Ok, so you've had 3D for a while. Do you still use it?

I am still excited about 3D and prefer to watch it. I wish services like Netflix would have all 3D movies available. I would rent all that are available and any new ones, even if the movies wouldn't interest me in 2D. I've purchased a collection of 3D blurays. Previously my policy was not to purchase movies when I could rent them. If availability was equal I would always go 3D.

I have an Active display and would not change that. The reasons have been hashed over dozens of times and I think a have a reputation for my stand on this question. So I'll pass on further discussion.

Let me put it this way.....I have never bought movies before. Never saw the sense of buying them when you could rent them a couple times for a lot less than the cost.
I got my 3D TV and am buying a movie a month. I love it, love it, love it. The wife is not into watching movies on disc at all, untill we pop in the 3D movie.

Passive for me. At first I could see the lines in the TV, but since LG put out that update that changed the algorithm, I do not see those lines.

I've been playing PC games almost exclusively in 720p 3D for the past 6 months. Recently I've been playing Assassin's Creed III in 1080p 2D because the single player game doesn't support 3D yet, and I'm just too eager to play the game to wait. 1080p itself is nice, but boy do I miss 3D. The biggest change is that it's simply harder to make out what you're looking at in 2D. I find myself moving the camera or moving the character around more to get a sense of the size of things and their position in space. Early on in the game the character is on a ship at night, and I was looking at the reflection of moonlight on the horizon. That is, until I realized that I was just looking at the texture of a railing. Had it been 3D, it would have been plainly obvious that it's a railing and not something on the horizon. As far as gameplay, I find I have to slow down and move the camera more to judge distances or directions to jump. Running through the tree tops, it can be hard to immediately see which branch to jump to next. If it was in 3D, each branch would be clearly defined. So while I can enjoy the game in 2D, I'm hindered by it, and constantly miss 3D.

Which algorithm/date are you talking about? Also, do you have one of this year's LG TVs or the first generation? Maybe Best Buy hasn't installed the new algorithm yet on their 3D display TVs, which is why I still prominently see the lines.

I still love 3D and I was there at the beginning. I would not trade my active 92" DLP for anything except maybe a 84" 4K which has passive 3D(I have not seen the 3D yet) when the price goes down. Assassin Creed III has 3D on the PS3 version but I have been busy with Call of Duty and Halo 4 on Xbox. I have every 3D movie available since Netflix does not have 3D.

Yeah I still love 3D in much the same way that I still love Surround Sound. You get used to having something and the initial excitement may wear off but if you buy into something because you genuinely appreciate the technology and what it does to enhance the movie experience its highly unlikely you will ever get fed up with it.

Sorry for the copy and paste, but wanted to get something that could explain it a little better than I could. The update came out late last year.

From MissingRemote:
Before the Cinema 3D technology worked like this: During a time period of 1/200 seconds the TV showed 2 frames; 540 lines for the left eye and 540 lines for the right eye.
The new algorithm shows 4 frames instead of 2 during the 1/200 second time frame. It shows 1080i for the left eye and 1080i for the right eye.

When these are combined the two pictures create a 1080p picture according to LG. LG believes that this update improves picture quality on their Cinema 3D TVs to compete directly with the active 3D TVs such as 3D plasma TVs.




I have a LW5600 model and before this update, I could see the lines in the TV. Afterwards di dnot see them.

Very good questions from the OP

- Passive LG 65LW6500 here, no regrets. Got it in Feb 2012.

- Yes, the 3D option has been worthwhile. But only for 3D Blu-Rays.

- No, we don't use it as much as I anticipated. I thought 2D -> 3D on-the-fly conversion would be nice, but haven't used it since the first week or two. It's interesting, but just not good enough.

- Would we miss it? Yes. For 3D, we view 3D BDs and half-res SbS and TB captures, exclusively. Though I could give up the half-res 3D without much regret.

-We seem to be falling into a routine at our house. My wife and I will watch a 3D Blu-Ray once a week on "movie nights" (we're way past "date nights").

- I see 3D as more of a niche. I don't want to use it for casual TV viewing.

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As to the firmware update mentioned, I'm pretty sure it was before Feb 2012, but not by much. LG's claims were being fiercely disputed at the time I was doing my research for our new TV. I got ours from a third-party Amazon associate, "used, as new", for a few hundred bucks off the going rate. It had the latest firmware when it arrived, so whoever returned the set probably applied an update. There have been several updates since, and I've kept up. Not one of them has given any detectable visual improvement. To me anyway.

I guess I'm just not sensitive to the horizontal lines some folks talk about, though I won't deny there must be some who are. My vision is 20/15 left, 20/20 right, though presbyopia (difficulty focusing on very close objects) is creeping up. I can't see them at 8' when watching a 3D BD, and have to get a few feet closer before I start to see them.

Now half-res SbS and TB is a different story. I can easily see jaggies and stair-stepping on sharp horizontal or near horizontal lines. Also moire on some patterns like a checkered shirt. A shimmery effect. But again, at my viewing distance and with 3D Blu-Rays, none of that has been an issue.

When I first got the set, I purchased a few 3D Blu-Rays just because reviews said the 3D was well-done. I may tread on some toes here, but Transformers 3 is not something I think I'll ever watch again. So now I only buy those movies I think we'll actually like.

- I got a Samsung 63" active in July, 2010; when it came time to buy a new TV for my bedroom I decided to get an LG 55" passive this past March. I still own both sets and I've not regretted either purchase at all.

- I still love 3D (always have since I was a kid) and tend to focus on 3D BluRay movies and 3D videogames. I watch a lot of 3D and am far more inclined to give a movie or game a chance if it supports 3D; conversely, I find I've been purchasing less and less 2D content.

- I would miss 3D a lot if the manufacturers and studios decided to abandon it.

- In terms of active or passive, either technology is viable these days but if forced to choose I'd probably go passive because it is far more low maintenance (no need to worry about batteries, charging, synching with TV, replacement glasses are cheap and easy to find, especially if the TV is compatible with RealD) and to my eyes the current crop of passive TVs look every bit as good as their active counterparts.

The only movies we buy are Blu-ray 3D and we have amassed a fair collection. Watch them on a Sharp 70 (735) full array calibrated with ChromaPure. The picture is fantastic and every sceptic who's viewed the pic has become a 3D convert. It's cheaper than going to the local cinema (whole family) and the sound and picture are better. Wish I had a bigger screen, though. Perhaps a 90 Sharp in the future. Yes, I would miss 3D!

I have been a fan of 3D ever since I heard of it. Well before it became so affordable for consumers. I would dream of the day I could watch those IMAX 3D presentations I saw when I was a kid, in the comfort of my own home.

I first had a DLP I had to go through so many hoops just to get 3D. Once I got it working I was so happy, but that was short lived as I simply had to get a newer 3D tv. I bought an active plasma last year and I was blown away by the full HD 3D. It was even better than my DLP I thought to myself. Even better than the theater. Just recently I picked up a passive LED and I am even more impressed yet again. It blows away active by light years. The first movies I tested it with was Avatar and Avengers and I was amazed at how much depth there was an how natural and unstraining the 3D seemed.

The initial "fascination stage" will never go away. I once spent $120 for a set of 3D movies that had to have wires hookup to to your glasses from a box. So being able to put on cheap plastic glasses with no need to charge or replace batteries, and to be bombarded with Ironman right in front of my face while he flies the skies with debree going seeminly a mile into the background. Is amazing to me. I've been collecting 3D movies since the first one hit during the "3d reboot" year with the release of Cloudy with a chance. I probably have the slip cover on some that you can't get any more. Tuesday I am buying Finding Nemo 3D, Up, and Transformers Dark of the Moon and I can't wait to watch nemo on my impressive little 900 dollar 55" passive magic wonder box.

I got my optoma hd33 pj about 8 months ago. my screen is 108". The novelty has not worn off. AS a matter of fact, I have 22 3d movies now and more on my christmas list.

I have a Vizio E3D320VX 32" 3D TV and i use 3D everyday including watching movies and gaming

Probably because it's posted in the 3D forums. Those that don't like 3D or stopped using it probably don't bother to drop in here that often if at all. I lurk here a lot and if I see really positive reviews of a title I'll get the 3D version. Of 106 BD titles I own, only 15 are 3D and am looking forward to more. So, I'm not tired of it yet.

There have been I think two similar threads in the 3D forums that drew the "it's a gimmick" crowd, but only after the thread was featured on the AVS front page. I'd also say I think few of them have "had 3D for a while," as they mostly seem to try to avoid it, and if they had it, they'd probably like it. There's definitely self selection bias here, as most people who visit the 3D forums do so because they're interested in 3D are using it.

Still an interesting thread though, to hear what content people are generally consuming.