Sony's SimulView technology is quite an impressive feat, though one that is quite underutilized. The technology may receive its second wind, however, as a newly discovered patent shows the future of SimulView, allowing multiple users to share a single TV like never before.

SimulView technology first made its appearance in the official PS3 3D Display. When playing select splitscreen games, SimulView allowed gamers to view their half of the screen as a full image, instead of one screen that had been bisected to accommodate two players. The core concept was sound, unfortunately few games made use of the feature and SimulView was quickly forgotten.

PlayStation LifeStyle recently dug up a patent from Sony, which indicates SimulView could be set for a revival. According to the patent description, future SimulView supported television will not just allow two gamers to share a scree, but a third person as well. While two people game, one person can watch TV, all on the same television each viewing their content as though they were watching it on a separate screen. Audio will be transmitted wirelessly through the 3D glasses, so no sounds will conflict. The image attached with the patent (see below) reveals that users will require two PS3's (one for each gamer), as well as a separate receiver/DVD/Blu-ray player for the person watching television.

Don't get too excited yet, though, as there are some technological hurdles standing in the way of this patent becoming a reality. Currently, the PS3 is unable to to run most 3D titles without a resolution drop. Throw in another two "screens" - not to mention a second PS3 - and we can't really expect the tech to work without a significant framerate and resolution drop. For the future of SimulView, we're looking to not only the PS4 - but the next generation of TV's as well.

At CES 2012 (the Consumer Electronics Show), Sony was adamant about showing off its first 4K TV. Looking at Sony's past console releases, it's likely the PS4 will be poised to bring 4K to the mass market, just as the PS3 did with Blu-ray, and the PS2 did with DVD. The new SimulView technology could be incorporated into 4K TV's, with the PS4's supposed power allowing it to perform without the sharp resolution drops.

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Source: PlayStation LifeStyle