3D TV & Blu-Rays

[CINERAMAX]

You 3D guys need to start a new thread.

Yeah right after I showoff with our upcoming demo 105" state of the art videowall which plays 3D at 1,300 Nits!

 

[scottm18]

Yikes! Are you joking or do you still have a system that's equipped to play 3D Blu-rays? I have around 175 of them in my library and absolutely no way to play them. When my last plasma TV died in 2018, so did my ability to play 3D Blu-rays. Its demise coincided perfectly with the U.S. television industry abandoning the format and removing the functionality from all new TVs. It's really sad, too, because when authored correctly and on a calibrated display, the experience can be akin to an enthralling Quadio or 5.1 surround music disc. Just like with SACD, DVD Audio, etc., there are some revelatory 3D Blu-ray discs that serious videophiles still collect.

Obviously this is not a 3D thread but I do have some quick thoughts here. One of the reasons it died IMO is because people were expecting to see magic on a 40" screen that were much more popular back in 2017. Of course that's not going to show off anything in 3D. I still have one of the last Sony 3D TVs made at 75" (even has HDR and the great Android TV OS).... and on a fantastic disc like Thunder and Magic or the Sammy turtle movies (or anything nWave), it looks amazing.

Why could they not bring it back with the 4K or 8K tvs? It has plenty of bandwidth and the TVs are much bigger now I think it would be much more successful. Dare to dream...

Even the big budget movies like Hugo & TinTin look great in the format. One of the best is an Argentinian animated movie about a hitman that has amazing 3D called Boogie El Aceitoso. Not for the faint of heart but really awesome to look at.

 

[sjcorne]

You 3D guys need to start a new thread.

Done

 

[CINERAMAX]

Yikes! Are you joking or do you still have a system that's equipped to play 3D Blu-rays? I have around 175 of them in my library and absolutely no way to play them. When my last plasma TV died in 2018, so did my ability to play 3D Blu-rays. Its demise coincided perfectly with the U.S. television industry abandoning the format and removing the functionality from all new TVs. It's really sad, too, because when authored correctly and on a calibrated display, the experience can be akin to an enthralling Quadio or 5.1 surround music disc. Just like with SACD, DVD Audio, etc., there are some revelatory 3D Blu-ray discs that serious videophiles still collect.

Obviously this is not a 3D thread but I do have some quick thoughts here. One of the reasons it died IMO is because people were expecting to see magic on a 40" screen that were much more popular back in 2017. Of course that's not going to show off anything in 3D. I still have one of the last Sony 3D TVs made at 75" (even has HDR and the great Android TV OS).... and on a fantastic disc like Thunder and Magic or the Sammy turtle movies (or anything nWave), it looks amazing.

Why could they not bring it back with the 4K or 8K tvs? It has plenty of bandwidth and the TVs are much bigger now I think it would be much more successful. Dare to dream...

Even the big budget movies like Hugo & TinTin look great in the format. One of the best is an Argentinian animated movie about a hitman that has amazing 3D called Boogie El Aceitoso. Not for the faint of heart but really awesome to look at.

Any videowall that can hit 120hz is a superb 3D display. These are coming down in price...

 

[Bruce00]

Another 3D fan here. It's one of those things you have to experience. Yeah, having to wear the stupid glasses is a bummer. My old Plasma offered a better 3d effect, than my current LCD 3D, which have the passive glasses (I think that's what it called0
I only have 8 or 9 3D dvd's, all of Nature and one of US Parks.
But I have a channel of 3D movies (50+) offered thru my internet cable box

 

[Wunlow]

Used 3-D flat screens can still often be found on FB marketplace, Craigslist, pawnshops etc.

The 4K passive flat screens were ideal for 3-D blurays as with passive polarized 3-D glasses the image quality was still 1920x1080p per eye.
I think there's a new 3D 4K flatscreen provider from Asia (apologies as I do not remember the brand name) but it was quite costly.

3-D projectors are no slouch either and in many respects can provide a superior 3-D experience. Last year I upgraded to a new 4K projector with HDR, high lumens 4 LED array that won't drop in brightness.. etc Also includes 3-D which offers an incredible 3-Dimensional experience.

 

[Clint Eastwood]

Wait until Ralphie sees this thread

 

[4-earredwonder]

Wait until Ralphie sees this thread

Ralphie is experiencing LIFE in 3D as we speak, Clinty!

My new SONY laser projector does 3D but the cheap bastards didn't even include a pair of active 3D glasses and until I find a pair I like, it's still 2D all the way!

The last 3D flick I watched on my 2016 LG OLED flatscreen monitor was AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER and it astounds in 3D!

But even James Cameron couldn't revive the format! It seems the current release of 3D movies has dried up!

 

[Bobby Martini]

I've still got a working LG 3D TV. Only 43 inch but still works fine .
I have all the Marvel 3D titles to date (bar Thor Love and Thunder because it was woeful)
I'm still an avid watcher of 3D and have at least 200 titles in my collection at a guess .
I actually watched Kylie Aphrodite Live 3D the other night. Really good

 

[AudiophileStyle]

In "The Jetsons", when they got Astro, they discovered he was originally owned by a rich guy (J.P.Gottrockets) who had named him "Tralfaz". Astro, himself, would go "Tralfaz - YUCK! I have the sane attitude about coffee.

Doug

This is why I’m here. Amazing information.

 

[Rango]

I have a little stockpile of about five Asus 1080p 3D P.C. monitors with built in 3D IR emitters. I don't have that many 3D Blu-ray, but the one's I do have, I love.

I used play a lot of video games in 3D also; there's a community of people still adapting new games to run in 3D last time I checked.

I also have a 1440p 3D monitor and an Nvidia 3D vision IR 'pyramid' emitter; so, if it's possible and if I can ever get it set up, I might be able to watch 3D in 1440p, although not sure if the discs only output in 1080p.

Edit: I was thinking just yesterday, wouldn't it be interesting if Blu-ray audio started carrying 3D video, so that we could, for example, watch a 3D conversion of Live at Pompeii with surround audio.

I think, once VR gets refined enough, someone will probably write software for a virtual 3D monitor to display the now legacy 3D content.

In the gaming world 3D didn't do well I think for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the industry professionals seemed to project the idea that you were a rube or a sucker if you bought into it (and of course every gamer thinks they're an insider regardless of how far out on the periphery they are) and secondly, I think the cost was a little prohibitive for people. Also, it has to be said, the 3D content produced for P.C. by the game studios was absolutely terrible but they've all now been revised into pretty fantastic 3D experiences by the 3D gaming community.

Personally I couldn't imagine why anyone would not want to play a 3D video game in actual stereoscopic 3D...playing a polygonal 3D game in 2D just makes no sense other than if constrained by technological and cost limitations.

Also, something else that didn't help, I think people expected it to be holographic, so that they could move their head closer to the monitor and peer at the scene outside of the image framed by the monitor, like looking through a window or like virtual reality...?...it wasn't that, it was juts the image but in 3D; but why wouldn't you want that if you're playing a polygonal 3D video game?

I guess ultimately it's probably down to the "lowest common denominator" not wanting to - or probably more to the point - not being able to pay more for a better quality of escapism. I personally can't really afford this stuff, technically, but I have a life long chronic form of depression and stuff like surround audio and 3D movies just hit me in a way that other media just doesn't seem able to. Listening to surround audio is like a "sonic therapy bath" for me...

...don't take away my PLii x, it's part of what makes my life worth living.

 

[barfle]

Another 3D fan here. It's one of those things you have to experience. Yeah, having to wear the stupid glasses is a bummer. My old Plasma offered a better 3d effect, than my current LCD 3D, which have the passive glasses (I think that's what it called0
I only have 8 or 9 3D dvd's, all of Nature and one of US Parks.
But I have a channel of 3D movies (50+) offered thru my internet cable box

I had access to a few 3D movies when I had Verizon FIOS, but they disappeared about a month after I got my 3D set. They were vertically split, so they lost resolution when played, but the effect had me sold for the last decade or so.

 

[Rango]

I had access to a few 3D movies when I had Verizon FIOS, but they disappeared about a month after I got my 3D set.

I was working on getting all the tech together for 3D gaming for years, learning how to build P.C.'s, climbing the P.C. upgrade curve a bit at a time, aiming ultimately to play in 3D...

...I received my first Nvidia 3D Vision kit the day Nvidia officially discontinued it, withdrew technical support and deleted the support forum.

Luckily there was a strong enough community that it kept things going.

 

[Uncle Obscure]

I am very happy this topic has found a home on the forum and we can now "officially" discuss it while not running roughshod over other threads. Thank you, sjcorne!

As mentioned, I no longer have a way to play the 175 or so 3D Blu-rays I amassed over the years, but that is not entirely true. I can do it...to a degree (and it only works for one person,) but it involves a cumbersome setup (multiple cable connections) and limited playback performance, plus I have to bypass my 77" LG OLED altogether.

One of the lesser known features of the first generation PlayStation VR headset (what is it with me and these niche formats?? LOL) is that when it is connected to a PS4 or PS4 Pro, you can play 3D Blu-rays through it by selecting the headset's cinema playback mode. And, if I connect the PS4 Pro to my Onkyo TX-RZ50, all the better!

The upside to this method is that you have the ability to create your own mini IMAX-style display in the lenses and get the illusion you are sitting front and center in a giant theater. It is a surprisingly realistic effect, especially when you have full surround sound blasting from the Onkyo.

The downside is, well, everything else. The low-res output from the headset combined with the finicky field of view center means you have to find the small "sweet spot" in the headset and stay there. Head movement is pretty much a big no-no. Your view center looks fine, but it is very narrow and anything outside of it can result in a fuzzy image. Otherwise, the 3D output is technically fine, but it definitely suffers from the limitations of the Playstation VR headset.

In the end, I chalk it all up to being one of those cool, innovative pieces of Sony gear that wound up on the scrap heap of technology. In short, I CAN play 3D Blu-rays, but I don't. It's simply too much trouble.

Interestingly, or perhaps not, the newer second generation PSVR2 headset has the technical chops to overcome all of the limitations of the first generation headset, and it can do it with one simple cable connection to a PS5, but the feature has been removed.

3D just can't catch a break!

 

[zdjh22]

I lucked, by timing, into buying a 2016 LG, 4K with passive 3D. I retired that year, and didn’t want to haul my 2004-ish Panasonic plasma, which was beautiful in its day, to Colorado. Little did I know that would be the last OLED with 3D, but it is awesome.

An alternative that works well for me is using the bd3d2mk3d script, which uses a combination of MakeMKV, ffmpeg, and other stuff, to convert a 3D BluRay into whatever form MKV video you’d like - full or half SBS, top/bottom, etc. Then use a VR rig of your choice, from an iPhone or Android with an old Google cardboard setup, all of the way up to a Quest 3 VR. Presumably the Apple glasses will work as well. The Quest 3 doesn’t have the fresnel lens of the prior models, so the picture is very clear (2Kx2K per eye). I serve the videos via Plex, and they look as good on the LG as the originals. Also via SMB for the Quest 3.

Way back in the Panasonic plasma’s time, I was a bit obsessed with turning 3D videos into something I could watch, usually using various Windows multimedia software (the developers kit from Microsoft) to de-interleave 3D frame-by-frame videos and turn them into SBS. I eventually found a version of HD Fury hardware that, together with shutter glasses that they sold, would do half-frame rate 3D on that plasma display. Very very dark but fine at night.

A decade before that, my lovely wife had ventured into the electronics district in Seoul on a business trip to South Korea and bought me 3D shutter glasses for PCs, not readily available at the time elsewhere. The game Descent had native 3D rendering with shutter glasses support and was really great.

I’ve managed to buy all of the Marvel films that are in 3D, most of those directly from Japan. Plus as many other 3D BluRays as I can find.

 

[zdjh22]

We don’t want to leave out stereoscopic images. Here’s a 3D image book, complete with glasses (lenses, not anaglyphs). The creative director I hear is not only an astrophysicist but a pretty good guitar player as well.

 

[atrocity]

I think there's a new 3D 4K flatscreen provider from Asia (apologies as I do not remember the brand name) but it was quite costly.

I was going to mention this as well, but like you, I can't remember the name of the manufacturer. And with all the scams going around, the last time I looked I couldn't find reviews or even anything making it clear that the whole thing is genuine.

I remember the TV being something like $2,500 and that's not for the one that allegedly works without glasses.

 

[jefe1]

When I was in Japan for a vacation last december I went into a big electronics store to the TV department and made some enquiries. I asked if any manufacturer in Japan was making 3d tvs as part of 8K or whatever. I was told no but this was thru translation and it was a young sales clerk so I dont consider this answer definitive.

 

[jefe1]

I will add that I never understood the complaint about wearing glasses. I wear glasses to drive see movies etc. Everybody wears sunglasses outside when the need arises. Passive glasses are so lightweight I just slip them on over my regular glasses. No big deal. Now active glasses with the weight and batteries i would not want to wear.

 

[PolkSDA]

I will add that I never understood the complaint about wearing glasses. I wear glasses to drive see movies etc. Everybody wears sunglasses outside when the need arises. Passive glasses are so lightweight I just slip them on over my regular glasses. No big deal. Now active glasses with the weight and batteries i would not want to wear.

The newer active glasses aren't heavy at all. The ones from my original Sony and Samsung sets were a bit chonky since they had user-replaceable batteries, but the ones I got to use with my projector are rechargeable via USB and really aren't much heavier than my regular reading glasses:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EJOCTOS