3D movies have been reaching the blockbuster status for many years now and every time there is a new one out, people go see it like there was no tomorrow. The fact that 3D projections became so popular is no surprise – the idea of seeing characters coming out of the screen and almost being able to touch them is both a mystery and a great entertainment.
But those this translate to at-home environment? Are people keen of watching 3D movies in those uncomfortable, slightly weird glasses while sitting comfortably on their sofas? Can 3D glasses have universal appeal?
Cinematic quality – where the money lays
Although it could seem that cinemas can get the best technology available on the market, the fact is that the 3D glasses that are handed to you before a screening are usually lightweight, cheap ones. Why? The reason is simple – the more expensive the glasses are, the better chance for them being stolen or damaged.
For that same reason, technology behind 3D glasses in cinemas is usually the one developed by RealD – passive glasses with circularly polarized lenses that allow you to see 3D image well. And since the passive glasses are incredibly cheap, movie theatres need to be outfitted with a polarizing modulator and a silverized screen in order to maintain the polarization – this is where their technology gets expensive and professional.
At home 3D experience
Now, at home 3D glasses are something very different. Only a few companies have experimented with passive polarized TV sets and the general conclusion for now is that they were offering a questionably low resolution per eye than a standard TV set.
As of now, the most popular technique of bringing 3D vision into the comfort of our homes, manufacturers rely on active-shutter technology and matching LCD glasses provided by the TV manufacturers. Those glasses used to pricey and bulky once you compare them to those available in cinemas and they have been working with the same-brand TV set only, but it seems like XpanD has something to say about that.
The company has since released their “universal” 3D glasses that can work with most major-brand 3D TV sets and year by year is improving the technology they are based on. Much lighter than the glasses that manufacturers provided, these glasses are now a standard of 3D at-home experience that appeals to more and more people.