3D Buying Guide

Posted Sat, 05/15/2010 - 21:46

What Do You Need to Get 3D at Home?

Ready to embark on the 3D bandwagon? If so, here is what you will need to get a great 3D experience at home:


A 3D-capable display (HDTV, monitor, or projector)
A pair of 3D glasses
A 3D Blu-ray Disc player and Blu-ray 3D discs
A gaming console and 3D games
A cable box

A 3D-Capable Display (HDTV, Monitor, or Projector)

To watch a program in 3D, you will need to buy a 3D-capable display. There’s no way around it.
These displays usually have a higher processing power than older models, as they need to display one image for each eye to create a 3D effect. HDTV manufacturers say that older models will not be capable of displaying 3D technology because of the specs needed to create 3D. You will need to buy a 3D-capable display (HDTV, monitor, or laptop) to enjoy 3D at home. We invite you to browse our 3D-capable displays--we will add more as more manufacturers release their 3D products.

3D-Capable Displays (HDTVs, Monitors, and Projectors)

See more 3D-capable displays

A Pair of 3D Glasses



You will need a special pair of 3D glasses to experience the 3D effect. There are two kinds of glasses on the market:

Passive Glasses:
The TV broadcasts two overlapping images and the glasses have polarized lenses. Each lens is polarized so that it can see only one of the two overlapping images. The main drawback of this technology is that viewers will need to sit directly in front of the display to get the full 3D effect. If the viewer is sitting on the side, the 3D effects will be less pronounced.

Active Glasses:
This technology has been adopted by most consumer electronics firms, including LG, Samsung, Panasonic, and more. With this technology, an HDTV will display one image to your left eye and one image to your right eye. Since the effective frame rate is halved, these HDTVs need to have double the refresh rate of HDTVs (60 Hz). This is why you will find that all 3D HDTVs have a minimum frame rate of 120 Hz (most have a frame rate around 240 Hz or even 480 Hz).

Active liquid crystal shutter glasses quickly block each eye in sequence to ensure that each eye only sees the corresponding image on the 3D HDTV. The active shutter glasses are kept in sync with the HDTV using Bluetooth, infrared, or radio technology. These special glasses usually contain liquid crystals that can be made opaque. thus acting as a shutter. These glasses are battery-operated (battery life estimated at around 80 hours or so).

Please note that your active shutter glasses will need to be of the same brand as your 3D-capable HDTV.

3D Glasses

See more 3D glasses A 3D Blu-ray Disc Player and Blu-ray 3D Discs

Now it gets tricky. As movie studios release 3D movies on Blu-ray 3D discs, you will need a 3D Blu-ray player to read that 3D content and send it to your 3D-capable HDTV. Some newer-model Blu-ray players will be able to do this out of the box. However, you will be able to upgrade some existing Blu-ray disc players to read this 3D format with a firmware upgrade via the Internet.

BD3D Format

So you want to watch 3D movies on your 3D HDTV? Be careful--there are two kinds of 3D movies on the market--"old" and "new" (full HD) 3D.

How can you figure out which is which? You need to look for the Blu-ray 3D logo. This logo indicates that this movie will deliver the 3D effects you seek. Note that some "3D" movies are currently available and leverage the polarized or anaglyph technologies--meaning that the 3D effects are not as breathtaking as you would expect.

 

A Gaming Console and 3D Games


Sony has announced that its PlayStation 3 will be able to read both 3D movies and 3D video games through a firmware update to be available in late summer 2010. It is not known whether this firmware update will be free. Sony demonstrated some 3D games at CES 2010 and we should learn more about its plans around 3D gaming at E3 2010, held in Los Angeles in June 2010.

A Cable Box

Now that you have bought a 3D-capable HDTV, you can get some 3D content from your cable provider.

Most cable providers will offer 3D channels to their subscribers. According to providers, if you already have a cable box with an HDMI output (as is the case with most HD cable packages), you will not need a new cable box to get 3D content on your TV. A simple firmware upgrade will be needed.

DirecTV, in partnership with Panasonic, will offer three HD 3D channels this summer:

1. A free 3D channel featuring programming such as sports, music, and other content
2. An event channel broadcasting movies, documentaries, and other programming (a fee may apply)
3. A 3D On Demand channel (a fee may apply)

Comcast has retransmitted the Masters golf tournament in 3D and will also announce its plans about 3D programming shortly.

In time for the World Cup, ESPN will launch a 3D channel on June 11, 2010, and will broadcast 80-plus hours of sporting events in 3D. ESPN 3D will also broadcast additional events, such as the Summer X Games, NBA games, college basketball, and football.

Sony, IMAX, and Discovery announced in January a partnership to create a 3D channel to launch in late 2010 or early 2011. We expect more content providers and channels to assess the 3D format and expand their offerings as the number of 3D-capable HDTVs on the market increases.