Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Imax 3D, Polarising Vs LCD shutters

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Topic: Imax 3D, Polarising Vs LCD shutters

Phil Connolly
Film Handler

Posts: 80
From: Derby, England
Registered: May 2000

posted 09-26-2000 06:37 AM

I have only seen Imax 3D using the LCD shutter system. The recent Imax 3D installations at Bradford and the London Science Museum use polarisors, is better or worse from a cost or technical point of view?

I imagine polarisors are cheaper.

Anybody got any preference one way or the other?

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John Wilson
Film God

Posts: 5438
From: Sydney, Australia.
Registered: Dec 1999

posted 09-26-2000 07:51 AM

LCD gives you the best results but there are many factors which make them unattractive to the operators of the theatre.

They cut down light, the glasses are much more expensive, they are harder to maintain, they can fail meaning individual refunds.

But they give you the sharpest 3D you've ever seen. You'd swear you are there.

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Dave Cutler
Master Film Handler

Posts: 277
From: Centennial, CO
Registered: Jun 2000

posted 09-26-2000 09:42 AM

I agree with John, shutter glasses are wonderful, but expensive.

Having kids tear up a pair of polarized glasses at (roughly) $2 a pair isn't bad. A pair of shutter glasses are very expensive (I don't know a figure) and I would think those installations that use them are constantly repairing them.

Done properly polarized 3-D can look very very good. Just make sure all the componets are high quality.

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John Pytlak
Film God

Posts: 9987
From: Rochester, NY 14650-1922
Registered: Jan 2000

posted 09-26-2000 02:09 PM

One problem with the polaroid glasses is that tilting the head allows more "crosstalk" between right and left eye images. The LCD shutter glasses allow the patron to move their head without getting "ghosting", but some people (e.g. epileptics) are sensitive to the "flicker" of alternating right and left eye images. I always enjoy testing the LCD glasses by covering the IR sensors on the LCD glasses to make them go out of sync with the projector.

------------------
John P. Pytlak, Senior Technical Specialist
Worldwide Technical Services, Entertainment Imaging
Eastman Kodak Company
Research Labs, Building 69, Room 7419
Rochester, New York, 14650-1922 USA
Tel: 716-477-5325 Fax: 716-722-7243
E-Mail: john.pytlak@kodak.com

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David M. Huskinson
Film Handler

Posts: 7
From: Las Vegas, NV, USA
Registered: Sep 2000

posted 09-30-2000 03:57 PM

Dave, I think that the PSE 3D glasses are $400 each US. A 300 seat Theatre would need 600 sets minimum at a cost of almost a quarter million dollars. Add in the 'glasses cleaning machines', and the labor to collect, clean and distribute the glasses for each 3D show and it gets quite expensive to use them. It is my understanding that all future Imax 3D Theatres will use the polarizers.

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