** New major policy update for the 3-D 144Hz Projectors on the list that use triple flash technology **
Brief Cinema history
In the commercial movie theaters, there are several different 3-D technologies like IMAX 3-D, REAL D 3D, Sony SXRD REAL D 3D, Dolby 3D, Panavision 3D, and in many areas outside the USA there is XpanD 3-D that uses active shutter glasses. With all the different 3-D technologies that are used to configure projectors, there are really only a few different types of light sources used for 3-D. Either a single light source projector system or a dual light source projector system is used for 3-D movie watching. Single 3-D projector installations came first, and then latter on the better quality dual light source projector installations were released in commercial theaters. The advantage of dual light source projector setups is that each eye simultaneously sees a separate left and right 24Hz image without the need for triple flash. There are dual light source projector setups like what is used in the Digital IMAX 3-D theaters that use two separate Christie 2K projectors or two separate Christie 4K projectors to offer native 2K 48Hz 3-D movies with 24Hz for each eye at 2K quality (coming soon native 4K 3-D quality for the IMAX theaters that use two 4K Christie projectors). There is also the single projector Sony 4K SXRD Real D 3D system that uses a special lens adapter to allow full 2K resolution for both left and right eye. This turns the Sony SXRD projector into a dual light source projector that displays native 2K 3-D 48Hz movies with 24Hz for each eye. An 8K Sony SXRD would need to be developed with a 4K lens adapter in order to show native 4K 3-D movies in the future.
Then there is the older lower cost 3-D technology that only uses a single light source projector. In the commercial movie theaters, a single light source 3-D projector 100% of the time will use 144Hz triple flash technology with either polarized passive glasses for RealD or Dolby 3D Infitec passive glasses system. Also outside of the USA the XpanD 144Hz active shutter glass system is used in commercial theaters.
In the early days of native 48Hz 3-D Cinema, there was BETA experiments ran with single projectors that have a single light source. In those experiments, both active shutter and passive glasses technologies were briefly used at 96Hz (48Hz for each eye). However, 50% of the population that viewed the 3-D movies at 96Hz using double flash technology reported that they saw a flicker on the screen. The flicker issue that 50% of the people saw also resulted in some people reporting ghosting issues and complaints of a sick fatigue dizzy type feeling. In the early BETA commercial movie theater experiments the flicker problem decreased or was no longer in existence for most people at 120Hz (60Hz each eye). However at 120Hz (60Hz each eye) people started experiencing 3:2 pulldown judder issues for each eye. Then when 144Hz (72Hz each eye) triple flash technology was used for native 3-D 48Hz movies, all the complaints of flicker and complaints of a sick dizzy type feeling disappeared. 144Hz triple flash technology increases the refresh rate to a level well beyond the normal human threshold that flicker is detected. 144Hz 3-D results in a flicker free, no ghosting issues, and a smooth fatigue free movie experience. Commercial Cinemas that were involved in the early BETA 3-D experiments dropped double flash 96Hz 3-D technology since 50% of the population saw flicker with both passive glasses and active shutter glasses. The solution to the early experiments resulted in all 3-D theaters worldwide to install 144Hz triple flash technology when using a single light source projector setup.
http://www.jvc.eu/3d_monitor/technology/cinema.html
http://www.i-magic.com.hk/Xpand.html
How frame packed Blu-ray 3-D movie discs work on a 144Hz projector
The frame packed Blu-ray 3-D movies are native 1920 x 2205 at 24p on the Blu-ray disc (both the 1080P/24 left frame and 1080P/24 right frame are packed on the Blu-ray disc). Once the video processor inside the 144Hz projector unpacks the 3-D Blu-ray movie the native 1920x2205 3-D Blu-ray image is turned into two separate left and right frames. A 1080p/24 left frame and 1080p/24 right frame equals a total of 48 frames (48Hz). Then the projector orders the left eye 1080p/24 frame and right eye 1080p/24 frame into sequence to be triple flashed for a flicker free 144Hz active glasses or passive glasses Cinema quality movie experience.
Click the following link for a diagram on how the ideal consumer 3-D Front Projector or 3-D display should work when unpacking the frame packed 1920 X 2205 image.
http://cepro.com/images/uploads/frame_packed_3d_large.jpg
** New major policy update for the 3-D 144Hz Projectors on the list that use triple flash technology **
(A slightly lower resolution occurs when consumer 144Hz triple flash technology is used)
** Important updated information on the line drop issue. When this post was first published it was believed that the amount of lines dropped on the Digital Projection INC models of projectors was only 12-30 lines, however that number was not correct and the line drop range on the Digital Projection INC projectors is really 24-60 lines and the Runco X-200i at 76 lines being dropped stays the same. I have decided not to revise this entire post, so when reading the post below just remember to double the number of lines that are being dropped on the Digital Projection INC projectors. (Reference link #1) and (Reference link #2) **
In my research I have come across one negative hardware bandwidth limitation that occurs on all or most consumer 1080P 144Hz triple flash projectors that are currently on the market. This hardware bandwidth limitation also occurs on some older 2K 144Hz 3-D projectors that are used in the commercial movie theaters. When the 144Hz triple flash mode is used, due to a hardware bandwidth limitation a small number of lines are being dropped (normally somewhere between 12-76 lines are dropped depending on the brand and model number of the 144Hz projector). Since this hardware bandwidth issue with the DMD loading sequencing occurs on some commercial 2K projectors, I have decided that the consumer 144Hz projectors located on the list will be exempt from the 1080P for each eye requirement when the 144Hz 3-D mode is active. Perhaps maybe in the future both 2K (2048 X 1080P) 144Hz projectors used in commercial theaters and 1080P (1920 X 1080P) 144Hz consumer projectors might offer a different DMD sequencing that does not have this hardware bandwidth limitations that drops a small amount of lines.
What this really means is that when a consumer 144Hz projector is used in the 3-D mode the only negative thing that will occur is the resolution will be slightly lower. Some 144Hz consumer projectors have an option in the menu to active 96Hz if one wants a full 1920 X 1080P quality 3-D image for each eye. However, when 96Hz is engaged 50% of the population might complain of a flicker issue and an overall lower quality 3-D experience. In summary if one turns on the 96Hz mode (48Hz for each eye) they will get full 1920 X 1080P viewing for each eye. However if one starts to notice flickering issues and a reduced 3-D quality, then activating the 144Hz mode will eliminate the flicker issues and an overall improved 3-D quality occurs with the cost of only seeing somewhere between 1068P for each eye or 1004P for each eye depending on the brand and model number of the projector.
Some references below
1. Runco XtremeProjection X-200i: Thanks should go to Runco for being honest about this issue and mentioning it in detail in the instructional manual for the XtremeProjection X-200i. This is also the lowest cost 144Hz consumer projector on the market that starts at $15,000+. The Runco X-200i is also the model that drops the most amount of lines in the 144Hz mode (96Hz offers full 1080P for each eye). After learning about this issue from Runco, I started investigating this issue further with other companies to see which other brands and models have this same issue. Runco technical support was also helpful in answering my emails.
Quote from page 59 of the Runco X-200i manual:
“Due to bandwidth restrictions, the 144Hz mode only provides 1004 lines. The unused lines are set to black and evenly subtracted from the top and bottom of the image.”
Note: The Runco D73d, D-73d Ultra, and D-113d on the list operate just like a dual projector IMAX 3-D setup and provide a full native 1080P 24Hz to each eye without the need to triple flash.
2. SIM2 INC 144Hz projectors: SIM2 INC was helpful in the majority of the email conversations I had with them, however when I sent them two separate detailed emails asking them if their 4K 144Hz projector or any of their 1080P 144Hz projectors had a hardware limitation at 144Hz that resulted in slightly lower resolution occurring, I never received a reply back to my emails. Yes, it is possible that SIM2 is using a newer DMD sequencing method that offers a full 1080P resolution for both eyes. However, a very knowledgeable professional in the projector industry told me that they believe that all 144Hz consumer projectors currently on the market have this hardware bandwidth limitation. Even some of the 144Hz 2K projectors in the commercial movie theaters have a hardware bandwidth issue that drops a small amount of lines. Some of the newer 144Hz 2K and 144Hz 4K projectors in the commercial movie theaters are using a newer special DMD chip set that results in a loading sequence that does not have any bandwidth hardware limitations and offers the full 2K or 4K resolution at 144Hz.
3. Digital Projection INC: Of all three companies on the list at the beginning of this thread, Digital Projection INC recently and over several years has been the most helpful company when it comes to their technical support and sales department. There was no question that I asked that they would not answer in full detail. In fact, they went the extra mile by providing great detail about their projectors and were even honest about the hardware limitations with their projectors when the 144Hz feature was used. Digital Projection INC informed me about the amount of lines that are dropped for each model when the 144Hz 3-D mode is engaged. All the Titan series projectors including the top of the line Lighting Ref 1080p-3D unit drops 12 lines when the 144Hz mode is engaged (Titan price ranges run between $49,995-$119,995). So on all the Titan projectors the 144Hz mode sees 1068P for each eye and the 96Hz mode sees 1080P for each eye. The cheapest 144Hz projector that Digital Projection offers is the M-Vision Cine 400-3D for $17,995. This M-Vision Cine 400-3D projector drops 30 lines when in the 144Hz mode. Therefore, in the 144Hz mode consumers will see 1050P for each eye and the 96Hz mode offers full 1080P for each eye. The M-Vision Cine 400-3D uses 48Hz for 2-D 1080p/24 material. When it comes to the HighLite Cine 1080p-330 3-D series and Highlite 660 3-D series which has a price range between $29,995-$34,995, I was informed that these projectors are locked at 72Hz for 2-D 1080p/24 material and locked at 144Hz for Blu-ray frame packed movies. These Highlite Cine projectors also drop certain amount of lines due to a 144Hz bandwidth limitation, Digital Projection technical support did not know how many lines exactly were dropped on this model, but they believed the amount of lines dropped was somewhere in between 30 lines and 12 lines. Digital Projection INC is currently researching an alternate DMD sequencing chip sets that they might use on newer models of the Titan series of projectors, however they did know at this time if the new chip sets would change the bandwidth limitation of 144Hz, which results in 12 lines of resolution to be dropped.
Some select quotes from Digital Projection INC email conversations:
“Sorry for the delay, but I needed to find the number of lines that will be cropped when using a 144Hz frame rate with 1920x1080.”
“ There are some resolution limitations when using 144Hz display rates.”
” With the M-Vision 400 3D projector, there are 30 lines cropped from the top and bottom with a 144Hz display rate.”
“With the Titan/Lightning series, there are 12 lines cropped from the top and bottom, and enough from the sides to maintain a 16:9 aspect ratio.”
“This is a limit due to the combination of the DMD loading sequences and the Texas Instruments based hardware.”
“We have been looking at a new DMD loading sequence, but I do not know if it will improve the number of lines available at 144Hz”
“I wanted to let you know that I have learned that the Highlite series also has some bandwidth limitation at the 144Hz point. I don’t know how many lines it costs, but it is similar to the others (30 and 12) probably in between.”
“Some of the projectors that are in the commercial Digital Cinemas (Theatre Chains) are using a different DMD chip set. So, for some of them, this restriction does not exist.”
“But, I don’t think these DMD chip sets are used outside of commercial Digital Cinemas at this time. It is also possible for a manufacturer to use alternative DMD sequences. We are looking into some alternates for the Titan, but I don’t know what they will change, if we even decide to use them.”
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