Active vs. Passive 3D glasses

Planar 3D Monitors utilise passive 3D glasses whereas the Avatar 3D movie experience depends on active shutter glasses. What does that mean? Went to see the Avatar 3D finally and got this question from my friend. So, here's the explanation:

The structure of the glasses is different. The passive glasses are polarized. Planar’s glasses have linear polarization, which is different in each lens by 90 degrees, for example, so that one lens has horizontal and the other vertical polarization. In the case of Planar’s 3D monitors, the StereoMirror technology is utilised to show two different pictures from two different displays so, that each eye gets a different image – simultaneously. Difference here compared to the Avatar 3D experience with the active glasses is, that there is no flicker: in Avatar your eyes are basically getting an image alternating in left- and right-eye. This can give a slight feeling of dizziness and the view seems darker as one eye only sees at any one time. When going to see Avatar 3D, I noticed slight feeling of disorientation during the commercials but it vanished after the eyes adjusted to the shutter glasses.

One main difference is, that active shutter glasses require power of some sort, whereas passive glasses don’t. This adds to the design: active shutter glasses look bulky whereas passive glasses can be light almost like the smallest of sunglasses. This is why they also easily ”vanish” at exhibitions where we’ve demoed the Planar 3D monitors: people mistake them for sunglasses. Well, now you know: they are not (so please return them, when you next see us at the show!).

The most memorable difference for me as the user - at least in the case of Planar’s passive 3D glasses versus active or so-called shutter glasses used to view the 3D version of the film Avatar - was the pain on the nose! Yes, for me at least, the active 3D glasses proved heavy and hard on the nose. Had to sit with my index finger stuck between the glasses and my nose for some part of the film... The passive glasses are nice and light in comparison!

Oh, and have a look at the latest in 3D displays: Flyfire - no need for the glasses NOR the display itself! Wonder when they start making movies with THIS solution...?

Back to the 3D Movies: Avatar

Just a short note on the wonderful world of the 3D cinema. Avatar hit the screens in December 2009. Even if the story didn't dazzle everyone, they were amazed by the visual effects.

But like after any given party, there comes the hangover...

3D cinema

Do I even have to mention it: 3D cinema is here to stay. As one of the topics on the previous blog post about 3D content, here is a wider exploration on 3D cinema.

Here in Finland the new era of 3D cinema started a bit over a year ago with footage from U2's previous world tour with a film called U23D and the visually magnificent Journey to the Center of the Earth (click here to see the trailer). Currently Up 3D entertains the younger audiences in about 20 cinemas where 3D viewing is available in Finland - that might not sound like much to you but it's more than in any other Nordic country, so it makes us Finns very proud!

3D cinema is a topical issue, see e.g. how Kevin Smith discusses 3D cinema on YouTube. Topical, yes, even if the whole thing was already invented in the 50's: the firstever 3D film was Bwana Devil in 1952. Back then the idea also was that 3D would come and save the cinema. Sounds familiar, eh? With DVD's and Blu-Ray's and home cinema equipment turning out ever more popular and the technologies used becoming more advanced, the cinema needs something "new" to attract the crowds to enjoy the BIG screen. Is 3D the answer?

Planar's 3D products are originally designed for use by professionals in photogrammetry and for geospatial applications. Read more about the 3D monitors, which Planar offers and which could be useful in post production stages of creating 3D cinema.

Where does 3D content come from?

We all know and have perhaps already experienced how large film studios are experimenting with 3D. However experts doubt 3D films will make a real breakthrough anytime soon, as lack of possibilities for viewing 3D films at home will keep the profits still rather thin for films produced in 3D. In the following are some examples of other sources of 3D content.

• You can find advertising agencies and production companies creating 3D content, for example Trick or Treat Studio in Italy.




• You can buy various 3D content, for example for games design like Content Paradise offers on their website.




• Google Earth boasts of all the 3D content they keep adding, like in this blog entry from June 2009.




• There are various companies with various options for 3D software, like Cortona 3D.




• One of our 3D stereoscopic demos is just returning from a trip to Hannover and Rhodes, where it was used for aesthetic surgeons 3D software. See the earlier blog entry "Planar & Beauty".

The applications for 3D stereoscopic monitors are vast! Where would you utilize a professional quality, high resolution 3D monitor...?

StereoMirror at NAB

Planar showed footage from the 3D movie, Coraline (http://coraline.com/), produced by LAIKA (http://www.laika.com/) at the recent NAB convention held in Las Vegas.

Folks watched the opening scene of Coraline’s family moving into their Pink Palace Apartment and the amazing mouse circus scene that took place in “the other world.” The content was shown using “RV” image and sequence viewer from Tweak Software (http://www.tweakfilms.com/). The StereoMirror technology is an excellent tool for 3D modeling, stereoscopic photography and 3D post production work, among other applications.

What movies do you think would be "other worldly" in 3D? Do you have an application need for a stereo 3D display?

3D Goes Hollywood

Get out those awesome 3D viewing glasses! The 3D movie craze is alive and well at a theater near you. There are 30 movies that will soon be leaping off a screen near you, including the soon-to-be released Coraline.

Planar is expanding its StereoMirror display opportunities into the entertainment arena and looking at options in the post-production sector of the movie industry. The StereoMirror display can be used in real time on the movie set to allow the film director to review scenes in a 3D format as they are shot - just like the audience will view it at the theater!

Have you caught any of the newly released 3D movies? 3D movies are showing in an IMAX 3D cinema or REAL D cinema near you.

Tell us about your 3D movie, game and concert viewing experiences!

Bjork in 3D

U2 isn't the only artist playing with 3D. Bjork's new video Wanderlust also explores the potential of 3D. You can check out this time elapse footage of some of the production.




Or see a 2D version of Wanderlust.

3D Cinema Boom

The market for 3-D cinema is getting even more mainstream media coverage these days. This time, it's Fortune, getting in the mix with "Who's Cashing In on the 3-D Boom?" The article is solid overview of the various players, including the production side of the business.

Shooting 3-D films used to be a nightmare; you needed a pair of perfectly synced cameras for every scene. Shooting digital 3-D is easier, but you still need a two-camera setup that captures images fast enough to play back at 144 frames a second (rather than 24). The leader in the field is Pace Technologies, based in Burbank, Calif. Founder Vince Pace, best known for the underwater rigs he built to shoot "Abyss" and "Titanic," has now shifted his entire production business to 3-D. His equipment has been used to make every major 3-D feature film so far, including "Hannah Montana," "Avatar," and "Journey."

http://money.cnn.com/2008/04/03/technology/cash_3D_boom.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008040706

U23D

You don't need a StereoMirror to see this film, but it probably could have helped during production. 3ality Digital did the production work, including the sophisticated stereoscopic camera set-up. We look forward to seeing this one when it's released at Sundance.

For more coverage, check out this article.

"Previous generations of 3D film relied heavily on gimmicks, and the limits of the technology resulted in eyestrain--diminishing the life-like qualities," according to production company 3ality Digital, which, in an overview posted at the film's website, said it was shot using "cutting-edge technologies ... from artificial intelligence that aligns 'eye position' of a stereoscopic camera in real time, to first-ever high-res 3D systems with zoom lenses, robotic control, and integrated digital processing."