3D Glasses Don't Work On All 3D HDTVs

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NotAllFilmsShouldbe3D.gifYou've heard me take Silicon Image out to the woodshed more than once about their lack of conformity or upgradability and I am likely not done with them as they just launched HDMI 1.4a, but I am about to tee off on another topic - 3D glasses. I know 3D is the "It" technology right now and that the best HDTVs on store shelves that are being installed by today's top integrators are also 3D capable, but I am just not sure that consumers are willing to wear glasses to watch movies, sports and television programming. Without the glasses, a 3D set is rendered pretty useless unless you switch it over to 2D, which is a perfectly reasonable solution. Not enough people are talking about the fact that in order to make 3D HDTVs do their trendy magic - they also are the best 2D sets out there - especially the 3D plasmas that are just coming to market.

Additional Resources:
• Read about 3D Glasses, 3D HDTVs at HDTVetc.com a blog about home theater, 3D and Blu-ray.
• Check out reviews from 3D HDTVs from the likes of Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, Vizio and many more.


For 3D to be a consumer electronics hit in the mainstream, Costco, Wal-Mart, Best Buy "Big Box" world - they need Joe American to buy in. Here's where I think Joe is getting lost. Not all 3D glasses work with all sets. Allow me to repeat myself. Some glasses work on some sets but not others. So in the middle of the worst recession since the Great Depression, if a consumer wants to lap the Jones' and buy, say, a Panasonic 3D plasma for the theater room and a Samsung 3D set for the bedroom and the kids invite some of their friends over for yet another screening of Monsters Vs. Aliens - they can't use the glasses from upstairs on the set downstairs. Did I mention that each pair of 3D glasses are priced as much as a Profile 2.0 Blu-ray player in most stores?

Whoever is in charge of making these technologies uniform should be taken out in front of a 100,000 person CES trade-show crowd and be shot by a technology firing squad.

3D glasses are causing other headaches too - this time at the stores. Despite the fact that the glasses cost the better part of a pair of Oliver Peoples, they are build like crap and break. So a store spends the money to have a 3D HDTV demo going and by the end of the day all of the glasses are physically broken. With margins running thinner than 50 Cent these days on HDTVs (Fitty just lost 50 pounds BTW), how do you justify buying $150 a pop glasses when each set sold doesn't have much more profit in it than that. A recent tour of big box stores around movie-crazy Los Angeles show that the 3D demos are basically rendered useless because all of the glasses are broken within hours.

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  • Comment on this article

  • By Kent

The article talks about glasses for the new 3d TVs, but shows a picture of red-cyan anaglyph glasses. These definitely will not work with any of the sets.

  • By Andrew Robinson Managing Editor HTR

Kent,

You are absolutely right, however I believe the image of the "red and blue" glasses has become synonymous with 3D. When people think 3D I think they automatically go to anaglyph glasses but hopefully over time this will change, though I don't think current or modern 3D spectacles are as iconic as the old anaglyph style ones.

  • By bricot

I think the glasses are one of the key components that will keep this technology from getting much of a foothold. They have already created a screen that can display the 3D images within the screen itself...no need for any glasses... If they can bring this to market in a reasonable time frame, this could make 3D a more viable option (assuming that 2D viewing doesn't take a hit). The current glasses are a joke, construction is cheap, price is high and not a lot of options for those with smaller or larger heads...I guess for kids you break the ear pieces off and use duct tape or a staple gun... They would have been better off making them goggles with an elastic strap ;)

  • By Andrew Robinson Managing Editor HTR

Bricot,

I'm going to have to agree with you wholeheartedly for I too think the glasses aspect of 3D is going to result in slow sales or worse it's downfall. Furthermore, I'm not digging how people are touting 3D as new. Let us not forget that we've already been through a 3D revolution dating as far back as the 50's and it went the way of the dinosaurs in short order.

I suppose what's old has to become new at some point but lets not forget those who don't learn from the past are doomed to repeat it. Now 3D without glasses or the need to lock one's head in a vice-that might be something I could get behind...then again they're already working on laser technology that negates the need for screens or physical boxes all together.

What should they call it? Maybe ACTUAL 3D?

I think the glasses will limit 3D to being a nice addition to home entertainment. You probably won't watch everything in 3D (if the content was available) but you will sit down to watch a movie or sporting event in 3D for a couple hours.Not to mention, any video gamers out there will probably appreciate this new technology as it filters into the gaming world. For now, only those who are interested in buying a mostly brand new home entertainment system will find 3D TV's as an economical option - http://www.3dyourtv.com/post/buying-guide/3d-tv-buying-guide-basics

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