The 3D Revolution....Whats in store for us?!! Tweet

Hey!! This is my first post on Technomaniacz! In-fact its my first ever post. So please forgive me if you notice any minuscule sign of inexperience and please forget if there are bigger ones. To be modest, I presume there'll be many. But lets keep my memoirs aside and we'll get to the reason why I'm indulging in this cumbersome job. Recognize the bloke in the picture below?

I would say he was the one who revolutionized the way movie makers saw the 3D technology and its application in mind-boggling movie making. Yep!! Its James Cameroon himself folks!

After his movie "Avatar" hit the screens in 2009 and kept the box-offices all over the globe rigging for the next 12 months people began to see 3D as a new but worthy addition to their movie-watching experience. Consumer Electronic Giants like Samsung, Sony, LG and the lot tried to cash in on this new craze and soon announced an array of products that had Stereoscopic technology as the driving component in them, including the Blu-ray discs and players.

So from then on there was a wild rush from different makers of 3D TVs to grab and control this new market. Samsung and Sony introduced Active 3D technology for 3D Home Entertainment. 

But the consumers who got hold of these flashy TVs were in for a wild shock!! They were supposed to wear heavyset glasses that easily burned a big hole in their pockets. The glasses needed frequent recharges [How could anyone accept this!!] since they worked on batteries and cost INR 3000 on an average.

Soon the spurt in sales that was expected by Samsung and Sony fizzled out. People struck to normal Full HD LED or LCD displays. Just when things began to get difficult for 3D Home Entertainment, LG came up with a wonderful cost effective solution in "The LG Cinema 3D" range of smart television.

Now this is where the confusion arises for a consumer willing to spend his/her hard earned money on a worthy 3D TV.

Today's 3D entertainment dilemma!

Go for the Samsung Smart TV or LG Cinema 3D?!! [We'll leave Sony because it is costlier than Samsung though both use the same Active Filter Technology for 3D Rendering and isn't suitable for an average Indian middle class customer]

The comparison Now.....This is Samsung Smart 3D TV and its 3D glasses...

Now this is how 3D works out in this TV. The eyewear used has infrared or bluetooth sensors with which it connects wirelessly to a 3D LCD TV or 3D LED TV. When the screen shows 3D content, it alternates between two versions of an image. This is done by having a pair of LCD shutters in the eye wear which switch ON and OFF alternatively making sure that only one of them is ON at any given time.

In active technology, however, the two image versions are not displayed at the same time, and there is a tiny lag between the two images. When the images alternate on the screen, the glass lenses alternate between being opaque and transparent. So when the right eye receives input for an image shown on screen, the left eye does not receive any input.

This happens at a very high speed, as a result of which the brain does not have time to perceive a flicker in the images. As the closing and opening is timed in sync with on-screen images, each eye views only one version of the image. A stereoscopic sync connector is plugged into an infrared (IR) emitter. This emitter transmits signals to the 3D glasses using active lenses. This helps the lens synchronize with 3D content on screen.

Manufacturers have started incorporating this technology in their television units only recently. This is because most of the older plasma and LCD television models had low refresh rates as a result of which this technology could not be employed in them.

Refresh rate is the speed with which a screen replaces images and when this is low, the viewers will be able to detect a flicker when they use these glasses. But in most of the latest television models, the refresh rates are high and viewers can enjoy a great 3D experience.

The Main drawback of this method is the Image Flickering. This can easily cause headache and nausea and the heavy glasses can make your nose deeper. That might affect the girls seeing that they don't want their facial complexion altered.

And the cost which is the main factor. The Basic active 3D glasses for Samsung model starts at INR 1300 [Refresh rate of 120 HZ] and climb upto INR 5000 based on their refresh rate. How can an Indian family of 4 and above afford this??!

Now this is where LG exhibits its commonsense. This is LG Cinema 3D TV and its passive polarised filter glasses.

The Pink thing above [Urgh!] will win any girl's heart. Its a passive 3D glass that you get with LG Cinema 3D.

The colorful array of glasses that you see below are not sun glasses but they are passive 3D glasses again!! Cool!! Aren't they?! This is where LG Scores above Samsung and here is how they achieved it.... 3D TVs employing polarization are used with polarized glasses, whose lenses filter light waves that are polarized in a specific direction.

Unlike Samsung Displays LG developed this display that is capable of polarising in two ways.

Only light polarized in a way compatible with either lens is allowed through each of them, as a result of which, each eye perceives only one set of images. The images are then processed by the brain in the same manner as it does for real life images. The working is similar to Theatrical 3D exhibition which is cheap.

One advantage of polarized glasses is that image details and colours shown by them are similar to that of real life 3D content. Polarized glasses offer viewing experience that is among the best in different 3D technologies. Another advantage of using these glasses is that they are relatively cost effective as they make use of passive technology.

With polarized glasses, users can also conveniently shift between 2D and 3D viewing experiences.

And the Cost?!! Well if you have just INR 100 bucks then pay a trip to our very own Ritchie Street, Chennai, where you'll find these in even better designs and more attractive colours. OR just pay a visit to your nearby multiplex and watch a 3D movie. Keep the glasses with you as a memorabilia if the movie is good or do the same to compensate your money if its a bad one [Do this at your own risk].

Therefore I'd rather go for the LG Cinema 3D (4X" costs around INR 90,000) than a Samsung Smart (4X" costs around INR 85,000 plus INR 5000 or more for those uncomfortable looking glasses).

So folks I hope this post comes in handy when you plan to buy your very Own 3D Entertainment system. 

Adios for Now....! 

Will be Back Soon with more..