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3D TV: A Brief History
As more manufacturers make 3D technology available for home viewing, you may ask yourself if you really need a 3D TV. Obviously, nobody needs a 3D TV, but after viewing an HDTV with images seemingly coming at you out of the screen, you may decide that you want one and you want one now.
Viewing 3D images is nothing new. Stereoscopy, a technique used to create the illusion of depth in an image, has been around since the 1800s. In the 1950s and 1960s many filmmakers were making movies with three dimension technology in an effort to get people into theaters and away from that "fad" known as television. However, 3D cinema rapidly died out because of the expense and technical difficulties associated with producing the movies. In addition, the little glasses with the red and blue cellophane lenses the audience was required to wear tended to wash out the film's colors and produced blurry images.
In the ensuing years there has been some experimentation with movies and TV shows with varying degrees of success. In all cases, 3D TV has been seen as nothing more than a fad or a minor diversion, and for the most part the viewing audience has not been too impressed with the 3D experience.
Now we enter a renaissance of sorts for 3D cinema production and technology. As Hollywood continues to release astonishing three-dimensional movies, the TV manufacturers have decided that you need that same immersive experience in your living room as they scramble to add this capability to their new lines of top-tier HDTVs. Only time will tell if this new technology is merely a fad or here to stay.
On this site you will find articles on 3D TV and reviews of the 3D TVs we believe to be best at delivering three-dimensional images. The best HD 3D TVs reviewed here are the most recent offerings from the manufacturers and promise the most advanced technology in 3D as well as 2D high definition viewing.
3D TV: What to Look For
When shopping for a 3D-capable TV, there are a few things you need to understand:
3D televisions are simply top-of-the-line HDTVs that have the capability of displaying three-dimensional images. Buying a 3D-capable TV does not mean that you will be watching 3D programming 24 hours a day. The 3D TV feature can be turned on and off.
You still need to wear glasses to see the effect. However, the glasses you need for these TVs are nothing like the red and blue cellophane glasses of days gone by. TV manufacturers have adopted high-tech active shutter 3D glasses that rapidly and imperceptibly open and close a shutter over the left and right eyes in synchronization with the images being sent from the TV. Without the glasses, you will see only a blurry, unwatchable image.
These glasses are not cheap and will not work with every 3D TV. In other words, if you were to buy our best reviewed Panasonic TC-P54VT25, its active shutter glasses would not work with your friend's LG 55LX9500.
Currently the availability of 3D TV content is limited. ESPN has recently made some sporting events available on its newly launched ESPN 3D channel. Discovery also plans on launching its own 3D network, but currently there is not much programming available. In addition, there are only a handful of 3D DVDs available and those require that you play them on a 3D Blu-ray player that is compatible with your TV and your active shutter glasses. Some of the TVs reviewed here, like the Sony XBR-60LX900 include up-conversion so you can watch regular 2D programming in 3D with the active shutter glasses.
The 3D TV technology included with HDTVs is very impressive and very new. This means that it will only get better and there will eventually be a lot more content available.
As we review and compare each 3D television, we rate them according to the following criteria:
Features
In this section we looked at features such as the number of different types of audio and video connections. We also looked at the TV's ability to connect to your network and the internet, and whether it offers 2D to 3D TV conversion.
Specifications
In this section we looked at the screen size, the display technology behind the flat panel, the TV's refresh rate, color reproduction and contrast ratio. The best 3D TVs have a refresh rate of at least 240Hz to reduce motion blur in high action scenes. The products reviewed are plasma, LED and DLP HDTVs.
Accessories
Here we evaluate what accessories are included with the TV. For example, some of the TVs include one or two active shutter glasses while others don't include any.
As more manufacturers make 3D technology available for home viewing, you may ask yourself if you really need a 3D TV. Obviously, nobody needs a 3D TV, but after viewing an HDTV with images seemingly coming at you out of the screen, you may decide that you want one and you want one now.
Viewing 3D images is nothing new. Stereoscopy, a technique used to create the illusion of depth in an image, has been around since the 1800s. In the 1950s and 1960s many filmmakers were making movies with three dimension technology in an effort to get people into theaters and away from that "fad" known as television. However, 3D cinema rapidly died out because of the expense and technical difficulties associated with producing the movies. In addition, the little glasses with the red and blue cellophane lenses the audience was required to wear tended to wash out the film's colors and produced blurry images.
In the ensuing years there has been some experimentation with movies and TV shows with varying degrees of success. In all cases, 3D TV has been seen as nothing more than a fad or a minor diversion, and for the most part the viewing audience has not been too impressed with the 3D experience.
Now we enter a renaissance of sorts for 3D cinema production and technology. As Hollywood continues to release astonishing three-dimensional movies, the TV manufacturers have decided that you need that same immersive experience in your living room as they scramble to add this capability to their new lines of top-tier HDTVs. Only time will tell if this new technology is merely a fad or here to stay.
On this site you will find articles on 3D TV and reviews of the 3D TVs we believe to be best at delivering three-dimensional images. The best HD 3D TVs reviewed here are the most recent offerings from the manufacturers and promise the most advanced technology in 3D as well as 2D high definition viewing.
3D TV: What to Look For
When shopping for a 3D-capable TV, there are a few things you need to understand:
3D televisions are simply top-of-the-line HDTVs that have the capability of displaying three-dimensional images. Buying a 3D-capable TV does not mean that you will be watching 3D programming 24 hours a day. The 3D TV feature can be turned on and off.
You still need to wear glasses to see the effect. However, the glasses you need for these TVs are nothing like the red and blue cellophane glasses of days gone by. TV manufacturers have adopted high-tech active shutter 3D glasses that rapidly and imperceptibly open and close a shutter over the left and right eyes in synchronization with the images being sent from the TV. Without the glasses, you will see only a blurry, unwatchable image.
These glasses are not cheap and will not work with every 3D TV. In other words, if you were to buy our best reviewed Panasonic TC-P54VT25, its active shutter glasses would not work with your friend's LG 55LX9500.
Currently the availability of 3D TV content is limited. ESPN has recently made some sporting events available on its newly launched ESPN 3D channel. Discovery also plans on launching its own 3D network, but currently there is not much programming available. In addition, there are only a handful of 3D DVDs available and those require that you play them on a 3D Blu-ray player that is compatible with your TV and your active shutter glasses. Some of the TVs reviewed here, like the Sony XBR-60LX900 include up-conversion so you can watch regular 2D programming in 3D with the active shutter glasses.
The 3D TV technology included with HDTVs is very impressive and very new. This means that it will only get better and there will eventually be a lot more content available.
As we review and compare each 3D television, we rate them according to the following criteria:
Features
In this section we looked at features such as the number of different types of audio and video connections. We also looked at the TV's ability to connect to your network and the internet, and whether it offers 2D to 3D TV conversion.
Specifications
In this section we looked at the screen size, the display technology behind the flat panel, the TV's refresh rate, color reproduction and contrast ratio. The best 3D TVs have a refresh rate of at least 240Hz to reduce motion blur in high action scenes. The products reviewed are plasma, LED and DLP HDTVs.
Accessories
Here we evaluate what accessories are included with the TV. For example, some of the TVs include one or two active shutter glasses while others don't include any.
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