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Old 04-27-2010, 01:52 AM   #1
jw jw is offline
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Lightbulb 3-D and You : An Amazon.com Guide

With all the hype of blu-ray 3-D, There lies many mysteries and questions so Amazon has created a great How to guide and when is it for me

3D--How Does It Work?

3D is based on the principle of stereoscopy, which creates the illusion of depth in an image. The easiest way to enhance depth perception in the brain is to provide the eyes of the viewer with two different images, representing two perspectives of the same object, with a minor deviation exactly equal to the perspectives that both eyes naturally receive in binocular vision.

There are currently three kinds of 3D technology on the market and each one works differently:

The first one, anaglyph technology, is the most famous one (think red/blue paper glasses) but usually the 3D effects are not so great.

The second one, polarized (or passive) technology, is the technology you have been exposed to when watching a 3D movie in an IMAX theater (e.g. Avatar 3D, Alice in Wonderland 3D, etc.)

The third one, active technology, is the most recent one that is quickly becoming the standard in terms of 3D watching at home.

Let’s learn more about each of these technologies....

Anaglyph Technology:


Is 3D new? Not at all.
For the longest time, mankind has been interested in creating a 3D effect on a 2D screen. Most painters created some effect of perspective in their paintings to simulate a 3D effect.
More recently, in 1853 Wilhelm Rollmann developed a technique to simulate 3D. He created anaglyph images using two color layers superimposed but offset with respect to each other to produce a depth effect. Usually the main subject remained centered while the foreground and background shifted laterally in opposite directions. When viewed with two-color glasses (the lenses are chromatically opposite in color usually red and cyan), these images produced a stereoscopic 3D effect (your brain is tricked into thinking that this picture is in 3D).
This technology has been used countless times in movie theaters, as the typical red and blue glasses are inexpensive. The movie Bwana Devil is regarded as the first of the commercial 3D movies in the 1950s. However, while the 3D effect were fun to watch, the pictures were of low quality and had strong shades of green and red.
Most DVD and Blu-ray Discs currently on the market use this technology.

Polarized (or Passive) Technology:

This is where it gets interesting. Most of us have seen Avatar or other movies in IMAX 3D with polarized 3D glasses. These glasses create the illusion of three-dimensional images by restricting the light that reaches each eye, creating a stereoscopic, or 3D, effect.

To create that 3D effect, two images are projected onto the same screen through different polarizing filters. The viewer wears low-cost eyeglasses which also contain a pair of different polarizing filters. Through the filters, each eye sees a different picture (each filter allows the light which is similarly polarized and blocks the light polarized in the opposite direction). This is used to produce a three-dimensional effect by projecting the same scene into both eyes, but depicted from slightly different perspectives.

The great thing about this technology is that the glasses you need to wear to enjoy 3D are really cheap (between $1 and $10 per pair); however, most believe that the 3D effects generated through this technology are not as sharp as the ones generated through a display with active technology.

Active Technology:

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 are then worn by the viewer and quickly block each eye in sequence to ensure that each eye only sees the corresponding image being displayed on the 3D TV set. 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).

What is the Future of 3D?


3D is just coming on the market and the manufacturers are already thinking about its future. Most people enjoy 3D but are a bit put off by wearing glasses, as this makes watching a movie or sports events less social. Manufacturers have taken notice and the next wave of 3D will not require viewers to wear glasses to get a 3D effect. However, this new technology is not yet ready to be produced in mass quantity and at a price affordable enough for consumers.
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Old 04-27-2010, 01:54 AM   #2
jw jw is offline
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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)


Page 1 of 3




Samsung UN55C7000 55-Inch 1080p 240...




Samsung UN55C8000 55-Inch 1080p 3D...




ViewSonic PJD6211 2500 Lumens XGA DLP...
$799.00 $519.99



ViewSonic PJD6221 2700 Lumens XGA DLP...
$999.00 $592.77



ViewSonic's PJD6241 1024 x 768 120Hz...
$1,249.00 $822.58



ViewSonic PJD6251 XGA DLP Network...
$1,299.00 $899.99



ViewSonic PJD6381 2500 Lumens XGA DLP...
$1,299.00 $819.99



ViewSonic PJD6531W WXGA DLP Projector
$1,129.00 $669.00



ViewSonic VX2265wm FuHzion 22-Inch...
$299.99 $248.99



Acer GD235HZbid Widescreen 23.6" 3D...
$384.99




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


Page 1 of 1




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.

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.

td.productLabel { font-weight: bold; text-align: right; white-space: nowrap; vertical-align: top; padding-right: 5px; padding-left: 0px; } div#productListError { border: 1px solid rgb(221,153,136); padding: 3px; background-color: rgb(255,255,213); color: rgb(153,0,0); }

Samsung BD-C6900 1080p 3D Blu-ray Disc Player
by Samsung
Price: Click for product details In Stock
Samsung 3D Starter Kit SSG-P2100T
by Samsung
Price: Click for product details In Stock









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.



PlayStation 3 250 GB
by Sony
Currently unavailable
PlayStation 3 120 GB
by Sony










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.

An HDMI Cable

In order to connect your 3D-capable display to a source of content (such as a 3D console, 3D Blu-ray player, or cable box), you will need an HDMI cable. We invite you to browse our large selection of HDMI cables. Most consumer electronics manufacturers recommend a an HDMI cable v1.4.

Last edited by jw; 04-27-2010 at 01:58 AM.
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Old 04-28-2010, 09:05 AM   #3
DIGITALBATH DIGITALBATH is offline
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What about a receiver? http://gizmodo.com/5474837/sonys-fir...010-costs-500;)
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Old 04-28-2010, 06:30 PM   #4
JamesN JamesN is offline
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It is important to note that none of the current 3D "capable" projectors listed in Amazon's guide are able to interface with 3D Blu-ray players or broadcast 3D directly. All of those pjs require 3D input to be in frame-sequential format, which is not one of the required (or even one of the optional) 3D formats mandated by the BDA and HDMI specs. An intermediary device would be required, such as a HTPC, in order to deliver 3D signals to these pjs in the format they require, and the configuration of such a setup is far from trivial. (It's also important to note that these are all XGA resolution devices, more fitting for a board room or gaming environment as opposed to a HT. Nothing wrong with that...I'm just pointing it out.)

Fully-compliant, full 1080p, 3D PJs may be announced at INFOCOMM in June or at CEDIA in September. Folks interested in 3D HT FPs would do well to wait and see what is announced.


I know that Amazon is trying to make this information easily digestible for the masses, and is perhaps "dumbing it down" somewhat. However, I fear that in doing so they could be setting themselves up for some very disappointed customers.


Edit: The guide is also full of historical inaccuracies, such as the implication that 3D films in the 50s were presented in anaglyph and of low visual quality.

Last edited by JamesN; 04-28-2010 at 06:45 PM.
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