Not so ‘universal’ 3D active shutter glasses – 3 stories
Posted by Phil Lelyveld on June 28, 2010A key point in the 3 stories below; ‘universal’ active shutter glasses synch with the display, “however, these “universal” glasses do not match the vendor-specific color characteristics of each TV maker’s factory supplied 3D glasses, resulting in skewed color.”
“Universal” 3D glasses: consumers beware
Saturday, 26 June 2010 10:36 Al “3D Guy” Caudullo
As 3D TV sales increases, companies such as RealD, Monster and XpanD have capitalized on the new market by releasing active-shutter “universal” glasses that can supposedly view a 3D TV made by any manufacturer. But contrary to recent widely published articles, so called “universal” 3D glasses have compatibility issues.
What consumers should be aware of is that, at this stage of the 3D game, there are still compatibility bugs to iron out, and the manufacturing companies are using the term “universal” pretty loosely.
Glasses such as those recently introduced by Xpand sense the infra-red synchronization pulses emitted by 3D TVs and automatically time the shutters within the glasses to properly open and close to the on-screen 3D content.
However, these universal glasses do not match the vendor-specific color characteristics of each TV maker’s factory supplied 3D glasses, resulting in skewed color.
Samsung’s and Mitsubishi’s 3D glasses (which are cosmetically nearly identical, which indicates they are most likely sourced from Samsung) have a greenish tint, while Panasonic’s and Sony’s have an amber tint that blocks some blue (though the degree of tint appears to be different on both brand’s lenses). When displaying stereoscopic content, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic 3D TVs automatically compensate for the 3D glasses’ filter characteristics.
If one were to use a non-tinted set of shutter glasses on a Sony or Panasonic 3D TV, the image would appear too blue, giving skin tones and objects a more Na’vi or Smurf tinge. On a Samsung the image would appear more purple. Therefore, “universal” glasses can’t really be a solution.
HD Guru predicts that with demand growth for 3D TVs, (US 2010 sales estimates range widely from 1.2-4 million units) glasses prices will drop precipitously from the current $129-$199 range to around $25-$100. We estimate the price drops will begin within a few months and continue for the next 18.
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Last week saw both the launch of Monster’s first pair of “universal” glasses and the arisal of discussion about whether such a cross-platform device is possible.
Gary Merson from hdguru.com had a closer look at the glasses and what they bring to the 3D table:
Monster announced its entry in the “Universal” 3D eyewear market. It’s called Monster Vision Max 3D. Their new glasses employ significant differences from the Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Mitsubishi designed active shutter eyewear. All the TV manufacturers to date use infra-red pulses to sync up the 3D TVs frame sequence to their respective 3D eyewear. The Monster active glasses system is the first to use radio frequency for synchronizing to a 3D TV’s sequential left-right frames. By doing so, Monsters 3D glasses system can eliminate IR interference problems encountered when there is more than one 3D display in the same room, a major obstacle for dealer showroom demos. They also eliminate the possibility of the glasses losing sync due to a person walking in front of the TV’s IR emitter or from interference with room lighting.
The Monster Vision Max 3D (MVM3D) glasses employ Bit Cauldron’s “Heartbeat” technology. The system’s transmitter converts the TVs infra-red 3D sync pulses into a radio signal. The Monster transmitter uses the 2.4 GHz radio frequency equipped with a ZigBee chip. Placing it directly in front of a 3D TV will block the sets built-in infra-red emitter. Moving it away from the 3D TV allows the use of the set maker’s 3D eyewear in addition to the MVM3D glasses.
The glasses have two modes Bit Cauldron calls “date” and “marry”. In the “date” mode the glasses will automatically sync to the nearest RF transmitter. In the “marry” mode it will only sync to a specific transmitter signal. In “date” mode you can take Monster glasses and transmitter from your home and bring them over to a friend’s 3D TV, and your glasses will automatically sync.
If dealers equip their demo 3D TVs with Monster transmitters and place the associated glasses in the “marry” mode, they will automatically sync to only the designated 3D TV and will be immune to the interference caused by the RF sync signals emanating from other demo 3D TVs equipped with Monster system. By marrying each pair of glasses to a specific 3D TV in the showroom, dealers will be able to demonstrate a number of adjacent 3D TVs. OEM 3D glasses supplied by the set makers can’t be used for multi TV side by side demos, as each 3D TV floods the room with its own infra-red signals, often preventing proper sync resulting in a poor viewing experience. Currently, the only way to view a 3D demo in a room with two or more adjacent 3D TVs is to shut off the other 3D TVs in the room or block the IR emitters of all but one TV at a time.
On the technical side, the Bit Caldron design uses shutters made from linear polarized material. Monster claims it uses a neutral tint, as opposed to slightly green tint on the Samsung and Mitsubishi branded glasses or yellow, like the Sony and Panasonic glasses. This will result in a skewing of color if you have your 3D TV adjusted to its factory glasses, i.e. images will be too blue when viewing a Panasonic 3D through the MVM3D glasses. If Monster 3D glasses are not mixed with another brand, one may be able to compensate for the skewed color via the TVs user controls.
How detrimental is skewed color to the overall viewing experience? We plan color tests of the Monster glasses. A spokesman said they will ship us a review sample next month.
Because of the color issue, we feel the term “Universal” can really only apply to proper 3D synchronization, as every brand of glasses is tinted with a different color and intensity (except Mitsubishi and Samsung branded eyewear which appears to be chromatically identical).
Monster had a new Sony 3D TV on hand. Sony’s factory supplied glasses use circular polarized active shutter lenses (according to Bit Cauldron President James Mentz) which cause color shifts and very significant crosstalk issues with a slight head tilt, when viewing 3D content (link). Switching to the linear polarized MVM3D glasses, the color shift and crosstalk did not occur as I tilted my head to the side; however the image became progressively darker as the tilt increased.
One additional note. Using the Monster system, each TV must have its own sync transmitter, and therefore its own timed sync pulse. We still know of no way one can have two or more 3D TVs in the same room allowing a viewer to watch different 3D content on each TV at the same time with a single pair of glasses. Consumers and dealers will need to have Monster transmitter and a glasses paired to each 3D TV in the room.
Physically the glasses are quite large, with only a single nose piece offered. Woman and small children as well as persons with small noses may have issues keeping the glasses from sliding off. A booth spokesman said Monster plans other styles and versions for smaller heads in the future.
The MVM3D glasses use a built-in rechargeable lithium polymer battery that recharges via a miniature USB jack. Battery life between charges is 80 hours, according to Mentz.
The Monster Vision Max 3D system consists of one pair of Monster 3D glasses and the IR to RF transmitter will ship in September 2010 at a retail price of $249.95 per set. Additional Monster Vision Max 3D Eyeglasses will carry a retail price of $169.95, $30 less expensive than Samsung’s rechargeable glasses (excluding $80 additional for one RF transmitter).
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Compatible 3D Glasses? No Such Thing
(June 18, 2010) Contrary to recent widely published articles, so called “Universal” 3D glasses have compatibility issues. Glasses such as those recently introduced by Xpand sense the infra-red synchronization pulses emitted by 3D TVs and automatically time the shutters within the glasses to properly open and close to the on-screen 3D content.
However, these “Universal” glasses do not match the vendor-specific color characteristics of each TV maker’s factory supplied 3D glasses, resulting in skewed color.
Samsung’s and Mitsubishi’s 3D glasses (which are cosmetically nearly identical, which indicates they are most likely sourced from Samsung) have a greenish tint, while Panasonic’s and Sony’s have an amber tint that blocks some blue (though the degree of tint appears to be different on both brand’s lenses). When displaying stereoscopic content, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic 3D TVs automatically compensate for the 3D glasses’ filter characteristics.
If one were to use a non-tinted set of shutter glasses on a Sony or Panasonic 3D TV, the image would appear too blue, giving skin tones and objects a more Na’vi or Smurf tinge. On a Samsung the image would appear more purple. Therefore, “universal” glasses can’t really be a solution.
Last week we asked (by email) an Xpand executive for a comment, but have not yet received one.
HD Guru predicts that with demand growth for 3D TVs, (US 2010 sales estimates range widely from 1.2-4 million units) glasses prices will drop precipitously from the current $129-$199 range to around $25-$100. We estimate the price drops will begin within a few months and continue for the next 18.
In the past week Amazon (and select Samsung dealers) began giving 2 free pairs of Samsung 3D glasses and a free 3D capable Samsung Blu-ray player with the purchase of its 7000 series 3D LED LCD models. The LED LCD UN40C7000 is currently Amazon priced $1665.98. The retail price of the 40″ 3D HDTV is $2000, the starter kit with two pairs of glasses and “Monsters vs. Aliens” 3D disc is $350 and the BD-C6900 retails for $400, resulting in savings of over $1084. Other 7000 models are the UN46C7000,UN55C7000. The offer expires 11:59 PST June 19, 2010.
Edited By Michael Fremer
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