With 3D movies gaining popularity and a number of 3D TVs hitting the market in the near future, it can be a bit confusing how each system works, there is currently no true universal 3D system with a number of methods fighting for control. general. On the market, of the current 4 methods of viewing 3D, there are 3 different 3D glasses that are used in conjunction with each type. These four types include polarization, active shutter, and lenticular technology, along with the ancient anaglyph method that we all know and love.
To understand how 3D glasses work, you need to have a basic understanding of how the human eye measures depth perception, simply put, each eye is spaced at a distance, which means that the image that each one sees is slightly different from the one. another, the brain then does its thing and converts these two images into a single image with the addition of depth. This process is used to create 3D images, when you watch a 3D movie or look at a 3D image, you are in fact looking at two slightly different images at the same time, the 3D glasses complete the process by blocking an image from each eye so that your two Eyes look at two slightly different images, each one like in real life, it is really quite simple but really amazing!
The 3D glasses for each method are different, with anaglyph 3D you use glasses that have red / blue lenses, what you are seeing consists of two images per frame that are processed in each color so that an image is filtered by each eye. This is the old method that was used for the massive 3D movie boom of the 80’s. The most popular new method used in cinemas is with the help of polarization, with this method two images are shown each polarized of differently, the 3D glasses you use with this method are clear and each lens is polarized to allow only one of the two images between each eye, for example the right lens may be polarized to allow only horizontal light waves to pass through , while the left lens will only allow vertical.
There are two newer methods hitting the market today, mainly used for home use in newer 3D televisions and monitors, these use active shutter and lenticular technology. With 3D Active Shutter, you need special battery-operated LCD glasses that block alternate images displayed at high speed on a screen with a 120Hz refresh rate. The other new method is lenticular technology that does not require 3D glasses at all because the TV itself creates the 3D image by reflecting light at slightly different angles towards the viewer with its unique screen.
Now that you know the characteristics of the three different types of 3D glasses, you can just sit back and enjoy the show.