3D Movies
Movies in Cinema and on Television are nowadays often also in 3D. Unfortunately the systems use different techniques to display such movies. The purpose of this page is to explain the systems, the differences and how to use at home on your own computer or home cinema.
Don't think that 3D is new, the history goes back to 1850 when Wilhem Rollman invented anaglyph images. The innovation of 3D today is in 3D glasses.
Technology
There are 3 different types:
Anaglyph
The most common type of 3D glasses we see and of course recall whenever we think about them are the variety the one with cyan and red lenses. They’re referred to as 3D anaglyph glasses producing a 3D image through anaglyph color filtering. The cyan lens filters out all the red light while the red lens filters all the cyan, bluish light. The differently colored lenses allow our eyes to capture two different angles of an image, or two different images entirely. The brain then merges one image with the other, resulting in a ‘popping’ effect with a unified image jumping off the screen or the photo. other color-contrast varieties of 3D anaglyph glasses also exist, including magenta/green, red/green and much rarer color assortments.
Polarized
The next most common variety are polarized 3D glasses. It was Edwin Land who introduced polarized 3D images into films in 1936. They work the same way as anaglyphs, deceiving the eyes into seeing only one 3D image by restricting the amount of light that enters the eyes, but this time in general. The screen presents two images though orthogonal polarizing filters which are likewise contained in the 3D glasses themselves. As opposed to the red and cyan lenses of anaglyph glasses, these have a yellowish-brown tint.
They’re quite bulky and not that becoming when it comes to style (unless you’re Lady Gaga). But what they lack in vogue, they make up for in the images they produce. The polarized method was a popular choice for cinemas while 3D films were just beginning and especially now as they’re optimal for IMAX 3D movies.
Shutter
The latest and most advanced of the 3D lens breeds are 3D shutter glasses. Whereas anaglyph and polarized glasses use passive 3D, shutter glasses use active 3D: no filtering images or color. They utilize LCD screen technology, darkening each lens alternately so that the brighter and darker images are seen through alternating eyes. The lens darkening happens so fast that you have to be waiting for it to notice the effect. These are often battery-powered or even USB-supported and may cost more than your ordinary 3D glasses, but the result is visually stunning graphics. Many companies offer their own versions:
- Samsung 3D glasses,
- Panasonic 3D glasses
- and more.
Computer
Bino 3D is a free stereoscopic 3D video player [1] for Windows and Linux, OSX. The main technology which the program uses is Anaglyph. Features:
- Support for stereoscopic 3D video, with a wide variety of input and output formats.
- Support for multi-display video, e.g. for powerwalls, Virtual Reality installations and other multi-projector setups.
Streaming
Streaming a 3D movie is in essence the same as streaming a normal movie. The device which displays the content need to have 3D facilities. So all the noise on Apple TV does not support 3D is nonsense.
