Here's an idea if you can't see 3D at the Cinema

[cheshirenoir]

Inspired by a conversation with people about whether people like 3D or not I came up with a bit of a "hack" that should work for those of you who, for whatever reason, cannot see 3D (or worse, get headaches or nausea from 3D) but want to see the movies with your mates.

Please note that this is primarily for movies projected in "RealD" rather than other competing technologies.

1. Secure 2 sets of RealD glasses. This shouldn't be too hard. I have several spare pairs and they cost $2 each pair
2. Break them open, carefully taking note of which filter comes from which eye.
3. Swap a left eye for a right eye filter.
4. Enjoy!

I'm not sure, but you may even be able to do this by simply "flipping" one of the filters in the eyepiece.

You should now get old fashioned 2D.

Please note that this will not "fix" horrible "2D to pseudo 3d" movies like the recent "Clash of the Titans". They'll most likely still look bad.

Bring on Tron: Legacy

Comments

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

If the technology is based on polarisation (and I don't know whether it is because I haven't bothered looking but a quick google suggests so) then rotating one of them 90 degrees should do much the same thing.

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

It's circular polarisation, not linear polarisation. (Thus flipping the lens should work. Rotating it doesn't, from experience)

[ariaflame.livejournal.com]

Ahh. Didn't go into detail. OK, if it's circular then it might. Been a while since I did polarisation stuff.

[gunslingerelite.livejournal.com]

Buddy of mine is mostly blind in one eye, hence his issue with 3D. He's still fucked.

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

So exactly what is the difference between him seeing it in 2D and in 3D with Glasses? He'll still see it in 2D. He's no worse off except for a small additional cost.

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

You will indeed need two pairs of glasses; the light that comes out the back is merely plane polarised.

Of course, this does mean that you can vandalise a pair of RealD 3D glasses into a plane polarising pair by flipping both the filters and rotating one of them 90 degrees :)

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RealD_Cinema

Circular polarised. That's why you can tilt your head. Having used ones that are plane (Or linearly polarised if you prefer) polarised, there is a WORLD of difference.

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

Yes I'm aware of that - but the glasses work by having a layer that delays light entering the front of the glasses that's polarised 45 degrees off vertical by a quarter of a phase (converting CCW light to h-polarised, and CW to v-polarised), before passing through a second layer that's a linear polarising filter. Hence, CCW light entering the front is blocked, and CW light entering the front leaves the back as plane polarised.

Consequence - flipping a filter front-to-back turns it into one that blocks plane polarised rather than circular.

(eta, fixed out-by-45 degrees error on entering light)

[stinkygoat.livejournal.com]

wouldn't that just give you half the frame rate along with some horrible strobing?

As someone who does not perceive 3D I hope that all this stereoscopic nonsense dies out soon, because all it does is make stuff worse for me (and the 10% of the population who don't do stereoscopic stuff).

[cheshirenoir.livejournal.com]

My understanding (And I could be wrong) is that BOTH frames are simultaneously transmitted. With both lenses showing the same thing you'd not get any strobing or framerate drop, just only half the potential picture. Since effectively for the stereoscopic effect, both eyes need to see a full picture with an offset, you'd be seeing the same as if you'd watched the picture in a 2D cinema.

Unfortunately I don't see it going away any time soon.Some movies have used it badly. Some have used it amazingly well.

[shrydar.livejournal.com]

It would indeed give you half the frame rate - but that would only drop you to a 72Hz refresh rate, as RealD projects alternate left & right frames at 144Hz, three times for each side for 24Hz source material.