The Duoscope, as
presented in a 1954 issue of Radio-News magazine, was a pretty neat
concept - sort of like a picture-in-picture (PiP) scheme for television, only
in a way much better. Whereas PiP provides only a partial screen for each television program, Du Mont's "Duoscopic" viewer somehow received two independent
signals and combined them on the screen in such a manner that there was both
a horizontally polarized for one show and a vertically polarized image for the
other. The viewer selected which picture to watch by wearing the appropriately
polarized glasses or by watching through a floor-mounted transparent, polarized
screen. I suppose that while wearing glasses, tilting you head resulted in a
mixture of both programs, so the fixed screen would be the best option. The superimposed image on the CRT looked a lot like a virtually
indiscernible
3-D picture as seen without colored glasses. Similarly, the audio for each program
was selectable using a remote (wired) switch box. Headphones were used to provide
private listening. The Duoscope turned out to be just another "outside the box"
concept that never played out in the consumer world.
Du Mont "Duoscopic" Television Receiver
A wife can watch a variety show while
her husband enjoys a different program at the same time on the same screen on
the new Du Mont "Duoscopic" television receiver. Viewing is done through polaroid
glasses or polaroid panels. By reversing the glasses or panels, the viewer can
choose the alternate of the two programs tuned in. Individual earphones are
used to separate the sound portions of the programs. A remote control unit permits
the viewer to listen to either of the two programs.
Posted January 13, 2021
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