Sensio's technology compresses two video streams (for the left and right eyes) into the bandwidth required for one. This data stream can then be handled like a normal video stream -- for instance, it can be further compressed with MPEG-2 and mastered onto a DVD.

An extra round of compression can't be good for video quality, but Sensio Executive Vice President Richard LaBerge told the Industry Standard that he doesn't think it will hurt much. "We get up to 85 to 90 percent of the original image. We call it 'visually lossless.' The consumer won't see the difference."

A Sensio-encoded DVD would only be playable on a Sensio-compatible DVD player. Such a player would be able to send the two data streams to a 3D-capable TV, and that TV's technology would determine, for instance, what kind of glasses the viewer needs. If the TV is not 3D-capable, the player can send either a flat, 2D picture or an anaglyph version that requires red-and-blue glasses but not a special television.

Have any electronics companies committed to making players with the technology? "We are talking to them," LaBerge told us, "but nothing official [can be announced] yet." Sensio sells a digital processor that can work with standard DVD players.

Sensio also markets a few , some of which you may have heard of, such as Jaws 3D and Shark Boy and Lava Girl. include Creature from the Black Lagoon and It Came from Outer Space.