Passive 3D

[Botch]

Went to both BestBuy and FYE this afternoon on a mostly-unsuccessful shopping trip (see below) but while in BB a salesdude talked me into coming into the TV department to check out the "latest 3D technology". It's Passive 3D, same thing you get in the movie theaters.
LG is supposedly the only manufacturer to offer it so far, instead of active glasses that "shutter" on serial images, this uses glasses that only have polarized filters at 90 degrees to each other, and then each eye can "see" only the intended serial image.
PROs: Glasses are lightweight, need no batteries/recharging and cost next to nothing. No shuttering, no headaches. Works with existing 3D releases (I wish I'd asked if it required just a new TV, just a new player, or both :angry-banghead: ).
CONs: I'd imagine the image is darker than with the shuttering technology, although that's just a semi-educated guess on my part (didn't have an "older" 3D set close by to compare it to, nor have enough time). And, "Oh boy, I get to buy another new set!"

The only 3D tv I've seen was "Monsters vs Aliens" (that is the one with the really tall blond, right?). The image was cool, but I could see ghosting in the image pretty easily.
Guys, this passive set blew me away! The 3D image (some aquarium footage) was much more realistic (although remember I'm comparing live fish video to a cartoon, with a few-month gap in between ). The off-axis image was great up until about 45 degrees. And I saw no ghosting whatsoever, it was really a solid, amazing picture. Color me impressed!

Okay, the shopping trip. Wanted to get the Billy Joel concert bluray, both places it was sold out. The TRON blurays, both movies (still way too expensive, I'll wait). Rush's Moving Pictures in 5.1; $28, on sale; I'll wait. Duran Duran's new CD; BB didn't have it, FYE wanted $17; it'll be in the cutout bin for $3.99 in two months, I'll wait. Cloudy... Meatballs for $9.99 at BB, sold out. I did get Robbie Robertson's new CD for $9, and the second Ice Age movie for $15 (have the other two) so the trip wasn't a complete loss.

 

[Yesfan70]

.......Duran Duran's new CD; BB didn't have it, FYE wanted $17.........

WTF? $17 for a single CD?? :shock:


Amazon has the Deluxe Edition (CD+DVD) for just $12 and you get free 2 day shipping if you're a Prime customer.


FYE sucks.

 

[Botch]

.......Duran Duran's new CD; BB didn't have it, FYE wanted $17.........

WTF? $17 for a single CD?? :shock:


Amazon has the Deluxe Edition (CD+DVD) for just $12 and you get free 2 day shipping if you're a Prime customer.


FYE sucks.

Yeah, I usually don't even go in there anymore; between the high prices and the constant sell-you-more at the checkout line, it just isn't a good place to shop.

Wow, no interest in passive 3D... :shhh:

 

[Botch]

Just read a blurb on Active vs. Passive 3D in Sound & Vision. It confirmed one thing, negated another, and brought up a third disadvantage that I didn't see:
1. The passive system is actually brighter than an active 3D system; I wouldn't have expected that.
2. Ghosting is totally eliminated with the passive system; something I noticed right away even though it'd been months since I looked at an Active system.
3. The resolution is cut in half; in other words, your 1080p screen becomes 540p; cable and satellite sources are worse, going to 960 x 540 pixels, which is just barely better than DVD quality. I read the blurb twice and it wasn't clear if this resolution reduction only applied to 3D material, or to all content; that'd be a deal-killer for me.

 

[Flint]

I viewed some of the most advanced passive 3D systems not yet on the market while at the NAB trade show two weeks ago. I was sorely disappointed. I also found nearly all of the LCD based 3D sets using active glasses looked terrible. Only the Plasma and a few of the DLP sets with active glasses were impressive at all.

I can see why people are put off by this technology.

 

[yromj]

3. The resolution is cut in half; in other words, your 1080p screen becomes 540p; cable and satellite sources are worse, going to 960 x 540 pixels, which is just barely better than DVD quality. I read the blurb twice and it wasn't clear if this resolution reduction only applied to 3D material, or to all content; that'd be a deal-killer for me.

That's quite interesting. One note though, 540p is 960x540 (960x540 = (16*60)x(9*60) and yes that is only slightly better than DVD.

John

 

[Botch]

3. The resolution is cut in half; in other words, your 1080p screen becomes 540p; cable and satellite sources are worse, going to 960 x 540 pixels, which is just barely better than DVD quality. I read the blurb twice and it wasn't clear if this resolution reduction only applied to 3D material, or to all content; that'd be a deal-killer for me.

That's quite interesting. One note though, 540p is 960x540 (960x540 = (16*60)x(9*60) and yes that is only slightly better than DVD.

John

Thanks, I quoted the article verbatim without doing the math... :ugeek:

 

[Haywood]

I saw a pretty impressive demo with a plasma set and active shutter glasses, but I am nowhere even vaguely close to ready to jump on this technology. I'm going to limp the old Hitachi RPTV in the play room along for as long as I can with hopes of replacing it with a 3D set. I imagine things will improve tremendously over the next couple of years. Then, a year or two later, I'll do the master bedroom set. These are both sets that I want to upgrade anyway, so I figure why not go 3D when I do. The very last set I will even consider touching is my Samsung LED Light Engine DLP RPTV, which I dearly love. I'm guessing that five years from now, there will be some really kick-ass options available for that.

 

[lakedmb]

I saw the LG demonstration at bestbuy recently and I thought it was pretty pathetic. My only 3D experience has been at a theater so I can't compare it to the active sets that are out. My wife and I sat there for about 3 minutes watching the aquarium footage and both shrugged our shoudlers and walked off. If that is what 3D is like at home then I definitely don't see myself missing out on a thing.