3D horror movies have recently seen a resurgence in the movie theater. Due to new 3D theater technologies, several 3D version of movies have hit the theaters and we are seeing more pre-packaged DVD and Blu-Ray movies that are labeled 3D. But is the technology the same at home as we are seeing at our local cineplex?...

Follow up:

So with Final Destination 3D announced to hit the shelves January 5th, 2010 today it got us thinking. With the tv's today surely we can get the same experience if not a better one than at the theater. I mean after all gorgeous Blu-Ray technology combined with a crisp Mitsubishi LCD- Diamond 52 incher or any other crystal clear display. It has to be as good if not better right? Wrong according to tech-savvy.com.

3D Technoloy History Lesson:
3D movies have been around in theaters since the early 1950s when they were very popular. Many of these movies used a stereoscopic anaglyph image, which requires two cameras separated by a few feet to run simultaneously. Colors are added to each image and then they are superimposed. To view the 3D effects with anaglyphic images, you must wear special glasses with different colored lenses. The left lens separates the part of the images filmed by the left camera and the right separates out the images filmed by the right camera. Your eyes combine the images, which creates a depth of field and the 3D effect.

Newer movie theater technologies use dual projectors and polarized images that you view using glasses with polarized lenses. Each polarized image can only be seen properly through the corresponding polarized lens. This avoids the color overlays used in anaglyphic image technology and the colors are therefore more realistic and accurate. Linearly polarized 3D movies have been around since the 1930s when the technology first emerged.

Disney and a company called Real D have pioneered the use of circular polarized 3D projection technology that has greatly improved the 3D viewing experience. Circular polarization alternately displays left-eye and right-eye images, which are filtered through special polarized glasses.

Why Our Home Theaters Just Can't Cut It:
Polarized technologies require expensive dual digital projectors that are not practical for home use. You cannot simply display polarized images on an HDTV. That means that the 3D movies available for home theater use do not use the same imaging technology and you cannot use the gray polarized glasses that you might have kept after viewing one of the current 3D flicks at the theater. Sorry, no can do.

All of the most current 3D movies on DVD and Blu-ray use anaglyph technology, which requires that you wear glasses with orthogonal polarizing filterd lenses. When you buy a 3D movie, you generally get a couple sets of framed polarized glasses.

There have been improvements made to anaglyph technology and the screen colors are generally very accurate. The 3D effects are not as dramatic as with the Real D polarized technology, but it is still pretty good. If you have a choice, buy the Blu-ray version of a 3D movie. The extra sharpness offered by Blu-ray improves the quality of the 3D effect. A lot of people are disappointed with the 3D effects when using a non-HD TV and a standard DVD format. If the image is not sharp enough, it is difficult to see the full 3D effect.