RealD 3D in the Home Theatre

im not sure of the distinction of real D 3D vs other forms of 3d? Help?

The IMAX polarized format uses glasses with one lens having vertical polarization and the other horizontal.  Moving your head disrupts the focus and 3D effect.  RealD uses glasses with both lenses having concentric circular polarization.  This preserves focus and 3D orientation better with head movement.  The best looking 3D format is by far that which uses discrete sequential frames and active shutter glasses.  This is the residential format featured in the current lines of 3D TVs.  It is also used in some IMAX theaters who deem the substantial investment in active shutter glasses to be worthy of the expense for their audiences.

Best regards and beautiful pictures,

G. Alan Brown, President

CinemaQuest, Inc.

A Lion AV Consultants Affiliate

"Advancing the art and science of electronic imaging"

The biggest challenge in porting the "passive" 3D systems to the home is preserving the image polarization from projector to viewer's eyes.  In theaters, special "silver" screens are used to preserve the polarization as the image reflects off the screen back to the viewer.  Not only are these screens highly reflective (they're actually metallic, hence "silver" screen), but, they are "lenticular" and have vertical grooves on the surface which are crucial to this preservation.

In commercial theaters, a theater equipped with such a screen is used for 3D presentation only.  The highly reflective surface (which also compensates for the generally dimmer image associated with 3D) would be way too reflective and bright for a standard 2D presentation.

For now, with 3D in its infancy, and titles few and far between (not to mention exclusive to particular manufacturers... grrrr) a system whose hardware is not backwards compatible with 2D simply won't be successful.

It's a shame, really, because the larger screens of front projection systems seem tailor made for truly making the 3D experience immersive.  I've not seen many 3D movies (Avatar and some Imax at science centers, really), but can't imagine getting the same wow factor on a 40-50" display...

We saw Avatar at the Imax theater in 3-D, and it was sensational. The movie was worth the $12 just to see the 3-D. We also saw Alice in Wonderland at the same Imax theater, using the same glasses. While the 3-D in Alice was good, it wasn't as good as Avatar. I don't know if they were in Imax 3-D or RealD 3-D, or what.

The line of Mitsubishi DLP and many Samsung DLP (discontinued) HDTVs are capable of 3D using a checkerboard format, the same as is available in DLP front projectors. The cost is way less than other current 3D models, and the DLP technology provides an excellent picture, utilizing the same technology being used in digital cinema projection. DLP HDTVs require a 3D converter to convert frame-packing, side by side and above/below formats into the checkerboard format that they require. LCD shutter glasses are required and DLP-link glasses can be used instead of IR emitter glasses. I bought a Samsung HL-T5089S in 2007 and have been waiting patiently for the technology to catch up with the TV. The 3D effect is excellent, and wonderful to have in your own living room. The checkerboard 3D format results in a resolution of half 1080p, which is equivalent to 720p and still excellent.