycle of each of two eyes.