The great experiment in 3D television is over. Effective this year, no more manufacturers are offering the 3D feature on their HDTV models, choosing instead to push for 4k Ultra HD without 3D (even though the two can easily co-exist). Does this development upset you, or have been you cheering for the death of 3D?
Back in late 2010, I moderated a panel on Blu-ray interactivity at an industry conference in Los Angeles. Nobody really cared about my panel, which was fine by me since I’m very nervous about public speaking. The featured guest at the event was James Cameron, who spoke earlier in the day to promote the impending 3D release of ‘Avatar‘ on Blu-ray (which would be exclusively offered as a pack-in promotional item with the purchase of Panasonic 3D televisions). The tone of the conference tried to push 3D as the biggest revolution in home video technology since DVD. Cameron assured the attendees that 3D television was a perfected and flawless product that would arrive fully-formed out of the gate.
Of course, that didn’t turn out to be true. 3D on TV had and continues to have a lot of issues, the most serious of which is the problem of “ghosting,” or 3D crosstalk artifacts that make the experience of watching 3D distracting and even painful on many types of televisions, especially LCD televisions. The inevitable dimming of the picture while watching through 3D glasses is also often a huge disappointment.
Beyond technical problems, the biggest hurdle 3D TV faced was consumer apathy. Many viewers either don’t care about 3D or actively dislike it. Even many of those who do like it don’t enjoy needing to wear clunky 3D glasses to watch a movie. Although some manufacturers touted the development of glasses-free 3D, that technology required viewers to sit in very specific sweet-spots for the 3D effect to work, which was not terribly convenient or practical.
Even as the feature became almost ubiquitous in HDTV models for a while, 3D never quite caught on with viewers, many of whom would refuse to buy 3D glasses or software despite owning compatible televisions. In recent years, major manufacturers like LG and Vizio dropped support for 3D, a decision that had negligible impact on their sales. This year, even the last of the hold-outs gave up on 3D for their flat-panel TVs.
This doesn’t mean that 3D is entirely dead. 3D movies continue to be made and are successful enough in theaters to justify more of them. For the purposes of home theater, many projectors still offer 3D with no sign of that changing. However, we’re already seeing home video studios curtail their 3D releases on Blu-ray, either by exclusively bundling it with Ultra HD discs or not offering it at all on some titles.
For my part, I enjoy 3D when it’s done well and enhances the movie. Unfortunately, it isn’t always done well. Too many Hollywood movies are converted from 2D to 3D as an afterthought with no appreciable benefit to the film. In those cases, I’d just as soon watch in the brighter and more colorful 3D.
I own a 3D DLP projector (DLP is the only display format immune from crosstalk artifacts) and will try to keep it in good working order for as long as I can. I’ve just ordered a replacement lamp for it this week.
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Krawk
Honestly I was still waiting for a good display in which the display itself was active and all you had to do was wear the polarized Ray Bans. The flickering shutters on your face, assuming the batteries hold up long enough was not for me.
Jeremy Knight
This now exists – I can (just) speak from experience. Buy one of the 2016 LG OLEDS that support passive 3D – if you can afford it as admittedly they’re still pretty pricey. They’ve come down almost 60% in price though since launch! I got the 55in E6V for £2000 (ouch!) but when released it was £3500.
It comes with a cheap-ass pair of passive 3D specs – you’d think at this price they’d be a bit more premium but no. An old pair from a prior cinema visit work also, but oddly not some newer ones from IMAX 3D cinemas.
The great thing with the LG is you’re also not compromising on 2D – from reviews it’s arguably one of the best for this too. Apparently it has some shortcomings for HDR but there’s little content for this yet and I don’t have any source other than Amazon Prime. The Grand Tour in HDR via Amazon looked pretty amazing to me though!
Josh Zyber
AuthorIMAX 3D glasses use linear polarization. Other forms of theatrical 3D use circular polarization, as do all passive 3D TVs. That’s why IMAX glasses don’t work with your TV while other theater glasses will.
Jeremy Knight
Hi Josh – thanks I appreciate the explanation that was puzzling me!
My first visit to IMAX 3D I tried my old 3D glasses and thought – this doesn’t seem right! So went out to the foyer and bought the right pair. They said quite a few people sit through an entire movie wearing old (i.e. circular polarized I now understand) glasses, and end up thinking the 3D sucks! 🙂
Josh Zyber
AuthorThey forced you to buy the IMAX glasses after you already bought a ticket? Around here, you’re expected to return IMAX glasses after the show for cleaning and reuse.
Chaz Dumbaugh
Have always been a fan of 3D, cant imagine watching Avatar in anything but, it was an experience going to see that for the first time. Shame though that most other movies really never captured that feeling again. Doctor Strange is one of the best ones I’ve seen in quite some time but its too little too late unfortunately. 3D was never big at home, people didnt want to buy it, its pretty obvious and people really arent buying that many movies anymore either, I can get any 4K Bluray I want at any time because they are always in stock, same with most 3D titles that still come out, as much as cinephile fans like us want the best quality, the masses are moving to streaming and not even owning movies, I’m the only one I know of in my circle of friends and family that have any kind of decent movie collection, everyone else has a few but otherwise rents or streams anything they want to see. People love buying up cheap TVs, 4K sets walking out of Walmart all of the time but they arent HDR or even quality sets, not sure why people are buying them up like crazy but arent bothering with any decent content on them, 4K Netflix looks pretty good but its highly compressed and of course can eat your data pretty quickly.
Most people pay no attention to whats going on with these things and of course the people behind making these decisions, like HDR, Dolby Vision and plenty of other things that confuse most normal people, arent helping the situation at all. Hell, studios like Disney wont even put already established Atmos tracks on their Blurays when they come home, it makes ZERO sense and pisses me off to no end, but its been this way for decades almost, DVD hit and did the same thing, happens every time a new format comes and you would think they could get their shit together after all of this time
Reluctant Rockstar
This bums me out. I didn’t like 3D when it first came out; the whole pop-up book thing. I didn’t think it added anything and it seemed gimmicky. Despite this, I believe in future proofing my purchases, so I bought Blu Rays I liked (all the Marvel stuff, for example) with the upgraded 3D packages. But the technology kept getting better, and I started opting for it when seeing theatrical releases. Finally, last Black Friday I bought a 65″ LG OLED C6 because it does everything. And HOLY S***! Now I watch 3D all the time, including last night with The Martian. I even have the 4K HDR version and watch the 3D more often. Movies like that one, in particular, really benefit from the visual scale that 3D offers when you have all those grand-scale exposition shots. Gravity, of course, is mind-blowing for that very reason. And not that this is necessarily appropriate to this discussion, but I have a high-functioning autistic grandson. The first time he saw something in 3D he had tears in his eyes. Said it made him want to cry. To me, that was reason enough right there.
Chaz Dumbaugh
Man, everyone talks about Gravity being so great but for some reason my disc doesnt work right and I havent been able to figure out why, cant find anything online about similar issues but when its in 3D you can almost watch it without the glasses, it does nothing for the movie at all, I’ve been on two different receivers since then and have tried it without all of that, not sure if its my Bluray player or what, been really wanting to see what people love about that in 3D and I havent been able to 🙁
Josh Zyber
AuthorDid you try connecting the Blu-ray player directly to the TV?
Csm101
Chaz,
The 3d in Gravity is pretty subtle a lot of the time. Check out chapter 3 starting around 22.17 mark. There’s all sorts of debris floating around the ship including a Marvin the Martian toy and a retainer. That is very obvious in 3d. Chapter five at around 40.57 mark there are water droplets that come right toward you and maybe a little magnetic chess piece that floats toward you. Check out those scenes in comparison to the rest of the movie. There are plenty of other scenes like that but I’m only suggesting those so that you can troubleshoot your disc. I was a bit underwhelmed by the 3d in Gravity the first time because I thought all the space debris scenes would be a little more immersive but were just in the background with the occasional bit of debris flying at you. I doubt there’s anything wrong with your disc, like me you were probably expecting more from all the praise. It’s still a very solid presentation and my preferred way to view it. Pair that with the Neural X engaged, it’s almost as good as I imagine the Atmos track would be.
Abhue Ferguson
First time poster.
As someone who championed 3D when it was being launched into the home market; I am saddened to see it go. While I know there were some issues with the tech/accessories, I believe that the downfall of the format is clearly the fault of advertisers and film directors and cost.
Advertisers: When you think back to the marketing for 3D in the home (just pop in one of the early releases) you will notice a single trend throughout. All of them show images bursting from the televisions and into the audiences living space. Like the movie posters from the 1950’s this hyperbole would set the stage for customer disappointment as with the majority of 3D content this “jumping out” effect was scarcely used. Whether it was the Owls of Ga’houl flying out of the screen, or the magic of Harry Potter breaking the image barrier; there was never that consistency of being able to say “DAMN that was worth the money!”. We all remember the demoes at Best Buy specifically designed to hold objects out to you and watch turtles in under sea landscapes passing before our eyes only to get home and be treated to a “window into another world”. Had I/we been advertised to in this manner there may not have been a such backlash against the format. We were sold on immersion; a visual 3Dimensionality to match our surround sound. Instead we got a window to peer through that seldom reached out to grab us.
Directors: We had new technology, multi-camera rigs, higher frame rates, sky high resolutions and endless opportunities. But, what did Hollywoods’ best and brightest not have (and in many cases still don’t)? The understanding and acceptance that 3D is a GIMMICK! Tell your story, bring passion and emotion to your audience, but when the time comes for the effects to fly, things to blow up or an actor reach TOWARD CAMERA! have them push beyond the screen. Have debris pop off the display and have it land behind the audience; completing the effect with great sound design. I know I am not the only one who rolled his eyes every time a director said in an interview this will not be “gimmicky 3D”. WHY NOT!! Wasn’t this the attraction that got us to spend extra on the theater experience and then again in our own home theaters? By not steering into the curve so to speak; directors continuously delivered sub par 3D that gave us a view to another world. But we as an audience didn’t want a view! We wanted to be grabbed by the movie, to have to duck and dodge when bullets went flying, to run our fingers through the hair and garments of characters as it flowed and billowed beyond the black bars of a fixed aspect ratio. The number of countless 3D disappointments speaks volumes about the directors misunderstanding of what a format needs to survive in conjunction with how it can serve the story both emotionally and viscerally.
Cost: As the floppy disk gave way to the CD driving down the cost of mass producing and distributing media, so too did the DVD replace VHS and then itself was overtaken by BLURAY (RIP HD-DVD). How can it be that a format so relatively inexpensive to produce would cost $10 to $20 more when adding a 3D copy to the box? Just recently on the shelves of my local Best Buy, the new release of the movie Storks was on sale. DVD $9.99, BR-DVD-DHD $9.99….BR3D-BR-DVD-DHD $29.99!!! WTF!? Was the 3D version printed on some Holy material that was never brought to light by journalists? Still to this day 3D movies carry a premium cost over there non 3D counterparts and there is no justification for this especially on titles more than 3 years old. https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_te_3?rh=i%3Amovies-tv&pa=B01LHOQNX0&field-availability=-1&suppress-ve=1&ie=UTF8&qid=1490288445&lo=movies-tv Case in point the 3D version here costs more than the 4K version. Also why would studios bother selling there movies with a 3D disc and a Standard Blu-ray? The formats was designed to be backwards compatible, and work on non 3D capable players ( forgiving some HDMI handshake issues of course). At least a nuisance, and at most a cause for consumers to go out and get a better player.
To close out I would like to end on somewhat of a high note. In recent memory there has been only one movie that I know of that has done right by the consumer and tech enthusiasts and that is the 2016 release of Ghostbusters. Say what you will about the movie; I enjoyed it on it’s own merits without bias for its franchise roots, however its home release on 4k UHD is an example of how it should be done. The single box for this movie contained the 4K UHD, 3D BR, DVD, UHD Digital copy all for 29.99 or 24.99 if you caught it on sale. This is how it should be. All variations of the film together in one package at price that makes sense. Making consumers pay an inflated premium for 3D was WRONG. Making them choose between a steel book edition and the 3D version is RUDE (Doctor Strange 2016). And calling your 4k release the “Ultimate Edition” and not offering the extended cut on the 3D Disc is just LYING (Batman v. Superman 2016).
I will miss having the option of 3D going forward when I decide to upgrade to 4K TV (only recently purchased a 3D capable 1080p projector!). I will miss showing friends and family what they missed out on by not investing in this tech. I will however not miss the misrepresentation of what this format was supposed to be, the inept bumbling of filmmakers ability to capture and expand upon its potential and the outrageous pricing and packaging model that kept this format from being a no brainer purchase to consumers. Lastly I lament the lack of foresight by the UHD Alliance for not moving forward with standards for 3D 4k HDR with High Frame Rate, as I am sure that some time in the future 3D will strike back and the format wars will begin again.
Thad
I will keep buying 3D blu-rays as long as they keep making them (and importing them if I need to, ie Disney). In the right movie, it brings a welcome addition to the experience. I want to applaud what Sony at least tried to do in their recent Ultra HD 4K Blu-ray offerings and included all four formats (BD, 3DBD, UHBD, and digital). If every studio did that, then 3D and 4K could probably live together well in consumer purchase harmony. I also just wanted to also echo what others have said about the LG 2016 4K OLED TVs (with 3D, so the C6,E6,F6 models). The 3D on them is AMAZING, easy to watch, bright, the glasses are light and always ready to use (passive) and the 4K resolution makes the active resolution cut finally be negligible. If they had been able to do 3D like this from the beginning, maybe it would not have dropped off of the feature set of flat panel TVs. It’s so good in fact, that (as many have said) I might have to buy another one or two of these 2016 models before they are totally gone…
Barsoom Bob
Add me to the “very sorry to see it go” category. Our only hope is that we will be a large enough niche consumer group that what discs are released will continue to be purchased, and some smaller company may see an oportunity to lease the 3D version rights and make modest releases that the bigger studios aren’t willing to be bothered with anymore.
I will say this, having had an original Panasonic Plasma 3D, then a Large Sony XBR (passive), and now a true 4K Sony projector. The size and conditions influence the enjoyment of the experience and I think factor heavily into why it wasn’t more widely accepted. People without projectors, and the benefit of Constant Image Heigh projection, already get a smaller picture with letterboxed big movies. It is a weird thing, but adding the 3D does seem to down scale the preceived size of things even further because some object now do seem to be further away. Also prime HT projector environments are just naturally more conducive to a brighter viewing experience. it would be nice to not have to lose brightness because of the glasses but my projected 3D image is stunning, way better than any movie theater experience, except our Laser IMAX down here in Austin, and I am loving every minute of it.
I’m still buying any half way decent film in 3D if it is available. I have already ordered my 3D copy of Rogue One from Zavi. Keep buying the discs, it is the most proactive thing we can do.
Ross
I wasn’t a big fan of 3D on my old Panasonic ST30 but it looks great on my Epson 5030ub. You really need a big screen to enjoy it. That said it doesn’t really bother me. If I had to choose I would rather 3D of 4K since I have no interest in upgrading to 4K.
Ross
I wasn’t a huge fan when I had my Panasonic ST30, when I purchased my Epson 5030ub I was really impressed. I feel you really need a big screen to enjoy it IMO. Since I have zero interest in 4K I would prefer they continue to produce 3D BD’s but I’m not heart broken. 9/10 times I will reach for the 2D version unless it’s a great transfer like Titanic. I’m interested to see if they will a 3D BD of T2 later this year.
Jim Young
It may be just me but, I have noticed a 3D effect on 4K . Even on blu-ray when I play on the BD 4K player up scaling and the TV which also upscales. I won’t call it true 3D but there is an effect.
Endre
Not gonna buy another TV from any of the big manufactors. F***k them all. You just don`t push new technology like that on your customers for years and then suddenly kills it! I too own a DLP 3D projector and it is spectacular! Even better 3D than in cinemas. I own over 100 3D Bluray titles and I produce my own 3D movies at home on my 3D monitor. And it IS cheap to implement 3D in Tv`s, so there is no f***g excuse!!!
I asked a LG tech at a consumer stand a few months back, why they dropped 3D. “Is it too expensive?” -No! It`s pretty cheap to produce, but there`s just not much demand for it at the moment” Well? Why then f***k over your own loyal customers who enjoys 3D? Is it so f***g hard to keep the tech on the new TV`s so it can co-exist with 4K and HDR?
4K is shit! I hope it dies soon! We don`t need it. It`s barely an upgrade from 1080p. At least on screens 55-65″. I refuse to spend thousands of dollars on new technology, they soon gonna replace anyway.
Endre
But I like to add that I really think a new 3D tech is just around the corner. Glasses free panels. James Cameron mentioned he`s working on it with a company, in an interview regarding t2 3D and the Avatar sequels coming later. Glasses free Tv`s are already made, but they had a number of concerns and was very sensitive to viewing angles. But the tech is getting better, so we may soon have a much better and simpler way of watching 3D in a couple of years. I really hope so.
john barbarry
Don’t care. Don’t care about 4k either. 1080p and 5.1 looks and sounds good enough for me, but then again I don’t buy this stuff to demo shitty blockbusters to my “guests”.
Don Lewis
Didn’t read all the comments but sampled enough to get a consensus. I just wanted to voice the opinion of those who LOVE 3d. I really do. I have an LG 4K TV with passive 3d. And yes, I understand that it is NOT 4K 3d but 4K TVs make the best 3d viewing because it can show the whole HD frame (instead of half the resolution).
Of course, 3d blu-rays vary in quality, as do theatre releases (was pointless in Rogue One and barely worthwhile in Kong: Skull Island). While we move toward a streaming world (music, TV, games). I wish Netflix and others would stream the 3d versions of their available catalog of movies with this option. YouTube does it. It can be done.
I’m sure someone made the point that B&Ms are cutting back on all media (again, because of streaming options), not just 3d.
Chapz Kilud
3D is only displayed in 1080p. It’s incompatible with 4K.
Csm101
Netflix did have 3d movies available at one point, but maybe little demand made them change their mind. I watched Zemeckis’s Beowulf in 3d through Netflix streaming and it was glorious!
J. Rosario
Bottom line when you are in your home or when you step out into the world what do you see,3-D yes we see the world around us in 3-D can you imaging if we saw everything flat like we do on our tv.
Jeremy Knight
Spot on J – that’s what I keep saying to the 3D nay-sayers. Last time I checked, the world is 3D. And isn’t the progress – of Cinema at least – about striving for ever greater visual videlity? ‘Nuff said 🙂
Thulsadoom
My fiancee and I absolutely love 3D, and I’ll happily admit I was one of those initially very sceptical. I ended up with a 3D TV because the TV itself was on a great offer when I was upgrading. I got a 3D Blu Ray player purely because it happened to be one of the few models capable of being made Blu Ray multi region from the remote without chipping. I had little interest in 3D, but having the TV and player, I gave a couple of movies a go. The cinema hadn’t really sold me on it. I was never blown away by Avatar and others in 3D, the way other people were.
Home 3D, on the other hand, sold me. It was great. I felt it was much more effective than at the cinema, and I really got to immerse myself in the better 3D movies. Now, if there’s a movie we want and it’s available in 3D, we will always make sure we get the 3D version.
The shame is that most people still don’t care much about HD, let alone 3D. Heck, I work in an industry full of tech people who love all the latest gadgets, and even in a recent conversation, they couldn’t believe I was still buying Blu Rays when I could stream, let alone 3D (I even had people who’ve invested thousands in the gimmick of VR, tell me that 3D movies in the home are pointless)! It’s a sad state of affairs, but the convenience of streaming is ‘good enough’ for most people (forget 3D).
It’s like most people being happy with mid/low quality MP3 rather than spending the same money to get a CD!
Don’t get me wrong, streaming is fine for TV (we rarely watch ‘live’ TV anymore), and movies that you’re not overly bothered about, but streaming is unlikely to ever replace the quality of a proper disk. But try telling that to 95% of people. Then try selling them on 3D… Unless you’re a big movie fan, like most of us on this site, 3D just isn’t of any interest. 🙁
Ami Verred
Just upgraded my Sony Pearl 1080P projector to the New Epson 6040UB 3D projector. even though i really enjoy watching 3D BD on the 55″ Samsung 8500 3D panel, there is no comparison, the projector will blow you away any time. that is why I think the 3D format should stay.
In the first place this business of starting a format and not having a full commitment to it, is the most annoying to all of the first adapter between us, the expense of purchasing the products and software and then not been able to use it after a few years will finally drive away even the most staunch supporter of this industry. I for that matter thinking of renewing my boating interests, but what am I to do in the winter {i live in Canada}.
Anyway as long as the big guys will continue to issue the big blockbuster movies that were in 3D for the theatrical display in 3D BD then will be happy to continue to add new titles to the 200 already in my collection, I really liked that passengers was in 3D for the 4K issue, best combination in my opinion. and I understand Rouge 1 will also be in 3D, that is great, i prefer to buy the 3D version in lieu of the the 4K at this point anyway because most of the 4K are not full 4K chain and wait until I am able to afford that blasted $16000 dollars true 4K Sony projector.
Jeremy Knight
I was devastated about this – before I’d bought my new LG OLEDE6V! 3D on this is simply amazing – and crosstalk is completely absent. The lantern scene in Tangled (unwatchable on my old Panasonic Plasma using active shutter) – now is just jaw-dropping!
So, this did derail my long term plan, which was to keep my Panasonic (P50VT65B – one of the last and greatest plasmas!) at least 3-4 more years, then upgrade to 4k and passive 3D when – hopefully – this was more affordable. So when the death of home 3D was announced I was gutted!
So plans were brought forward and I had to dig deep now to afford the LG but boy am I glad I did. As has been mentioned elsewhere online I’ve seen – it’s ironic LG have canned 3D just when they about perfected it (in FHD at least). Having said that the sweet spot for 3D on the LG is pretty small – not an issue for me as I do most of my viewing solo, but not so good for families.
I’ve signed the petitions so fingers crossed it will get revived at some point (and improvement continue). It’s simply the best viewing experience ever when its right (Avatar on the LG – no words!). Now I’m worried though that 3D home consumer content will dry up completely 🙁
Kevin Christensen
I love 3D, and not only have a good selection of 3D blurays, but wish there were more. 3D alone isn’t enough to make a good movie, but a good movie 3D becomes a fantastic experience. I blame the passive marketing, both at the in-store level and at the ad level. I have a Sony 70″ and 3D looks amazing, providing a theater quality experience, and the glasses are no more annoying than a golden ticket. I’m also fond of the 2D/3D conversion feature which is not as good as native 3D, but which for some things works very well (Lord of the Rings, for instance), but which for anime should be, and could be, a major marketing feature. Things like Cowboy Beebop or Howl’s Moving Castle take on a whole new level of beauty.
David batarseh
I still own 4 3d capable displays (Panasonic plasma, sony pstv, sony 930c and an epson projector) and am sad to see the format go. By far 3d via a projector is the way to go and I will still buy a film on UHD and bluray just to get the 3d version, unless its included, which does happen occasionally but not enough; thanks Passengers but kick rocks Fantastic beasts.
Ami Verred
so Star Wars rouge 1 is finally out, I tried to purchase the Steel Book Best Buy on line in my area, to no avail, all copies were pre- sold. Waited until this morning and went to my local Best Buy at 10:15 AM (15 minutes after the doors opened}, all 25 Steel Books copies were already gone. finally manage to reserve a copy in Aurora {30 KM north of Toronto} and got my copy.
So why am I telling all this story, the steel Book version is the only 3D version available in Canada and people would not fork extra money to get a fancy steel casing, it has to be because this version contain a 3D BD.
So you tell me that 3D is dying, its that all this idiot bean counter in the electronic industry decided that we don’t need it anymore,
So Bean counters read our 3D lips, keep 3D going, most of the early adapters and movie aficionados love it and if you fail us as you did so many times and as you are doing right now with the lack of 3D support on the 4K format you will find yourself counting pebbles on the beach somewhere,
Jim Sublett
3D is okay for the big screen….as far as home use I knew it wouldn’t last.
Just like curved TV’s. Too gimmicky.
Frank
Hi, I have a question but I’m going to say this is in around bout way. I dove head 1st into 3DTV. I bought a reference Samsung Plasma in 2012, I think. Of course it was Active 3D Glasses, but I didn’t like the glasses flickering. So I invested quite a big deal of money into getting Xpand YOUniversal glasses, which at the time had the highest refresh rates for Active Shutter 3D glasses. Even then the 3D picture didn’t POP and was much darker, do to the Active glasses. The Samsung Plasma ended up going bad within 2 ½ years. I had a Best Buy warranty. Long short I got a full refund and walked away from Plasma even though the 2D picture was great. So, I ended up going with the highest model LG LED 3DTV, with Passive 3D. Be damned with “half” resolution. The LG passive 3D had much more 3D POP and Depth, and was SO much brighter. Well, that LED panel went bad in 1 year. So, no option of fixing had extended warranty and I got 2014, I think, LG 60” 3D LED top of the line, that I have today. Since, then I have bought 2 other LG LED non 3DTVs. Those 2 TVs also had their backlights burn out. So, not fixable. I still have my LG 60” 3DTV from 2014, but I am scared with my experience that my TV will go and now with this whole fiasco of 3DTVs no longer being made. I have almost every 3D Blu Ray title made. I am in a panic, that once my TV goes I’m going to be up the creek. My position is one of either buying the LG 2016 OLED 65” E6, or going to a projector. I’ve never seen better 3D than on the OLED E6, especially with the 3D Depth controls. But I’ve never seen a 3D home projector picture to compare it with. Can someone give me an idea of home projectors 3D performance? Do home projectors have really good 3D depth? Are they hindered by Active Glasses Shutter Darkness? At this point price isn’t an object. I have a home theater room (completely dark) that can accommodate 100”-120” large screen. Can someone give me a comparison between the OLED and a home theater projector’s 3D performance? I don’t care about 4k, or half resolutions by old LG passive TV’s. I just want the best 3D performance I can get. I like a really sharp picture and have a Darbee 5000 with a Oppo BDP-103 BD player, region free. Thanks.!!
Josh Zyber
Author3D is great on a projector for immersion. However, the larger your screen size, the more a projector may struggle for brightness in 3D. You need one that’s a real light cannon with high lumen output.
Frank
This is separate from my prior post. In regards to 3D death. It’s been said on RTNGs.com that LG is having a problem with manufacturing OLED’s with 3D. That they are having “color staining”. I can’t remember which review said it, otherwise I would link it. Additional they didn’t say burn in, but “color staining.” I don’t know if this is unique to OLED.
As other have pointed out the international markets thrive, are alive with new 3D titles. If others have repeated please forgive me but this is current info—
xXx: Return of Xander Cage is being released domestically on May 16th. Best Buy has had it for pre-order for a month. Amazon has finally put it up.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B01MUBFN5K/panandscathed-20
Resident Evil – The Final Chapter is getting a global release in 3D, all expect good ole US. UK has it for pre-sale. Check Blu-ray.com for links.
Underworld: Blood Wars is getting global release, however this is a very dark movie, that was post-converted so it probably isn’t worth anything. UK release
The Great Wall isn’t up yet for Germany or UK, but everywhere else has it.
Just some quick tips. Domestically Bullmoose.com pre-sells 3D titles usually for $5 under any retailer, plus there is no tax and free shipping over $50. They also have a rewards type program that equates to about 8% store credit for every purchase.
Overseas- Amazon.co.uk has cheap 3D titles if you wait for them to come out. Not like in the US where the 1st week sales are lowest price.
If you are shopping for international titles and don’t know some can be region locked. So you need a region free player. Oppo’s are the best Blu-Ray players and you can go to http://bluraychip.dk/ and for about $100 get a kit to enable any Oppo player to region free. The chips allow all firmware updates to the players, and installation is simple. The installation guides are on the site. Just need a phillips screwdriver and a little time. They have it for the new Oppo UHD player too, so even though 4k titles are region free, you can still do region free on Blu-ray and DVD playback.
Hope that helps!
Pedram
I finally decided to take the plunge into UHD and get the P65, but was saddened by the fact that it doesn’t have 3D. I’ve recently heard rumours however, that Optoma’s upcoming UHD projector (the UHD65) will have 3D along with 2160p resolution and HDR. If that’s the case, then it will be good news indeed, since my current 1080p 3D projector can’t last forever (as much as I’d like it to).
Frank
Hi, just a heads up I have the P65, from 2106 and it’s very difficult to use streaming services other than Netflix and Vudu in UHD. Netflix and VUDU are supported thru the VCast natively as apps and they support UHD and Dolby Vision easily. Amazon Video/Prime has to be cast just like Google Chrome and casting doesn’t support UHD on Prime, it’s actually in 720p, lower than it’s possible 1080p for most movies. Other apps are very tricky to cast from the Android supplied tablet, even iOS if downloaded the VCAST app. I have another Vizio P, 55″ from 2015 and it has apps built in natively and supports UHD from all major streaming services as UltraHD which is a strictly UHD rental app. However it lacks the HDR functions. The picture on P65 is very nice with VUDU UHD Dolby Vision, very noticeable difference with Dolby Vision. I have UHD discs from Warner Bros. and Universal, they come with UV copies redeemable thru VUDU, and those studios provide you with UHD Dolby Vision, but u must redeem thru VUDU thru UV site otherwise VUDU doesn’t see UHD copies. Lucy and Oblivion in UHD Dolby Vision thru VUDU look better than the UHD discs, just a few examples. Hope that helps out!
Frank
Damn I meant if u redeem thru Ultraviolets, other than VUDU, VUDU doesn’t see your UHD copy in your UV library. Sorry!
Pedram
Yeah it’s a shame that casting is limited like that. I read somewhere that Amazon nerfs their Android streaming because of their feud with Google.
The 2016 P65 is supposed to be getting a firmware update to make it the exact same as the 2017 version though (which will have the apps built into the TV), and since the hardware is the same, it’s basically like you have the 2017 model.
It’s even rumoured to be getting HDR10+ once that’s finalized (the CTO hinted as much).
Ray
I own a Samsung 65″ curved screen 3D tv. It upscales the blu-ray to 4k. So the 3D movies I watch are upscaled to 4K. My wife put the viewing experience best – “It’s like looking out the window.” The image is amazing and is better than just 4k movies. (I also have a usb drive hooked up to it with 4k movies on it, so I have compared the two.) The glasses are almost as light as the disposable ones in the theater. Mine require a small coin like battery. If I have to choose I buy 3D. “Ghostbusters” is the only one I have seen that came with 4K & 3D blu-ray combo. I was really hoping for 4K 3D, but I guess that is a mute point now. I am just surprised they are still selling DVD’s. They add them to the 4k & Blu-ray & digital copy combos I get. I have not watched a single DVD that has come with any combo pack yet. I have never experienced any ghosting or other anomalies with my 3D. In fact, I think the 3D is better than in the theaters. Sometimes the movement of the 3d camera is too fast and in the theaters and will give me a slight headache trying to focus on what’s happening on the screen. (IE.. the rabbit sled chase with Radagast in the “Hobbit”). I have no problems watching it at home in 3d. If the movie companies would just release the movies instead of playing games with the 3d by holding them back for 6 months or more while they try to gouge you for more money, then 3d may have had a better chance to catch on. Yes, I’m talking to you Disney (Star Wars – The Force Awakens) & WB with the Hobbit.
Pedram
I believe the 3D version of The Hobbit films were available right away. It was the Extended Edition that you had to wait for, which makes (some) sense since they may have had to do extra work to get that one ready, whereas the theatrical edition was already done.
If I’m not mistaken they even went back and shot extra footage for the EE of one of Return of the King, so maybe they did the same with the Hobbit films. It’s still frustrating to have to wait for the EEs though.
James
Wondering what model TV you have. I”m shopping for one.
The Frugal Gearhead
The “Death of 3D” is Nothing But A *PLOY* concocted among the Cabal of film making industry; electronic “standards” bureaus (HDMI, Optical Media manufacturers, IEEE, DTS & Dolby etc.); and the consumer electronics companies !
Why do I think that? By noting that any new AV technology Infrastructure (e.g., 3D hardware Chain of media, player, AV receiver, etc.) is Always introduced to Great Fanfare, Saddling the uneducated consumer with “Must Have’s”.
In the case of 3D (then); VR (now but fading), and 4K UHD, Dolby Atmos vs. DTS:X vs. Auro-3D (now and hot), these schemes are little more than Naked Cash Grabs.
(Wow! With the new surround formats just look at all those surround speakers you’ll have to cram into the home theater just to feed your Two Ears! The wife and the budget will sure love that!)
When there’s a Naked Cash Grab, there’s a Rush to Production / Market with Refinement and Development as an After-Thought. Examples are: 1) Stalled development of NON-GLASSES 3D; 2) non-inclusive 3D development for eye-glass wearers; AND Undersizing 3D Displays. (Alway felt 3D is Best with Large Viewing Format e.g., projection).
What really Galls me is that the 4K standard is Already 3D compatible, BUT NOT Implemented by the aforementioned Cabal.
I regard that as Intentional 3D Market Sabotage!
I suspect that the pendulum will swing back to the next foreseeable “Big Thing” which may be Non-glasses 3D 8K. Until the U.S. upgrades its internet bandwidth to support 3D 8K and beyond streaming, premium entertainment via media will still be around and have a market (3D 8K Blu-Rays, anyone?).
How to fight back? Be Last Adopters of home entertainment equipment – stingley upgrade your Entertainment AV Chain in Piece-Meal fashion ! Do NOT Buy early releases new. Buy Used movies or discounted stream movies as often as possible. Borrow movies wherever possible.
I’ll guess I’ll have to wait for new Home Holodecks to come out. ;D
The Frugal Gearhead
Forgot to add — I’m still greatly enjoying big screen 2D & 3D (from media and streaming) 1080p viewing and PS3 gaming on an Optoma GT1080 2800 Lumen gaming projector projected on a flat-white wall with surround sound from an older Sherwood 6.1 (yes, 6.1!) Dolby Digital / DTS Receiver. Would love to get a new DTS:X AVR (I like DTS more), but I’m on a strict budget and the wife would assassinate me ;D. I have a Big DVD collection, and a fair 3D Blu-Ray collection of favorites — all slowly giving way to Netflix and VUDU streaming.
For a future burn-out replacement purchase, I’m leaning towards the Optoma GT5500+ 1080p 3500 lumen ultra short throw 2D & 3D projector – ideal for apartment living or small home theater space. Seems reasonably priced and I’ve had pretty good service life with the Optoma products. However, I wouldn’t mind jumping to a 4K projector if it had 3D And 3500+ lumens (and Definitely jump to a 3500+ Lumen DLP LED-lamped projector when it comes).
James
This qualifies as a “First World” problem I know…. But i”m horrified that 3D isn’t being included as a feature. I’m now scrambling trying to find one I can afford. i have a nice collection of 3D movies but nothing to watch them on.
Brent
The most fundamental problem with 3D TV is that it took too long for it fully mature, before the market soured to it. Arguably the best 3D television was made by LG, who created the proprietary Film-Type Pattern Retarder (FPR). However, this was only introduced in it’s last phase of 3D Television production.
With a passive LG 4K/3D television, with functioning FPR, on an OLED model – the results are nothing less than spectacular. The LG 65 from 2016 (OLED65E6P) is arguably the last best “affordable” option. The absolute best would be the OLED77G6P, which is enormous; however, the MSRP on this television is $20K.
I received my 2015 TV in a broken state and paid to fix it, which took two rounds to get correct. It now looks wonderful. This TV excels using passive, circular polarized glasses, eliminating the need for active shutter glasses that were expensive and problematic. I keep a case of passive glasses for guests to choose from. The picture is something else.
Only at the end of its development did 3D eclipse the “gimmicky” state, and actually become enjoyable. Today, Disney and other companies continue to produce 3D films for distribution overseas, although not in the United States. My hope is that when autostereoscopic TV becomes available, they will provide backwards-compatibility.
The
Enzo Ferrari
Ok, here is the deal people. 3D was meant for large screens (Projector Screens 120″ or bigger), and DLP. Not LCD, or LED, or Plasma, and not Laser, just good old reliable DLP projection with DLP-Link Glasses. Watching 3D from a couch sitting 12 feet away from a 42″ LCD 3D TV is never, ever going to look as good as it can be. And, the prices of the 3D LCD TV’s was completely out of control. For what a friend of mine paid for his 55″ Visio 3D TV, I was able to get a brand new Full HD 1920×1080 Native Resolution BenQ DLP 3D Projector, A 150″ manual pull-down projector screen and still had enough money to add-on some overhead Dolby Atmos speakers for full 7.2.1 audio!. When my friend came over to watch one of his 3D Blu Rays on my projection system, versus his 55″ TV he was really pissed about how much he spent on that stupid TV.
So I can totally understand why TV manufacturers dropped 3D from their sets, but I for the life of me cannot figure out why they are making us buy the 3D Blu Ray’s from Amazon.uk or some other overseas sellers since there is a fully available eco system here in the states to support the sales here.
Csm101
Not everyone has the proper layout to set up a projection system, and for that reason a 3d tv more than provides a satisfying and immersive experience. One doesn’t need 150 inches to enjoy 3d. I have 55 and a 70 inch and they’ve provided me with years of 3d enjoyment. Neither of them were ridiculously overpriced either.
Michael Bazadona
Yes, I love 3D! I can’t believe it never caught on. This is terrible news