What is Cinema 3D?

Cinema 3D – the facts

If 2010 will be remembered as the year that 3D took the step from the cinema into homes, then 2011 will be remembered as the year that LG pioneered the way with their Cinema 3D technology.

Currently the only manufacturer offering ‘passive’ or Cinema 3D as well as ‘active’ 3D, LG are offering consumers a choice, but the emphasis is certainly on Cinema 3D.  The reason behind this is as a result of a year’s experience of 3D retail under the belt combined with a survey that showed 88% of viewers preferred the Cinema 3D experience to active 3D.

What is Cinema 3D?

The name says it all really – Cinema 3D is the closest you can get to the 3D experience you enjoy in the cinema in your own home. It uses the same glasses that are used in the cinema as the technology is housed within the TV, rather than in the glasses as with active 3D, meaning the glasses are lighter, cheaper and more comfortable weighing in at just 16 grams.

The screens on LG’s range of Cinema 3D TVs are equipped with LG’s proprietary Film-type Patterned Retarder Panel, or FPR for short. This panel optimizes the separation of images into an image for the left eye and one for the right that are then filtered through the Cinema 3D glasses to give the 3D effect.

Putting the advantages of the glasses aside, Cinema 3D also has the advantage of not suffering with flicker that can be seen on some active 3D TVs. LG’s LW6500 Cinema 3D screen that was unveiled at CES 2011 has even been awarded a “Flicker-free” certificate from Intertek and TUV, two of the most-recognised and respected inspection and certification bodies in the world. The LW6500 is the first 3DTV to receive this accolade!

What does the future hold for 3D?

Whilst we can confirm that LG are working on glasses-free 3D, we can also say that this is a product for the future. In the meantime LG’s new range of TVs, including several 3D Cinema options will be released in April, alongside a range of active 3D Plasma screens giving the consumer the choice.