With LG Cinema 3D you can choose between both passive and active 3D viewing.

As the only manufacturer to offer both options to the market, they have built up significant research to clarify which form of 3D viewing is most preferable to its consumers.

Following a year’s experience of retailing their 3D technology, followed by an additional survey, it has been found that 88% of consumers prefer the passive 3D experience to that of the active.

LG Cinema 3D

Cinema 3D is so called because it is considered the closest you will get to the 3D viewing quality and experience you get in the cinema, yet within your own home.

LG’s range of Cinema 3D TVs are designed with LG’s exclusive FPR (Film-type Patterned Retarder panel).

The FPR panel optimises the separation of images into an image for the left eye and another for the right. These two images are ‘filtered’ through the Cinema 3D glasses to create a high quality 3D viewing experience.

Active 3D

Active 3D is viewing via active-shutter glasses. These glassesare – in short – small LCD screens that alternate between each lens, dimming the left and right in succession.

Relying on an infrared signal emitter coming from the 3D TV, it is instructed as to when to dim each lens from the TV.

Due to the complicated technology involved with active-shutter glasses, their price tag duly reflects this. Typically priced at around $150, and working only with 3D TVs made by the same manufacturer – they limit their usage capabilities significantly as well as rely on batteries.

As a result, the batteries make them rather heavy, meaning watching a two-hour movie can become somewhat uncomfortable.

Passive 3D

Passive 3D glasses are specially designed polarised glasses.

Polarised 3D glasses block dissimilar kinds of light from each eye, creating the illusion of depth. As a result, such intricate technology – as seen in ‘active-shutter glasses’ above, is not required to create the 3D effect.

Reducing the level of technology, directly limits cost making them a much cheaper option.

However, as each lens is ultimately blocking out light, you’re not getting to experience the full 1080p image for each eye – however, your brain should be identifying a 1080p image when it puts the two images together.

About the Author: Barry Knightly is a writer and fan of LG cinema 3D.