3D Blu-ray Hobbit - Which type of 3D glasses will we need?

T

tripecac

Rivendell
What type of 3D glasses will the 3D Hobbit blu-ray require?

a) TV-specific - I've got a 3D Samsung TV and a 3D Samsung blu-ray player but have never watched any 3D content on either. The TV included some 3D glasses which need to be "synced" to the TV; I think they run off a small battery.

b) Real 3D - When I went to see the hobbit, the theatre sold me a second pair of 3D glasses. These have "Real 3D" written on them. I've tried using them to view some of the 3D samples online (the ones with visible red/blue images), but they don't work.

c) Red/Blue - Back in the 80s, I remember wearing cheap red/blue glasses. I don't have any of those. The online samples seem to be targeting those glasses, but without a pair, I'll never know.


So, which set of glasses will we need for viewing the Hobbit in 3D at home?

And, if the answer is "TV-specific", does this mean I need to buy a second pair of Samsung 3D glasses, or are there other brands/types of glasses that will work with my Samsung TV?

Thanks a bunch!
 
The disc provides the effect, but it's your TV that converts it into image. If you have a 3D-capable TV that came with a pair of glasses, those are the ones that you will use to watch it.
 
You seem to have active shutter glasses. There is also passive 3D for TV that work with RealD glasses or any ohter passive (polarized) glasses. I don't think you need Samsung glasses necessarily but you need to check how they sync (infrared or any other means).
 
They're active shutter glasses (the batteries are included with the glasses) and are made to sync with your TV. We also have a Samsung 3D TV and we've successfully used the Samsung glasses that came with the TV for months (you really *must* use those 3D glasses - it's amazing)! [laugh] We also (after extensive research) purchased extras for when we have company, and the Samsung glasses are consistently the cheapest out there (currently $19.99 per pair, plus free shipping, on Amazon). They seem to be the standard as they also work on other brand TVs.

You'll have to sync the glasses with the TV, but it only takes a minute or two. You then put in your 3D DVD (as you said, you'll also need a 3D BlueRay player which, for general information, are very reasonable now - we bought a Sony for $90 on Amazon and it will play 2D, and pretty much anything else), turn the TV to 3D mode, turn on the 3D glasses using the small button at the top, and away you go! You can also watch a 2D movie or TV show in 'fake 3D' which isn't as good as shows meant for 3D, but can still be entertaining.

Good luck and enjoy! [:)]
 
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I found a 3D Hobbit trailer on youtube, downloaded it to a USB key, and played that on the TV. The glasses included with the TV worked fine. They're a little dark, and I could detect the flashing a bit, but it definitely was 3D (in that cartoony sort of way).

I've read more about the different types of 3D glasses and realize now that with the TV, I need to use the active shutter glasses (expensive). With youtube, we probably need red/blue glasses. I'm not sure when I can use polarized glasses outside of a theatre.
 
I'm not sure when I can use polarized glasses outside of a theatre.
Click to expand...

The advantage of passive 3D may be less crosstalk and flickering and a bit brighter image but the big disadvantage is the picture resolution gets cut in halve, so you might see jaggies and black lines, especially when viewing from a shorter distance.

I'm not sure about the quality of that youtube video. I would watch a 3D bluray to see how your TV is faring.
 
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If passive (polarized) glasses cut the resolution in half, do active (shutter) glasses cut the frame rate in half?
 
No they don't the tv will show 24 frames per second pr eye. Which is why some prefer it. The problem with active is that it's more light sensitive in my opinion than passive. which can also be easier on the eyes. However if your in a dark room, active gives much sharper 3D and better depth in the image. I have active 3d at home on a panasonic plasma, and it's like a window on the wall. but only really good if i turn of all other lights.
 
But modern TVs can do over 100 fps no problem, so you still get at least 24 fps per eye in 3D. Super high resolutions (4K) on the other hand is still very rare and expensive.
 
I've never tried a 3D blu-ray; The Hobbit will be the first.

Are 3D blu-rays limited to 24 fps total, so that it's total of 12 fps per eye?

Would HFR (48 fps) blu-rays (assuming any exist) be 24 fps in each eye?

Since the theatres used passive glasses, were the HFR versions running at 48 fps but half the resolution? And the 4K cameras made the resolution high enough so that we still had plenty of detail?
 
Hobbit will also have the standard 24 fps per eye on Bluray since Bluray doesn't support 48 fps 3D yet (96 fps in total).

In theaters the resolution doesn't get cut in half, it works differently. Instead of showing 2 pictures, one for each eye, simultaneously (even lines for one frame, uneven lines for the other frame), like passive 3D TVs do it, the cinema projector shows them alternately, in quick succession. To get the right polarization for each eye, there's a modulator that sits in front of the projector, polarizing the frames.
 
We've had it since September and have had no problems at all. We've watched both 3D DVDs and 2D shows in 3D mode (football games, movies) and are VERY satisfied.

We were surprised that the price of the 3D TV was very comparable to non-3D TVs as was the DVD player, so we thought 'why not?,' especially since we can still watch all of our non-3D DVDs with the same equipment. The 3D DVDs are a bit more expensive but, like everything, have already started coming down in price and/or going on sale. We're also delighted that there are several on-demand movie channels that now carry 3D movies and the selection gets bigger and better every week. As someone said, the 3D is better in the dark but, then again, so is a non 3D picture on just about any TV, IMHO. So, all-in-all, we're delighted with the 3D and can't wait to get the AUJ DVD so we can see it in 3D again. [:)]
 
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