3D Glasses – The New Era of 3D Technology
3D films and the glasses used to view them have been around for a number of years, dating back to the 1950s. The basic concept behind 3D film is that the pictures are presented so that if you are wearing the appropriate glasses, it appears that the characters may be running at you, explosions are happening right before your eyes, the images on the screen are closer and appear to the audience in a three dimensional way bringing a new element to the viewing experience. While the technology has been around for a long time, there are multiple types of 3D glasses and they function in different ways.
Stereoscopic glasses – which are the regular type of 3D glasses that come to mind when you hear about 3D, are the first kind. These glasses put a red filter over one eye and a green or blue filter over the other eye. While you are watching something which has been filmed in 3D the glasses filter out all but the color over your eye presenting you with a three dimensional image as you are viewing the film. You will only see red images through your one eye and blue images through the other, and your eyes then naturally fill in the missing pieces. This causes different parts of the film to appear in 3 D.
With today’s technology, there are not only films, but some amusement park rides which incorporate 3D and these use polarized 3D to deliver the images. This is really the method that is being used by most film makers as it presents film in color with a much higher resolution and quality, so it is a much more popular option than the 3D films of the past. With 3D through polarized lenses, there are 2 projections of the film, each projection is presenting the film in two different polarizations. The 3D glasses worn for this type of film filter the polarizations that match your lenses which then causes the images on the screen to become three dimensional as you are watching.
As these innovations have taken 3D glasses and 3D viewing to a new level, people are clamoring for more and more options to watch in 3D, including more and more films and in some cases, even television viewing in their own homes. Having a handle on the science behind 3D gives us a new found respect for the process of bringing film and images into 3D and we can certainly enjoy it and appreciate it even more. So, those are the basics behind 3D, no go check out a movie, in 3D, of course.
