Unusual birthday gift

It was my brother-in-law, Tod’s birthday a couple days ago and we’re having a birthday dinner tonight. We asked him what he wanted for his birthday and he asked for a pair of 3D glasses. I thought he was joking because they’re less than $10 or you can even get one for free at movie theaters. But then I realized that he doesn’t have LG 3D TV like us but has an active 3D set from Samsung. Whenever he comes over, he would drool over our LG Cinema 3D and joke about exchanging his Samsung 3D TV with ours. He said he was only able to get 1 pair of 3D glasses because it was too expensive. He has two kids and when they take turns watching 3D, the battery wears out very quickly and by the time he tries to watch anything 3D, the flickers annoy him.

A pair or 3D glasses seem like an unusual birthday gift but he needs them the most so we got a pair of Samsung rechargeable 3D glasses for $130 at BestBuy. I think that’s just way too expensive for a 3D accessory. I still don’t understand why active 3D sets don’t include the glasses when people pay so much money for the TV and the glasses are necessary to watch 3D. We also got a “Tangled” video so Jess and Ryan (his kids) can watch the movie TOGETHER now. This made me think that it’s good that we got a LG 3D TV because now I can ask for better and prettier things for my birthday J

Passive 3D TVs ARE actually better than active 3D TVs!

I read an interesting article on passive 3D TV being better than active 3D TV. Apparently a guy named Raymond Soneira (I did a little more research on him and he turns out to be the president of DisplayMate Technologies Corporation) conducted a study to compare the two types of 3D TVs—active and passive—available now. He tested LG Cinema 3D TV 47LW6500 and Vizio E3D470VX for the passive and Samsung UN46D7000 and Sony KDL 46HX729 for the active. His findings show that images on passive 3D TVs are superior to the images on active 3D TVs. He has a lot of evidences from observations.  

I bought LG Cinema 3D TV because it’s a passive 3D TV, which has less flickers and puts less stress on the eyes. Comfort while watching 3D was my main concern because I knew that my kids will watch this TV mostly to watch 3D movies while my husband and I will mostly watch regular 2D contents. Honestly, I didn’t notice any difference in image quality between LG passive 3D TV and Samsung active 3D TV but I did hear some people saying that active 3D TVs have higher image quality. Now that a formal comparison study has been done to prove that passive 3D TVs have better images compared to active 3D TVs, I really don’t see a reason to choose an active 3D TV over a passive 3D TV. My neighbor wanted to buy a 3D TV and they have kids too. I recommended LG Cinema 3D TV and they are very happy with their purchase. Before this study, I was kind of hesitant to recommend this TV to anyone who wants really high quality images and are less concerned about the side effects but now I would definitely recommend LG 3D TV whether the image quality or comfort is the main concern.

If anyone wants to read the article:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20102018-1/study-finds-passive-3d-tvs-superior-to-active/

http://www.displaymate.com/3D_TV_ShootOut_1.htm

LG Cinema 3Ds are fashionable and so are their passive 3D glasses

Passive 3D TVs are pretty hot right now but I don’t think I look so hot wearing those 3D glasses (but I think I look much better in the sunglasses-like passive 3D glasses than in those bulky, awkward active 3D glasses). But for people who don’t want to give up on their hotness even while watching a 3D TV, LG has collaborated with a UK designer Giles Deacon to create fashionable 3D glasses. These polarized glasses have frames with colorful stripes. Deacon said that “LG produce innovative and exciting products and these glasses are designed to complement that.” (http://www.techdigest.tv/2011/06/lg_passive_3d_t.html) They look a lot like fashionable sunglasses.

These 3D glasses are really pretty and it would be cool to have one of those but I don’t think they are available in the States yet. They are sold exclusively from Selfridges at 29.99 pounds. I’m curious if they will become available here and I wonder how much these glasses would be. One of the benefits of passive 3D glasses is its cheap price (or availability at movie theaters) and if the designer label shoots the price up, the benefit is gone. I guess you can maybe wear it as sunglasses slash 3D glasses J It sure is an interesting collaboration and would probably be a good promotion if not a huge sale driver. 

You can watch a video on it at http://www.techdigest.tv/2011/06/lg_passive_3d_t.html

Don't be fooled by 3D TV prices

I’ve been searching on the Web yesterday and learned that 3D TV prices are expected to fall a lot during the holiday season this year. I’m not surprised because almost all products go on sale during the holiday season but I do think that it’s about time 3D TVs’ prices fall—especially active 3D TVs. Although I bought my LG 3D TV (LG Cinema 3D LW6500) for a good price, I have friends who have purchased active 3D TVs and felt ripped off and friends who are hesitant to buy a 3D TV because of the price. I see the price as a relative factor i.e. if the product is worth the money, I don’t mind paying the amount even if it’s a bit high. On the other hand, if the product is not so great, I don’t want to pay the price no matter how cheap it is. I’m glad that I got my LG Cinema 3D and think it’s worth its price.

I think active 3D TVs like Samsung and Panasonic are totally overpriced. A really good friend of mine got her Samsung 3D TV before I got my LG Cinema 3D. She paid over $2000 for the TV and bought 3 pairs of 3D glasses for $150 each (they have 3 children and we all know that children want to watch 3D movies together without having to share the glasses) which is RIDICULOUS. This turned out to be not a great decision because it had noticeable flickers very often. She feels like she’s been ripped off but it was too late. So don’t be fooled by the price. When buying electronics, some people think that more expensive models are better models and some manufacturers try to put high price on the product that should really be much cheaper.

But don’t be fooled by cheap price either. Westinghouse and Vizio offer much cheaper passive 3D TVs starting as low as $600. The price is attractive but I’ve read many consumer reviews complaining about those TVs malfunctioning and flickering. I thought passive 3D TVs are not supposed to flicker but I guess that really depends on the manufacturer.

LG Cinema 3D is priced between Vizio and Samsung (exact price depends on the model and options) and gives my family great 3D experience that’s worth the money we paid. Great, crisp 2D and 3D images with no flickers, included 3D glasses, exclusive deals from sites like Netflix… What I want to say through this posting is that if you’re thinking of buying a 3D TV, weigh the quality of 3D experience it will give you and the price of the TV to decide which 3D TV will give you the most satisfactory 3D experience for the money you paid.

Buying a 3D TV? Go for a passive 3D TV with lightweight 3D glasses

Today I’m going to write a little bit about my experience with 3D TV and a few tips for purchasing a 3D TV. I have three kids—a five year old, a ten year old and a twelve year old—and I was concerned about their eye health when I was looking for a 3D TV.

Choose a passive 3D

If you have children who are going watch 3D tv, passive 3D TVs are definitely better than active 3D TVs. Because active 3D TVs use shutter glasses technology, it has flickers and crosstalks. Flickers and crosstalks can be just annoying to adults but they can cause some serious eye strain for kids. I don’t know if all passive 3D tvs are completely flicker free and crosstalk free but LG Cinema 3D is certified flicker free and crosstalk free 3D tv so you don’t have to worry about the 3D tv causing eye strain or headache for kids.

3D glasses

Active 3D glasses are fairly heavy and expensive. Adults usually don’t notice the weight but it can be quite uncomfortable for kids. Also if you have many kids in the family, definitely go for passive 3D TV because active 3D glasses are highly expensive. They can cost you over $100 while Cinema 3D glasses are only $5-$10. You can also use those 3D glasses from the theater. I have three kids but I have many nieces and nephews. When the entire family gathers, I don’t even need to worry about kids having to share the 3D glasses and feeling left out. I was able to get enough cinema 3D glasses to let my son and his friends watch 3D movie at his birthday party. Another downside of the active 3D glasses is that you have to charge them after use because the flickers become even more noticeable if the glasses are running low on batteries. I think it’s just too much of a hassle to charge them every time children watch 3D movies.

Flexible viewing position

Because active 3D tvs work by sending signals from the TV to the glasses, the images become distorted or black out if you sit or lay down in positions that can’t receive the signals. This is especially uncomfortable for kids—we all know that kids move around and don’t sit up straight throughout the entire movie. LG Cinema 3D gives undistorted image even when the kids are lying down.

2D to 3D conversion

LG Cinema 3D has a 2D to 3D conversion feature (I don’t think other passive 3D TVs have this feature). Because 3D is fairly new, there are only a limited number of 3D contents available. With LG Cinema 3D, however, kids can convert their favorite cartoons into 3D contents.

The most important thing about kids’ use of 3D TV is that you supervise them and limit the number of the hours they use (this is true for all kinds of TVs). But it’s also important that while they’re viewing the 3D TV, they are comfortable and the 3D TV doesn’t hurt their eyes. I’m completely satisfied with my LG Cinema 3D. Of course different people have different criteria and expectations for their 3D TVs, but if you are a mother looking for kid-friendly and family-friendly 3D TV, LG Cinema 3D is probably the one to go for.

Exciting news on 3D TV: LW6500 is upgraded to be even better

I have some exciting news for LG LW6500 owners (that includes myself) and those who are interested in 3D LED TVs. LG just announced that they’ve made an update to the Cinema 3D technology used in the LW series to improve 3D picture quality and resolution. Some popular review sites were being skeptical about this so FlatpanelsHD (http://www.flatpanelshd.com/) decided to put LG to the test. I am not affiliated in this review site in any way, so I’ll just post their reviews as a quote. 

“We tested LG’s LW6500 earlier this year but LG recently made some improvements to their 3D system and software to improve 3D picture quality and Cinema 3D was also recently awarded a Full HD 3D Certified by a German institute”.

“Before the Cinema 3D technology worked like this: During a time period of 1/200 seconds the TV showed 2 frames; 540 lines for the left eye and 540 lines for the right eye.
The new algorithm shows 4 frames instead of 2 during the 1/200 second time frame. It shows 1080i for the left eye and 1080i for the right eye.  When these are combined the two pictures create a 1080p picture according to LG. LG believes that this update improves picture quality on their Cinema 3D TVs to compete directly with the active 3D TVs such as 3D plasma TVs”.

There’s been a heated debate between active and passive 3D but through this update, LG has seemed to solidify its claim that image quality isn’t sacrificed in comparison to Shutter Glass technology (active). As a mother of young children, their eye health is what I’m most concerned about when they’re watching 3D movies and that’s why I got a passive TV. I thought the image quality was good but now that it’s even more certain that LG Cinema 3D will give us superior image quality, I feel more comfortable about 3D TV.   

*References
http://www.flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1313938337

Are 3D movies bad for kids’ eyes? Our LW6500 is not.

It seems like almost all kids’ movies are made in 3D these days. While kids just love the three dimensional fun popping out to them, I’m sure a lot of moms worry about their kids’ eye health. One study shows that watching 3D movies at movie theaters shouldn’t be as bad as you might worry because of the far distance between the screen and the viewers. Parents should be more concerned about 3D TVS at home and make sure children do not watch 3D TV too close. 

With my old 3D TV(which was an active model), my son frequently complained about the flickers that hurt his eyes. These flickers also caused headaches several times. You get these flickers because of the shutter technology of active 3D tvs. My son never complained about any flicker after we changed our 3D tv to a passive model (LG Cinema 3D LW6500 for those who are curious). Passive models use a different technology from shutter technology. This new technology lets the eyes see 3D images as they naturally would without the glasses receiving signals from the tv. You get flicker free, crosstalk free images and don’t have to worry too much about eye health of your children as long as you monitor them to keep certain distance from the tv J

Journey of 3D Glasses: How they lost weight and became lightweight

3D content and 3D glasses both are working always as a complement for each other from starting of 3D content to till now; both are slightly useless without each other, since there is no any satisfactory technology which can give exact 3D images without 3D glasses. So, 3D glasses always have their own significance in the 3D world.

Old 3D glasses

A Few decades back when 3D content was available mostly in static states as graphics, paintings and images etc. In those days normal Anaglyph 3-D Glasses were used for viewing 3-D Comics, Printing and Art etc. The technology of 3D glasses was also simple- In a pair of eyeglasses two filters were used of different colors Red and Cyan. The red lens over the left eye allows only the red part of the anaglyph image through to that eye, while the cyan (blue/green) lens over the right eye allows only the blue and green parts of the image through to that eye. Portions of the image that are red will appear dark through the cyan filter, while portions of colors composed only of green and blue will appear dark through the red filter. Each eye therefore sees only the perspective it is supposed to see. And all the arrangement produces simultaneously 3D content simply.

Decades have passed but the craze of this Anaglyph 3-D Glasses can be seen in watching the 3D content on internet, art galleries, comics, videos etc.

Now days, 3D technology is on its peak, the digital technology of 3D world has changed the shape and scenario of 3D glasses. The present 3D glasses are so technically advanced and produce amazingly 3D content which seems completely alive.3D content is not only present in cinemas  only but also available at our homes in 3D TV. Mainly, there are two types of 3D glasses are prevalent as Active glasses and Passive glasses. Active glasses are more technically complicated
(and as I have warned many times very dangerous to eye health and bad for children) they turn one lens of each eye black while you’re still watching. Whereas passive glasses are more technically advanced, passive glasses are based upon polarization technology which makes these lightweight, trendy and more comfortable for eyes.

New passive Cinema 3D glasses

I wanted to post this brief description of how 3D works as I received many questions about why this 3D is different from the red/blue kind.  So here is a quick and easy way to tell. Don’t buy an active TV it’s that simple if you care about eye health.

More evidence that Active 3D TVs are bad!

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2010/04/14/d-tv-hazardous-health/


All you have to do is read this Samsung admits that active type 3D can be bad for eye health and even cause seizures. Please stay away from those types of TVs!!


Passive 3D or "Cinema 3D" is the best choice its fine for eye health and the glasses are cheap for families. They are made by LG so be safe and buy an LG!

active 3D can give you seizures? just be passive for once

21st April 2010 - 3D TV is claimed to be the next big thing in home entertainment, but concerns are being raised about health risks for some people watching the new sets.

There’s a buzz about 3D. 3D films are already proving popular, with Avatar breaking box office records, while Sky is showing premier league football in 3D in some pubs before the 3D service launches for the home viewer.

One TV manufacturer has issued warnings that the 3D images could trigger epileptic seizures or strokes and some doctors agree there are significant risks. However, not everyone agrees.

So, is 3D TV a real danger, or just like our mothers telling us that watching too much old style TV would give us ‘square eyes’?


Samsung has issued a news release through its Australian office warning that its active 3D glasses can be affected by fluorescent lighting and sunlight - and the resulting flickering effect can cause photosensitive seizures and other health risks.


All the more reason not to buy an active 3D TV stay away they are not safe. Buy Cinema 3D, if you worry about your children or family in the slightest.

Active 3D TV worse than expected for eye health

3D TV: Great and Risky

We all know that 3D TV is a fad right now and also acquainted with its features offered. But just like any other good garden which may have some weeds, those 3D TVs are known to have health risks, especially to our children.

As taken from one of the manufacturers (Samsung)’ website, entitled “3D TV WARNING”, you’ll find the following warnings:

"Children and teenagers may be more susceptible to health issues associated with viewing in 3D and should be closely supervised when viewing these images."

It is known that children, especially fewer than 10, are in the developmental stages of their eyes. Watching 3D TV may risk their eyesight. The warning’s continued.

This is the bad kind of 3D glasses the kind that require batteries otherwise known as active 3D glasses those made by (Samsung, Sony, some by vizio, and others) Please ask your store which TV sets are active and which are passive. The best rule of thumb is that if the glasses have batteries dont buy the TV set.

"Pregnant women, the elderly, sufferers of serious medical conditions, those who are sleep deprived or under the influence of alcohol should avoid utilizing the unit's 3D functionality."

Even when you’re not drunk, the 3D TV may intoxicate you. Therefore, the TV must not put near the balcony or stairs. It is possible when someone watches 3D TV for couple hours; they might feel a little dizzy and fall down the stairs.

Viewing in 3D may cause disorientation for some viewers. Hence people at risk for a stroke or epileptic seizures must have consulted with their doctor before using this kind of TV.

Dr. Jennifer Madan Cohen is a pediatric neurologist who said that the 3D technology uses at home is different for the theater because it uses active system which turns on and off, sort-of flashes in front of a person's eyes for which causes nausea. She then adds that the main key to minimize the risks is by keeping the lights on and putting some distance between viewers and the TV screen.

So when you buy a 3D TV for your family, please buy one that uses passive Cinema 3D technology like those made by LG. These have none of the effects caused by the active TVs though it is still advised you take a break every few hours or so for a few minutes. 

Active 3D technology is bad for children. Passive 3D? better.

3d home theaters with active systems may be bad for your children’s health.

"Theoretically, if they're watching, you know, you know, 3D television for six or seven hours a day, you know, that is the kind of processing you might get, you know, an issue with” says Ophthalmologist Dr. Gregory Haffner.

active 3d glasses

TV maker Samsung issued an advisory in 2010 cautioning about possible effects of flashing lights and images. But  "when used properly and instructions and advisories are followed," Samsung stated, "3D functions should not pose adverse health or safety risks."

Cited from nbc news*

Samsung and Sony bands use active 3df technology, LG uses passive. I would recommend you look into buying a passive TV if you have children. Active technology is the kind that has a battery on the glasses, passive does not it’s like a movie theater (LG TVS).

active 3d glasses

So if you’re worried about your children’s eye health like most moms, and your husband and kids really want a new 3D TV, I have to recommend passive 3D technology. Go out to your local electronics store and check them both out, just be careful when buying because eye health is very important. LG is the only current manufacturer making cinema 3D TVs.

*http://www2.nbc17.com/news/2011/may/20/tv-company-issues-3d-tv-warning-ar-1051990/