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Author Topic: Dolby 3D or XpanD Mike Moreno Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: culiacan sinaloa mexico Registered: Jul 2008 posted 06-14-2011 12:54 PM                        wich technology would you choose if you are going to install a 3D projector. mike moreno  |  IP: Logged Kris Verhanneman Expert Film Handler Posts: 182 From: Belgium Registered: Dec 2009 posted 06-14-2011 12:55 PM                     dolby 3D  |  IP: Logged Frederick Lanoy Film Handler Posts: 88 From: North of France Registered: Aug 2009 posted 06-14-2011 03:21 PM                     Go Dolby : great results on screen. Active glasses = too many issues.  |  IP: Logged Olivier Lemaire Expert Film Handler Posts: 118 From: Paris, Ile de France, France Registered: Jan 2010 posted 06-14-2011 05:48 PM                        Want to be able to change you 3D system from one screen to another, in less than 10 minutes -> XPanD. Else, Dolby 3D/Master Image/RealD my 2 cents  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 06-14-2011 06:01 PM                     Master Image and Real D are both polarized, so unless you have a silver screen in every auditorium, or you can change one in 10 minutes, you're still stuck with the original house.  |  IP: Logged Mark Gulbrandsen Resident Trollmaster Posts: 16657 From: Music City Registered: Jun 99 posted 06-14-2011 08:46 PM                     Active glasses such as Expand's have many issues but the results are amazing and no filters are involved. As for Dolby it all depends on how large your screens are. Dolby is not very practical on screens much wider than 40 feet although some have done it. Dolby will even tell you they do not reccomend it. From an ease of operation standpoint Real-D has been best for my customers with large busy plex's with multiple 3-D screens. Glasses are free. I don't know what kind of deals they do on the adaptors south of the border, you'd have to contact them... Silver screens required and things will work better if they are curved. Severtson Screens are located in Tuscon and they have much quicker turn around because of recent plant size increase and modernization. Their silver surfaces are excellent. Of course you can do 3-D without any glasses too... 3-D Without Glasses I want to see everyone in an audience sitting there blinking their eyes that fast! Mark  |  IP: Logged Ken Lackner Phenomenal Film Handler Posts: 1907 From: Atlanta, GA, USA Registered: Sep 2001 posted 06-14-2011 09:12 PM                     Ahaha. Nice. Surely that was a joke, right? I mean, the video did not at all have the look and feel of your typical parody videos on YouTube, but they just can't be serious.  |  IP: Logged Jean-Marc Toussaint Film Handler Posts: 60 From: Paris, France Registered: May 2008 posted 06-15-2011 02:55 AM                        I'd be cautious with Master Image. If something gets on that polarizing disk, it will either scratch it or create unwanted light artefacts on the projected picture (recent experience). Dolby remains also my favorite but as Mark says, not recommended for large screens. It might be worth investigating Panavision 3D, as it uses the same kind of system but could be more interesting price wise. Glasses (or goggles in that case) don't look really hip. In both cases (Dolby and Panavision), projectors need to be modified to acomodate the rotating colour wheel. If you go active, have a look at Eyes3shut. Essentially similar to Xpand or Volfoni. The cool thing about this system is that they don't use disposable batteries. Glasses are stored on racks that act as recharging devices so they are supposedly ready to go for 40 hours.  |  IP: Logged Catalin Balaceanu Film Handler Posts: 36 From: Pascani, Iasi, Romania Registered: Mar 2006 posted 06-15-2011 03:12 AM                        Haha! That's gotta hurt at some point. As far as what 3D system to go for, we went for Xpand for the following reasons: - no need to change your original screen (no need for silver screen) - I wasn't THAT impressed with Dolby 3D - it's just a personal opinion, but I still had a slight feeling that I had anaglyph glasses on, while wearing dolby glasses. - I was impressed with the Xpand picture quality - Xpand has a better light efficiency then Dolby - slightly lower price then other 3D packages - now Xpand has included a number of glasses in the package (you can go for 150, 200, or whatever number of included glasses in the 3D package) Ofcourse, every 3D package has its own pros and cons, which had been discussed all over this forum.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-15-2011 06:17 AM                     One can go beyond 40-feet on Dolby BUT you better be thinking multiple projectors. And like with all gain screens, if you are installing a gain screen to improve the light throughput, you HAVE to curve it or all of your gain will be in the middle. Ease of use...Dolby and Xpand are amost inherently automatic (with Xpand, if you are running a 2D show...just don't hand out the glasses). All of the Dolbys incorporate a means for automatically switching between 2D and 3D. Master Image can be automatic though the earlier mechanisms made that more difficult...the current ones are much easier BUT you will need an automation of some sort (or GPIOs that you can control easily and program as you need). Real-D is the least automatic, inherently. However Strong has developed motorized system for them (about a $1000) for either the XL or the Z screen (separate part numbers). My personal preference is Dolby 3D BUT you do need to make sure you have enough light, it is the least efficient (8-10% throughput on a single projector system, depending on color correction). If you have side masking (wider scope image), USE AN ANAMORPHIC...there is a 23% light improvement from that alone. -Steve  |  IP: Logged Frank Cox Film God Posts: 2234 From: Melville Saskatchewan Canada Registered: Apr 2011 posted 06-15-2011 11:30 AM                        quote: Jean-Marc Toussaint Glasses are stored on racks that act as recharging devices so they are supposedly ready to go for 40 hours. Rechargable batteries of any kind have a finite lifetime. After a period of time (greater or lesser depending on many factors) they will start accepting less and less of a charge, until they simply won't charge any more at all. Of course, depending on the quality of the glasses themselves, the batteries may out-last the glasses anyway.  |  IP: Logged Mike Moreno Expert Film Handler Posts: 200 From: culiacan sinaloa mexico Registered: Jul 2008 posted 06-15-2011 11:46 AM                        thanks all of you guys Mike moreno  |  IP: Logged Carsten Kurz Film God Posts: 4340 From: Cologne, NRW, Germany Registered: Aug 2009 posted 06-16-2011 07:24 PM                     The current Dolby 3D is licensed from german company Infitec. Infitec has just demo'd an improved system with a much improved light efficiency - around or even better than RealD XL, and less colorshift. It is not yet clear wether Dolby will also adopt the new system for cinema as a 'Dolby 3DmkII'. It will need new filter wheel and glasses so it's not compatible with the previous systems and cinemas would need full dual inventory (or replacement). More players are entering the 3D arena. - Carsten  |  IP: Logged David Stone Film Handler Posts: 75 From: Hornsby, Sydney, Australia Registered: Jun 2008 posted 06-17-2011 01:20 AM                     HI Everyone, It depends which way you look at it. Does anyone want to purchase a 3D system with the way 3D box office is heading. As an owner who writes the cheques, RealD is the only way to go. Yes you pay a license fee for 5 years, but they own and maintain it for free,how much does a dolby color wheel cost to replace, what is the cost to have staff wash and collect glasses at the end of each session, how do you ask a patron to pay for missing or broken glasses at the end of a session during collection. RealD is a simple pay as you use system. Cheers, David.  |  IP: Logged Steve Guttag We forgot the crackers Gromit!!! Posts: 12814 From: Annapolis, MD Registered: Dec 1999 posted 06-17-2011 05:15 AM                     Because, in less than a year, you'll spend more with Real-D than you would have with Dolby. So yes you MAY end up purchasing equipment that you no longer need in a few years BUT it is cheaper to buy it and throw it away than to effectively lease the Real-D system for a year or more. -Steve  |  IP: Logged

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