With 3D technology flooding your local electronics stores, you may be confused on all of the elements needed to build a complete 3D home theater system. If you buy a 3D Blu-ray player does that mean your regular TV’s picture will display in 3D? The short answer is no. In order to have a complete 3D experience you need the specific elements outlined below.
- 3D Television or 3D Projector – Probably the most expensive, but most important, element in a 3D home entertainment system is the TV. Several 3D TVs are currently available on the market at prices ranging from $1600- $4000. Or for a more cinema-like experience, there are also 3D projectors available. Without a 3D-enabled television or projector, you will miss out on those great 3D effects.
- 3D Blu-ray Player – If you want to upgrade your home entertainment to 3D but can’t afford buying everything at once, we recommend starting with a 3D Blu-ray player. Not only do most of them increase the quality of your current movies, but they are much cheaper than the 3D televisions currently on the market. With a quality 3D Blu-ray disc player, you can enjoy the enhanced quality of your movies while saving up for a comprehensive 3D home entertainment system.
- 3D Glasses – Although future 3D technology may not require 3D glasses, currently they are needed. But luckily for us, gone are the days with blue and red paper glasses.The 3D glasses available today look like a sleek pair of sunglasses, are rechargeable and actually use a shutter process. This process quickly blocks the left eye, then the right, in time with the 3D TV. The switch from one eye to the next is fast enough that the user doesn’t notice. All they perceive is the immersive 3D effect. Just as with the other elements, without 3D glasses, you won’t get the complete 3D experience. Most manufactures include one or two pairs with a 3D TV, but some require you to purchase them separately:
- Sony – Two glasses included in 3D TV purchase.
- Panasonic – One set of glasses included in 3D TV purchase.
- Samsung – Sold separately in sets of twos.
- LG – Sold separately.
Each manufacturer’s glasses work only with specific models of 3D TVs, so mixing and matching would not be a smart idea.
- 3D Blu-ray Content or Movies – Another piece needed to complete the 3D entertainment puzzle are 3D Blu-ray content or movies. 3D content is currently limited to a handful of Blu-ray releases and some cable networks, but we bet that in the next year, the 3D movie market will explode. Of course your current Blu-ray movies will play on your new 3D Blu-ray player and 3D TV, but the 3D technology will be lost.
As you can see, with 3D technology it’s all or nothing. Missing one piece can ruin the entire experience. That being said, we highly recommend researching the different manufacturers and purchasing all of your elements from the same company. If you buy different pieces from separate manufacturers, they mostly likely will not be compatible together.
At TopTenREVIEWS We Do the Research So You Don’t Have To.™