The 3D experience you demand is now available in your home. You no longer have to venture out beyond the threshold of your front door to enjoy serious 3D entertainment, as the big electronic companies are delivering rock solid entertainment. Just snuggle up with a loved on and don some 3D Glasses and you will soon have the experience of a lifetime, course a 3D television is required.
A trip to the big screen is something I always look forward to. I probably always will. The new 3D movies have put an even greater level of enjoyment to my trips to the theater. You don’t have to twist my arm to get me to experience the joys of a well made 3D experience. Having four little girls who enjoy a 3D movie as much as I do gives me the perfect excuse to see all the latest CGI animations coming out.
3D works by making sure each eye sees a slightly different picture than the other with each image representing the perspective of each eye.
As each eye perceives the world from a slightly different perspective due to them being about 2 inches apart this effectively mimics the way we see the real world and creates a more realistic 3D image on a 2D screen. All 3D images are created this way but there are two or three different methods used to achieve the effect.
Anaglyph Stereo
Once a popular method anaglyph is now more of a novelty due to its poor picture quality. In case you don’t know the term anaglyph refers to the red and blue glasses which are usually made out of cardboard. Each separate image is made up of either a red or blue tint. Your eyes have the corresponding image filtered out by the colored lenses thus allowing each eye to see only one image each. This works to a degree but the colors are somewhat muted so you wouldn’t want to watch a top notch feature length movie with them.
Active Shutter Glasses Stereoscopy
Alternate-frame sequencing is the technical term coined for active shutter glasses. Each image is shown alternately on the screen. When an eye is not supposed to see the image it is blocked by the shutter over that eye going dark. This is the reason a TV needs to be capable of at least a frequency of 120Hz. Divide this by two and you have the required 60Hz for each eye that is needed for smooth animation. Even higher frequencies can ensure a flicker free experience for the vast majority of viewers. Most new models of TVs and projectors being manufactured today are capable of this higher frequency.
Active shutter glasses have a couple of disadvantages. Perhaps the biggest disadvantage is the need for a power source for the glasses. It can be provided via cable tethered to a power supply or via batteries. If you are blessed with a large family you are either going to create a jungle of cables or you will have a rather large expense for batteries. As they have been around for a while now prices for active shutter glasses and the TVs that use them have greatly reduced in price. If you only need one or two pairs of glasses then this would be the way to go.
Polarized Light Stereoscopy
As technology is always evolving new techniques for displaying 3D imagery are coming onto the market. One such system uses polarized light for projecting images onto a screen and it is now possible to display both images on the screen simultaneously. Special polarized lenses in the glasses are polarized to only let in the correct image while blocking the other.
The major disadvantage of this method is the cost. It’s new technology so prices are still quite high. The images are projected so you will also need to buy a silver screen to get the best effect. A silver screen is needed to keep the light polarized so the image remains crisp and clear.
I believe polarized light stereoscopy will become the dominant method of 3D in the home eventually as costs decrease over time. The glasses don’t require batteries, are cheaper and also lighter than active shutter glasses. You can
also have a more widely dispersed audience as the 3D effect is viewable from more angles. The average pair of shutter glasses will darken the image by about 20%. Polarized glasses can reduce this to about 10%.
The author loves electronic gadgets and loves writing about his passion. You can find more information on home entertainment technology on his site at 3D projectors for the home theater
As you can see it’s time to enjoy 3D content in your very own home.
