Samsung declares that viewers with severe health conditions – along with the elderly, the pregnant, the tired or have a family history of epilepsy or strokes – ought to avoid watching 3D. Samsung also claims that kids and also young people are particularly vulnerable to undesirable health effects, and needs to be closely monitored by adults when looking at 3D images.

The list of the possible health effects is nearly as terrifying as the most recent slasher movie. They include altered vision, light-headedness, involuntary eye or muscle twitching, disorientation, nausea or vomiting, cramps and withdrawal leading to convulsions. Other possible negative effects include motion sickness, perceptual after-effects and reduced postural stability (for instance, the inclination to fall down). Helpfully, we think, Samsung also states that due to possible disorientation, 3D TVs shouldn’t be located close to dangers such as balconies or open stairwells.

In addition, worries about 3D viewing are nothing new. Experts have long asserted 3D viewing generally can result in distressing side effects simply because they induce the eye balls and also the brain to operate in ways that are not totally natural. That is not a problem for a lot of people, however because this article in Business Week points out, a number of individuals – close to 30 % – possess vision problems which make them much more vulnerable to severe headaches, eye strain, motion sickness and so on.

Source: http://www.samsung.com/au/tv/warning.html

So far, only the Playstation 3 is capable of software upgrades to enable it to display 3D content on Blu-ray.

2. Can I use my existing collection of 3D movies with the new 3D hardware?

No. Current 3D home video titles use anaglyphic imaging, where stereoscopic video is created with two superimposed images ising two coloured layers, seen through coloured glasses. The new 3D technology uses alternate frame sequencing technology, where the glasses receive an infrared signal from the TV, to darken and lighten each eye lens in succession, to create a stereoscopic image.

3. My friend and I are planning to buy different brands of 3D TVs. Can I use my TV glasses on his 3D TV?

While the technology is similar, there might be differences in the signals sent by the TV to the glasses. For now, it is unlikely the glasses can pair with different 3D TVs.

4. Can a 3D TV display regular 2D content?

Yes. All 3D TVs have a feature ti display content in regular 2D, so you do not need to change TVs to watch content in both formats.

5. There are 3D plasma, LCD and LED TVs. Which offers the best 3D display?

This is not known.  The point that plasma TVs display better blacks and LED TVs offer brighter images should hold true for their 3D counterparts too.

6. What do I need to enjoy 3D video at home?

For starters, a 3D TV is a must. If you own any Blu-ray player other than a Playstation 3, you need a new Blu-ray player as well. While Samsung 3D TVs do convert 2D content to 3D, there are some caveats and the conversion is not as immersive as those created specifically in 3D.

Major hardware vendors from Sony, Samsung, Panasonic and LG are working to launch their 3D home entertainment devices to hit stores in coming months. Apart from full-fledged 3D TV sets with special eye-wear, the new devices include Blu-ray players and sound systems.

These new gizmos are not a knee-jerk reaction capitalizing on the 3D fervor, in the hope that they will appeal to consumers.

Korean consumer electronic giant Samsung will be the first to launch its machines this month with more than a dozen 3D devices ready to hit the stores.

It hopes that 3D TV sales will make up 20 percent of its TV sales this year.

But before you scoff at the thought of wearing the hideous red and cyan anaglyphic glasses that come with the current 3D technology video titles like Coraline, know that 3D technology for homes has changed for the better. Home 3D is now comparable to what you see in cinema halls.

Current 3D DCD titles come with cheap cardboard glasses with lenses of varying colors and intensity for viewers to watch unnaturally colored video images.

New 3D home entertainment systems use the alternated frame sequencing technology which has active shutter glasses to create the illusion of depth.

With rich colors fully reproduced onscreen, a sensor from the TV signals the glasses to rapidly open and shut each lens, to create the stereoscopic effect.

This means the glasses are a regular shade of gray and all future 3D content released on home video will follow the same standard for a uniform experience.

Not all 3D TVs being launched, from plasma, LCD, to LED, will be the same. Aside from being one of the the first, Samsung’s 3D TVs also offer conversion, which transforms current 2D video into 2D. LG is launching its 3D TVs next month, with models that can convert 2D to 3D only available from July.

While the converted content will not be as immersive as full 3D content, it will not limit viewing choices to only upcoming 3D movie titles as consumers can still enjoy their existing titles.

This method is not new. The current Hollywood action movie, Clash of the Titans, was filmed in 2D and converted to 3D for its theatrical release.

But not all 3D TV makers are providing this option as such conversion does not produce acceptable picture quality. Crisp 3D pictures can be achieved only when it is recorded at source using a 3D video camera.

Without converting 2D content, the availability of 3D content is limited. There is a lack of 3D home movies and video games being readied while 3D TV broadcast is still a long while away as costs are high.

To be expected, early adopters of home 3D will have to pay more, though the electronic companies have yet to reveal the exact prices.

With prices of a 40-inch LED TV at $1800, an equivalent size 3D LED TV is expected to start from $2000.

Buying extra pairs of 3D glassed will be costly as each pair will cost about $100. Consumers will also have to cough out more cash for new 3D capable Blu-ray players in order to view new 3D releases like Monster Vs Aliens. For instance, the Samsung BD-C6900 player is priced at $399. Regular players cost about $70 to $150 less.

If you own Sony’s Playstation 3 console, then you are in luck. It is the only Blu-ray player that can be upgraded to handle 3D content. The software update is expected in the next few months, to coincide with Sony’s launch of its 3D TVs.

Sony also said its first 3D LCD TV models would hit the Japanese market on June 10, with a price tag of about 350,000 yen (US$3,535) for a 46-inch version.

Viewers will need to wear electronic 3D active shutter glasses that open and close rapidly in time with images designed for the right and left eye, creating a 3D effect.

The Japanese giant said its overall TV business would shift into high gear in the fiscal year to March 2011, targeting sales of more than 25 million LCD Vs – up 60% from its forecast for this year.

It aims for 10 per cent of the sets to be capable of viewing 3D sources.It has also begun shipping 3D ready blu-ray players like the Sony BDP-S470 and will be releasing the new BDP-S770 in Summer.

The next 12 months are “really a year when we think we can attack,” Yoshihisa Ishida, senior vice president in charge of Sony’s home entertainment business, said at a press conference.

Sony has been caught off guard in recent years by innovative new products such as Apple’s iPod and Nintendo’s Wii, but it has high hopes for 3D televisions.

The 3DTVs are key to chief executive Howard Stringer’s goal of converging Sony’s strengths in electronics, such as Bravia televisions and PS3 game consoles, and content generated by its movie studio and music label.

Blockbusters such as James Cameron’s science fiction 3D opus “Avatar” have fueled the buzz around images that appear to jump out of the screen.

But many experts think consumers are unlikely to rush to buy the premium-priced 3D TVs due to the need for special glasses and because many people have already upgraded to high-definition sets in recent years.

Sony is lagging behind some rivals. Panasonic plans to launch a 3D TV in the United States on Wednesday, ahead of its rollout in Japan, as it goes head-to-head with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics.

Sony has not yet announced a launch date for 3D TVs outside Japan.

The original 3D experience of movies depended on the viewer wearing stereoscopic green and red glasses. The illusion of 3D in the image came from superimposed green and red images taken from slightly different angles. Each eye saw only one image, and the viewer’s brain combined them to give the illusion of three dimensions. 3D movies using this technology, called anaglyph 3D, can be viewed on any TV, as long as the viewer wears the glasses.

Anaglyph 3D Glasses

The problem with anaglyph 3D is that it strains the eyes, and can cause headaches and nausea in some people. Others have a dominant eye, and find it difficult to see the image as three dimensional.

Now Sony and Panasonic have introduced an “active shutter” technique for high definition plasma and LCD TVs. The viewer still has to wear polarized glasses, but in this system the glasses have LCD active shutters that are synchronized with signals from the TV. The shutters rapidly block the right and left eye views alternately so each eye receives the correct image.

Active Shutter 3d Glasses

Panasonic says that a pair of 3D glasses will be supplied with the TV sets. There is no information yet on the prices of these televisions.

“Panasonic strives to produce the highest quality consumer electronics products that feature cutting edge technology, while providing the user with a product that increases their entertainment experience,” said Bob Perry, Senior Vice President, Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. “Our goal of providing innovative products reflects Panasonic’s philosophy of creating products from ideas for life and is totally affirmed by this recognition by the Consumer Electronics Association. We are extremely proud to have our 3D Plasma, 3D Blu-ray player and portable Blu-ray player selected for such a prestigious award.

“Panasonic is a leader in the evolution of 3D as a home experience and we firmly believe, along with the Hollywood community, that 3D will be the next big thing in home entertainment. 3D is the next frontier in home entertainment and Panasonic is proud to be a leader in this exciting technological advance. ” added Perry.

The TC-P50V25, a 50-inch class Full HD 3D Plasma TV, features Panasonic’s newly developed high-speed 3D drive technology that enables rapid illumination of pixels while maintaining brightness. The 50V25 allows for the viewing of true to life Full HD 3D images that distribute full HD (1920×1080) images to each eye. The alternating left and right images are each played at 60 frames per second. Viewing the TV with active shutter glasses, in which the left and right lenses alternately open and close at the same speed as the images, the viewer’s brain recognizes the images as 3D. The high precision glasses utilize Panasonic’s technology to precisely control the opening and closing of the shutter in synchronization with the left and right eye images alternately shown on the Plasma screen.

In addition to the 3D technology, the TC-P50V25 features Panasonic’s state of the art IPTV functionality, VIERA Cast™, which provides such targeted web sites as Amazon VOD™, You Tube™, Picasa Web Albums™, Bloomberg and a weather channel. The 3D Plasma also features Eco link functions – Stand-by-Power and Auto Power. Stand-by Power minimizes the power consumption of connected devices, when power is turned off. Auto Power Stand-by minimizes power loss by using VIERA link to control interconnected devices.

Panasonic’s DMP-BDT350 was recognized by the CES Innovations awards as the world’s first Full HD 3D Blu-ray player with WiFi. In addition to its Full HD 3D technology, the BDT350 is noteworthy for the inclusion of VIERA Cast, as well as BD Live, 7.1 channel audio decoder (Dolby True HD, DTS HD), an SD Memory Card slot (to play AVCHD HD video and JPEG digital still pictures), a USB port, twin HDMI and DivX HD. The Blu-ray player also employs Panasonic’s PHL Reference Chroma Processor to insure the highest picture quality and P4HD Super Resolution to achieve high speed, precise pixel generation, resulting in accurate up conversion of 480i and 1080i to 1080p.

Source: Panasonic Press Release; January 6, 2010

The 3D capable Panasonic TC-PVT25 series announced at the show garnered a lot of interest and it looked great too. It is names as Cnet’s Best of CES Award in the Television category. It will include a pair of 3D glasses that is necessary for this slew of first generation 3DTVs. Pricing was not announced at the show. Also, like all other makers, Panasonic will employ an active LC shutter system. The right and left lens in the glasses alternately darkens and lightens, too quickly for the eyes to perceive, while the TV synchronously displays the corresponding right and left-eye-specific images. The result is a stereoscopic 3D effect that, in the case of the VT25 mated to full-resolution 3D content, preserves all 1080p pixels for each eye. The only way to get 3D out of this TV (at least until 3D-upconverting players come along) is to mate it to a true 3D source like Panasonic’s own DMP-BDT350 3D blu-ray player or a cable box tuned to a 3D channel.

Other 3D HDTV makers have also been active up but Panasonic is the most vocal proponent, and the VT25 series will be a good showcase for this new technology.

Many consumers have experienced 3D in theaters, primarily with their children using filmsy colored glasses. While these experiences have been exciting and entertaining, they are barely the tip of the iceberg in what the future has to offer for 3D. 3D is much more than great animated children movies and trick effects that startle and impress the audience.

3D changes the game because it opens an entirely new world of experiences, because the new 3D television standard captures and reproduces images just like the human eye, without the limitations found in today’s great high definition 2D technology.

How Does 3D TV Work?

Humans have a marvelous vision system, with two eyes, slightly separated, which allows the brain to see both a left and right image, and then creates a “composite image” in our brain that has depth (the third dimension). But for more than 50 years, we have also watched flat images on television and at the theater, which our brains have also processed, without the sense of depth.

The new Full HD 3D standard is based on the same principle as the human eye – two Full HD 1080p cameras, slightly separated just like the human eye; simultaneously record the left and right images. These two 1080p images are stored on a new type of Blu-ray Disc, and played back in the home. Using a new HDMI 1.4 standard to connect to a Full HD 3DTV, both the right and left images are displayed sequentially very fast. In order for your brain to process these two images, active shutter LCD glasses, which are synchronized with the television alternately blank your left and right eyes, so your brain sees a left, then a right image. The images are displayed so fast that they are just a natural, comfortable viewing experience, and your brain creates a normal 3D composite image.

The New HDMI 1.4 Standard

Because these new 3D Blu-ray Disc players can play standard DVD’s, Blu-ray Discs as well as Full HD 3D Blu-ray Discs, a more intelligent connection between the player and the television is necessary – which is the new HDMI 1.4. HDMI 1.4 allows the player to tell the TV that the new signal is 2D or 3D, and then the TV will automatically switch on the correct processing circuits. This new HDMI standard should be completed by the end of 2009, and products should be available in mid-2010 with this new circuit.

Panasonic’s Venture into 3D

In order for this new standard to be created, Panasonic’s Hollywood Laboratory facility cooperated with leading studios, and developed a range of new technologies and processes. The lab, which has been a leader in helping studios author their 2D Blu-ray Discs (so the discs could be duplicated and made available in stores), created the authoring process for the new 3D standard as well. At Panasonic, new high-performance signal processing chips were created, and a new higher-speed Plasma television technology was created. Combined with the new Blu-ray Disc standard that Panasonic created and proposed, a new paradigm in home entertainment has been created. This standard has been supported by major studios and consumer electronics companies, and 2010 will be the year for consumers to migrate to this new technology. More info from Panasonic 3D site.

The 3D Experience

Simply put, watching full HD 3DTV is like actually attending the football game, or looking out the window. At the resolution of Full 1080p HD for each eye, combined with the natural left and right images which allow for depth perception, makes this an amazing experience. Unlike the 3D experiences that most of us have experienced, it’s sharp, clear, and incredibly immersive. And it’s not just children’s animated content that is driving this revolution – it’s sporting events, the full range of theatrical releases, computer games, documentaries and all the content you can imagine, the way you were meant to watch it – in three dimensions.

But this is just the beginning. While remote medical imaging, remote surgery and imaging are in their infancy, they are missing the third dimension. Remote controlled aircraft, video conferencing, live news – so many of today’s experiences and technologies will be dramatically changed as 3D becomes available.

In the market today, there are a variety of products marketed as 3D. There are differences between these products and the new Full HD 3D standard, so consumers will need to be armed with the right information in order to make the right choices. A quick checklist will help you understand the products you are looking at – does it have an HDMI 1.4 connection? Does it provide Full HD 3D, or lesser resolution? Does the display technology provide a good image? Fortunately, some simple questions and a review of specifications will help, along with your actual experience – because seeing is believing.

3DTV-Review.net is committed to providing the latest updates and reviews of 3D TV and related products to keep you up to date with this new game changing technology.