Sony to Stop Paying for 3D Glasses! Are you going to pay for 3D glasses at your next Sony 3D movie? (1 Viewer)

[Todd Erwin]

Basically, there are at least 3 standards for digital 3D: RealD, Dolby 3D, and XpanD. Most theaters have gone with RealD, mostly because the glasses are cheaper, and are usually recycled or disposed of by movie patrons, and that is what Kevin's original post was referring to.


Dolby 3D and XpanD are infintely more expensive, thus theater owners tend to want to make sure they do not go home with patrons.




RealD Glasses (passive)




Dolby 3D glasses (passive)




XpanD glasses (active-shutter)

 

[Todd Erwin]

Here are some links to articles in the Hollywood Reporter regarding this issue:


Sony Top Stop Paying For 3D Glasses in May 2012


Angry Theater Owners Warn Sony Over Decision to Stop Paying for 3D Glasses


Sony Fires Back at NATO Over 3D Glasses


Shares of RealD have been in freefall since these reports, and I have a feeling we may begin to see advertisements on the packaging and possibly the glasses themselves as a way to subsidize the cost of RealD glasses, much like popcorn bags and soda cups.

 

[dmiller68]

Let me tell you as a RealD stockholder I have ben surprised how much there stock has taken a hit on this and general market issues.

 

[Radioman970]

Basically, there are at least 3 standards for digital 3D...

Oooo.... nice! I'd pay a little more to see a 3D movie for those if I get to keep them and maybe not have the charge next time I see a 3D movie. Oh, and I forgot about the surcharge. My crappy theater does that as well. Uhm, HUM! (to theater owners) these glasses are paid for! I wouldn't pay more on top of that. Great thread for learning something new about this return of the old fad.

 

[Michael Elliott]

Just to end what I was saying yesterday. This theater (Baxter Ave. in Louisville) is just using the old fashioned, regular 3D. Nothing special so they're just being way too tight with the glasses.

 

[Todd Erwin]

With Dolby 3D and XpanD, the theaters already own those glasses outright, and usually have ushers or security guards stationed at the auditorium entrance to distribute and reclaim the glasses.


RealD are either handed out at the box office, at the entrance to the theater when your ticket is torn, or at the auditorium entrance. When RealD glasses are "recycled", those recycle bins found ouotside the auditorium are sent to a facility where the glasses are sanitized and sterilized, then repackaged and shipped back out to theaters. That is why you will occasionally find a pair of badly scratched glasses in a factory-sealed bag.


I think RealD has been trying to get movie patrons ready for this announcement for some time, as they have struck deals with sunglass manufacturers, such as Oakley, for more comfortable and stylish RealD glasses with higher quality optics. But those sell for $150!


I also remember when there wasn't a 3D surcharge during the first year or so when Digital 3D first came out, and even have my "stylish" RealD glasses from Chicken Little.


This will likely all get worked out soon. Sony wants those tentpole films on as many 3D screens as possible, and theater owners aren't likely to let their investment in RealD upgrades stagnate. We may see more theaters convert to Dolby 3D, or, like I said in an earlier post, theaters owners come up with a program where, perhaps at first, movie goers would get a break on the 3D surcharge, encouraging them to keep and bring their 3D glasses to get them into that habit, and/or find a way to subsidize RealD glasses by selling advertising on the packaging (or placing a coupon for a free popcorn upgrade).


It's basically a game of chicken right now......