Stuck with a terrible tv? Commiserate here

[roger semerad]

So this is mostly just for me to air my frustrations, but anyone else in the same boat feel free to post. Hopefully this thread can give you a metaphorical shoulder to cry on and a warm hug. I've been interested in 3D basically my whole life. From my first look into a Viewmaster, my grandparents antique stereo viewer, to the holograms and lenticular stuff that was all the rage in the 90s. I loved all of that stuff. I don't think I ever saw a full length 3D video, just quick anaglyph stuff. Like advertisements or stunts, I can't actually recall any, but I'm pretty sure they were around. Even without actually seeing a 3D movie I always knew I'd love it, so when Avatar came out I was overjoyed. I saw it in theaters and fell in love with the idea like I always thought I would, but the home experience would have to wait. I haven't had much success in life and have been living with my parents a long time. They do okay, but aren't loaded either. So it was a while before we got a 3D capable t.v.. We finally did though, a Samsung UN55FH6030F. Even with it's drawbacks I dived into the world of 3D movies with gusto. Those drawbacks did wear on me however, dampening my ability to appreciate those movies. You see, that t.v. ghosts like a mother !#^$*@. It's a constant problem, literally no movie is spared the blurry demon. The severity differs greatly from title to title. Mostly it's concentrated in the background and foreground, so I've trained myself to focus on the primary plane where the actions are focused. Some movies aren't too bad, while others are near unwatchable at times. The worst offender I've seen on this t.v. is Cirque du Solei: Worlds Away. Through the majority of that movie the ghosting is so bad on this t.v. that the 3D affect is actually lost. Like you took off the active glasses and were just seeing the pure double image. I'd say about 60% of it was that bad, basically unwatchable. Being the 3D loving stubborn guy I am I sat through the whole thing thinking at least one scene would look decent. It never did. Thankfully no other presentation has been that bad. Actual 3D loss ghosting is pretty rare, and usually over very quickly. Still, I was loving these movies even with the problems. I was starting to do better at my job and was saving up for a good 3D t.v. of my own, but my car broke down and wiped out what little savings I had. No big deal, that's what savings are for right? I've waited years for a good 3D experience I can wait a few more. That was 2016. When the news came out of the consumer electronics show that every maker was dropping 3D I was devastated. In desperation I went to my bank to see if I could get a loan, knowing my credit wouldn't be good enough. I had to try though. Sure enough, they declined. So that was that. It really did hit me hard, I was enjoying my 3D collection always with the mentality that I'd get a t.v. to do them justice in the future. With that future taken away the disappointment with what I had intensified. I don't think I watched a 3D film for about 3 months after that. I've slowly gotten back to watching, but my joy for them has never reached the highs from pre-2016. I also don't want to re-watch any of them because I don't want to wear them out for me before I get a t.v. that can do them justice. Not something that's on my radar for a while since I quit my job at the end of 2017. The t.v. thing wasn't anywhere near the primary factor for that, but it didn't help. Anyway, after the massive burnout and depression following that I'm starting to pick myself up. I'm more hopeful for the future than I've been for a while, and I think 3D t.v.'s will come back eventually. I just wish I didn't have to wait so long for it.

[Joe D.]

Hi Roger

Sorry.the Samsung didn't work out. I have "Worlds Away" and hate to upset you but it is a beautiful picture in 3D with no ghosting that I can recall.

Have you adjusted your set with a callibration disc? Settings being off can really mess up a 3d picture.

You're probably aware older 3D sets that are still brand new are available but it appears the prices have been jacked up on many.

Wish I could be more helpful and consoling.

[presidentevil3d]

That Tv was an entry level samsung one- might be that its 'up to spec'

my older samsung from similar age wasnt that good either.

passive is best for me if you have a way of seeing it at an angle that wont blur.

good news is, nobody likes 3d now, and good pre-owned sets can be had for next to nothing!

[presidentevil3d]

to get a real upgrade id try to find a 2015/16 lg passive set from the lower ranges, or sony or pana thats 4k to get rid of the old jagged passive lines a full 1080p set had, the difference on a 4k passive is huge

[roger semerad]

Originally Posted by Joe D.

Hi Roger

Sorry.the Samsung didn't work out. I have "Worlds Away" and hate to upset you but it is a beautiful picture in 3D with no ghosting that I can recall.

Have you adjusted your set with a callibration disc? Settings being off can really mess up a 3d picture.

You're probably aware older 3D sets that are still brand new are available but it appears the prices have been jacked up on many.

Wish I could be more helpful and consoling.

Oh, I figured Worlds Away would look great on a better set. Journey of Man does well enough for me to appreciate the 3D in it. It's really all about whether the picture has a consistent color grade and brightness levels. The more you tests those pixels the worst it gets. Strong 3D plus bright objects on a dark background is asking for trouble.

I have done some basic calibration on the t.v. using the Disney calibration disk. That disk doesn't have any settings for 3D, so I ported over my changes from the 2D settings. The only difference between them being the backlight brightness level is near maxed on the 3D profile. I have fiddled around with various 3D settings to try to do better, but nothing helps. Lowering the backlight does help a little, but not before it makes the picture unwatchably dark. Here's a funny little story about my experience with this set. When I got my first 3D movie from Amazon and started watching it, the picture was completely unwatchable. Since the t.v. was brand new I was spending a huge amount of time figuring out the menus, to no avail. I was getting so upset, my first home viewing and nothing I changed seemed to do anything. Finally I get deep into the 3D settings and the last thing I try is flipping the left-right sequencing. Pop! There's the 3D! Wait a minute, the factory settings for this thing had the images reversed?! Who programed this thing?

Originally Posted by presidentevil3d

to get a real upgrade id try to find a 2015/16 lg passive set from the lower ranges, or sony or pana thats 4k to get rid of the old jagged passive lines a full 1080p set had, the difference on a 4k passive is huge

I'm not going to be able to but a t.v. for at least a couple of years. I have to get my life back together and rebuild a savings. So I'm not really thinking about what's available. I figure the next big entertainment purchase for me will be a VR set and PC. I'm pretty exited about VR overall, the only downside for movies is that you can't share them with anyone. That's not much of difference from the present mind you, I'm not exactly jumping at the chance to show someone a 3D movie with this current set.

[br3ttD]

Not sure if it would help but try searching '3d projectors' thru Amazon. I found a Elephas handheld, 1080p 3-D projector for $216. 4 pairs of active glasses can go for $67 or a single pair for $28. I've never used these products myself so they might suck but if you're on a tight budget and limited space, it could be a place to start. You could always return it for a refund if it's not what you're looking for. Just a suggestion.

[roger semerad]

Originally Posted by br3ttD

Not sure if it would help but try searching '3d projectors' thru Amazon. I found a Elephas handheld, 1080p 3-D projector for $216. 4 pairs of active glasses can go for $67 or a single pair for $28. I've never used these products myself so they might suck but if you're on a tight budget and limited space, it could be a place to start. You could always return it for a refund if it's not what you're looking for. Just a suggestion.

I appreciate you trying to help, but my situation really doesn't have a solution for the foreseeable future. Even when I'm in a better financial situation, projectors won't work for me. The house I'm in has large windows on every wall on the top floor, those would require a massive investment in blackout curtains to even be viable. While the weird layout in the basement means that no space is available that would allow more than four feet from screen to chair.

It's really sad, I was playing it smart. Waiting for t.v.'s to develop, making the eventual purchase worth it. If life had set me up better I would have gotten the best 3D t.v. around in a 2016 LG OLED. No one has the ability to see the future however. I don't think even 3D haters thought it would go away that quickly. If I knew that I could have prioritized a t.v. over some of the other non essentials I was buying at the time. The Vizio 2014/15 passive t.v.'s were getting good reviews, in hindsight I would have been very happy with one of them. Oh well, I'm stuck in the long game now. I might as well be hopeful of the future.

[Joe D.]

I also have the 3D Video Wizard which is no longer being manufactured but can be found on eBay or Amazon in the $50 range. It is an anaglyth device that can feed a 3d signal into 2d set. It's quite effective considering it's anaglyth and plug and play

Compared to actual 3d monitor I would rate the 3d quality between 7.5 and 8. Depth is quite good but pop outs only jump out a little bit passed the screen. There will be subtle ghosting but not to where it distorts the overall picture.

It's an alternative you might wish to look into so you don't have to go without 3D. Again hard to come by but they do pop up here and there. I got mine for $40.

https://www.amazon.ca/Video-Wizard-C.../dp/B005SN3INA

[roger semerad]

Originally Posted by Joe D.

I also have the 3D Video Wizard which is no longer being manufactured but can be found on eBay or Amazon in the $50 range. It is an anaglyth device that can feed a 3d signal into 2d set. It's quite effective considering it's anaglyth and plug and play

Compared to actual 3d monitor I would rate the 3d quality between 7.5 and 8. Depth is quite good but pop outs only jump out a little bit passed the screen. There will be subtle ghosting but not to where it distorts the overall picture.

It's an alternative you might wish to look into so you don't have to go without 3D. Again hard to come by but they do pop up here and there. I got mine for $40.

https://www.amazon.ca/Video-Wizard-C.../dp/B005SN3INA

I've paid attention to your experience with that, I don't think it would be an improvement. I don't want to make it seem like my t.v. doesn't work more often than not. Worlds Away really is an outlier, most movies are okay. It's more like the 3D equivalent of watching an old analog broadcast with a bad antenna. Most of the time I'm seeing all the information, just with a kinda blurry image and some visual artifacts. Sometimes I even get a ghosting free image, it just doesn't happen often. The worst of it are usually only in selected scenes. House of Wax had the worst ghosting in the beginning in the wax museum. Very distracting, but I could at least still see all the various objects and where they were in space. The rest of the movie was much better, ghosting was there but I could more easily ignore it. Animated movies do pretty well, I think because the tend to not have strong contrast in the image. Black and white movie actually seem much better on average too, I guess because various shades of grey are easier for pixels to transition to than colors.

I'm definitely still capable of enjoying 3D movies. Before 2016 it didn't even bother me much. It's just that my love for 3D has progressively made me more unable to ignore it. I really want my experience to be better. So much so that it erodes my enjoyment of what I have. I often start looking through my movie collection to pick something to watch and constantly ask myself if it'd be worth it. Most of the time I end up just feeling like I'm not in the mood anymore. A prisoner of my own high standards.

[br3ttD]

Originally Posted by roger semerad

I appreciate you trying to help, but my situation really doesn't have a solution for the foreseeable future. Even when I'm in a better financial situation, projectors won't work for me. The house I'm in has large windows on every wall on the top floor, those would require a massive investment in blackout curtains to even be viable. While the weird layout in the basement means that no space is available that would allow more than four feet from screen to chair.

It's really sad, I was playing it smart. Waiting for t.v.'s to develop, making the eventual purchase worth it. If life had set me up better I would have gotten the best 3D t.v. around in a 2016 LG OLED. No one has the ability to see the future however. I don't think even 3D haters thought it would go away that quickly. If I knew that I could have prioritized a t.v. over some of the other non essentials I was buying at the time. The Vizio 2014/15 passive t.v.'s were getting good reviews, in hindsight I would have been very happy with one of them. Oh well, I'm stuck in the long game now. I might as well be hopeful of the future.

Hopefully your situation will improve sooner than you anticipate. Just keep on fighting the good fight.

[Joe D.]

Originally Posted by roger semerad

I've paid attention to your experience with that, I don't think it would be an improvement. I don't want to make it seem like my t.v. doesn't work more often than not. Worlds Away really is an outlier, most movies are okay. It's more like the 3D equivalent of watching an old analog broadcast with a bad antenna. Most of the time I'm seeing all the information, just with a kinda blurry image and some visual artifacts. Sometimes I even get a ghosting free image, it just doesn't happen often. The worst of it are usually only in selected scenes. House of Wax had the worst ghosting in the beginning in the wax museum. Very distracting, but I could at least still see all the various objects and where they were in space. The rest of the movie was much better, ghosting was there but I could more easily ignore it. Animated movies do pretty well, I think because the tend to not have strong contrast in the image. Black and white movie actually seem much better on average too, I guess because various shades of grey are easier for pixels to transition to than colors.

I'm definitely still capable of enjoying 3D movies. Before 2016 it didn't even bother me much. It's just that my love for 3D has progressively made me more unable to ignore it. I really want my experience to be better. So much so that it erodes my enjoyment of what I have. I often start looking through my movie collection to pick something to watch and constantly ask myself if it'd be worth it. Most of the time I end up just feeling like I'm not in the mood anymore. A prisoner of my own high standards.

Hi Roger,

I share your sentiments. I love 3D so much that having the imperfections you mention would be a major downer for me.

But I'm glad it's not a case of the set breaking down or the picture unwatchable. I thought it was getting to the point that you would have to give up on 3D, hence my suggestion about a converter so you would still have something.

[magicforce]

Originally Posted by br3ttD

Not sure if it would help but try searching '3d projectors' thru Amazon. I found a Elephas handheld, 1080p 3-D projector for $216. 4 pairs of active glasses can go for $67 or a single pair for $28. I've never used these products myself so they might suck but if you're on a tight budget and limited space, it could be a place to start. You could always return it for a refund if it's not what you're looking for. Just a suggestion.

i just ordered one of those Elephas 3d projectors from facebook marketplace i hope i can give a good review on this after this weekend.

[Joe D.]

Originally Posted by magicforce

i just ordered one of those Elephas 3d projectors from facebook marketplace i hope i can give a good review on this after this weekend.

Hi magic

Great news. Good luck and enjoy.

[br3ttD]

Originally Posted by magicforce

i just ordered one of those Elephas 3d projectors from facebook marketplace i hope i can give a good review on this after this weekend.

Cool, I hope you like it. I'd be interested to hear if it's a worthy investment for the budget minded 3-D addict.

[magicforce]

Originally Posted by br3ttD

Cool, I hope you like it. I'd be interested to hear if it's a worthy investment for the budget minded 3-D addict.

it came but was missing the remote so they are sending today. there is no way to use it without the remote.

[br3ttD]

That's not good. Hopefully you'll get the remote soon.

[magicforce]

Originally Posted by br3ttD

That's not good. Hopefully you'll get the remote soon.

they shipped last night but not arriving i think till 5th.

[Mariooo1up]

hey magic, how did the projector work out for you?