3D FOR ALL!

[spoRv]

I have not a 3D TV, nor I'm so much interested in 3D films, but... you know, I'm curious, so I explored the possibility of watching a 3D source, in 3D, using a 2D display.

The only way I found is anaglyph - the usual red-cyan (or green-magenta, or blue-yellow) glasses, and proper material. I tested it some weeks ago, and the experience was not that good - all colors were way off... then I realize I was watching red-cyan material, using green-magenta glasses! So, I repeated the tests using the proper glasses, and results, albeit far from perfect - were interesting... some colors are still off, but not as using the wrong source-glasses pairing; and the 3D effect is very good!

Then, during these tests, I put out my LD copy of "3D rollercoaster", to try the included glasses, and you know what? They were NOT colored! Instead, just a transparent on one eye, and dark on the other... so, I searched on the net, and found that they used the Pulfrich "effect": https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pulfrich_effect

Well, long story short, this is a technique to see in 3D any source, with any 2D display! Of course, the effect doesn't work everytime, but, when it works, it's really nice! If you have this kind of glasses (or just sunglasses with one lens only), try it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tN_TPTIrYs (in particular from 17:40). EDIT: great test here http://www.michaelbach.de/ot/lum-Pulfrich/index.html

Pros:
works with every 2D source - no conversion needed
works with every 2D display - no special display needed
works with just proper glasses
same source could be seen with or without glasses at the same time
all colors are retained
no collateral effects

Cons:
static images are always 2D
tilts (up-down pans) are always 2D
lower brightness - just raise brightness/backlight or use "vivid" or "dynamic" mode

So, this is a cheap solution that works only on few scenes but, apart this, and lower brightness (a problem that could be easily solved) I can say that it's worth to watch a film (any film, better if full of action of course) with a pair of Pulfrich glasses on, at least to experience (limited) 3D, with any 2D source and display, without any collateral effects!

Please, post your thoughts and eventual experience of how much of 3D effect you have seen with a given title!

[Koopa Luath]

For anaglyph 3D, I find yellow-blue anaglyph to produce the best results out of any color pairing I've seen thus far for full-color 3D.

[spoRv]

For anaglyph 3D, I find yellow-blue anaglyph to produce the best results out of any color pairing I've seen thus far for full-color 3D.

Thanks for the input. These are the only glasses I have not... plus, *it seems* that vast majority of anaglyph source use red-cyan encoding.

Back to Pulfrich effect: I tried it with several clips on youtube, and the best ones (from a Spanish-language group IIRC) are very good indeed!

Then I tested it with two movies:

• The Hateful Eight - it is really static, so I noted it in very limited occasions - maybe half dozen during the whole movie
  
• The Legend of Tarzan - there are A LOT of pans, and almost all works very, very well; in few occasions the borders seems to have some ghosting - don't know if it's an effect "fault", or my 240Hz display (120Hz + backlight scanning)
  

but all in all, considering that this system could be applied to ANY 2D source AND display, and it retains all the colors, I think it's a very good compromise.

Final notes:

• to be accustomed to the effect, it will take a minute, maybe to - at the beginning, you will objectively feel that an eye receives less light than the other; after that, you would not note it anymore... I think that the time initial credits are finished, your eyes are ready.
  
• at the end of the movie, after you have put the glasses off, you will notice that the opposite eye (the one behind the clear lens) would see lower brightness... hint: keep your eyes closed for few seconds - the more, the better.
  
• on youtube, there are warnings to not keep glasses on for more than 15 minutes... I watched two movies - on two days - but for the first I made several pauses; for the second, straight on for about 110 minutes, no nausea, no headache, just the little problems noted before; said so, I think it's better that, when watching a long film (2+ hours), or more than one, to take a brief pause (few minutes).
  

Now, if someone with good 3D watching experience (theater, HDTV possibly using both passive and active glasses, anaglyph) would chime in, and eventually try this method, it would be great!

[Koopa Luath]

For anaglyph 3D, I find yellow-blue anaglyph to produce the best results out of any color pairing I've seen thus far for full-color 3D.

Thanks for the input. These are the only glasses I have not... plus, *it seems* that vast majority of anaglyph source use red-cyan encoding.

Back to Pulfrich effect: I tried it with several clips on youtube, and the best ones (from a Spanish-language group IIRC) are very good indeed!

Then I tested it with two movies:

• The Hateful Eight - it is really static, so I noted it in very limited occasions - maybe half dozen during the whole movie
  
• The Legend of Tarzan - there are A LOT of pans, and almost all works very, very well; in few occasions the borders seems to have some ghosting - don't know if it's an effect "fault", or my 240Hz display (120Hz + backlight scanning)
  

but all in all, considering that this system could be applied to ANY 2D source AND display, and it retains all the colors, I think it's a very good compromise.

Final notes:

• to be accustomed to the effect, it will take a minute, maybe to - at the beginning, you will objectively feel that an eye receives less light than the other; after that, you would not note it anymore... I think that the time initial credits are finished, your eyes are ready.
  
• at the end of the movie, after you have put the glasses off, you will notice that the opposite eye (the one behind the clear lens) would see lower brightness... hint: keep your eyes closed for few seconds - the more, the better.
  
• on youtube, there are warnings to not keep glasses on for more than 15 minutes... I watched two movies - on two days - but for the first I made several pauses; for the second, straight on for about 110 minutes, no nausea, no headache, just the little problems noted before; said so, I think it's better that, when watching a long film (2+ hours), or more than one, to take a brief pause (few minutes).
  

Now, if someone with good 3D watching experience (theater, HDTV possibly using both passive and active glasses, anaglyph) would chime in, and eventually try this method, it would be great!

I'm going to try to produce a test using the yellow-blue anaglyph format, and PM it over to you (I don't have Pulfrich glasses myself).

[spoRv]

I'm going to try to produce a test using the yellow-blue anaglyph format, and PM it over to you (I don't have Pulfrich glasses myself).

The same for me... not having the yellow-blue glasses, it could not be useful to me...

But you can test the Pulfrich effect with any sunglasses: just put out a lens! I followed the direction found in the "3D Rollercoaster" laserdisc, and used the dark lens over the right eye, but *I think* it should be the same using the other eye. I encourage anyone to make a test - if not for a whole movie, at least watching some videos on youtube.

New test (this time with my daughter):

• Point Break (2015) - a bit less pans than Tarzan, but some of them were really beautiful - the ones on the mountains... we thought to be almost there!
  

This time no problems at all, for both, at the end of the movie... probably because I watched the last one in a dark room, while the previous one with some light from outside.

I was "inside" in few seconds, while my daughter took few moments more... maybe my brain starts to be used to it, and "recognizes" it faster...

[spoRv]

Latest news: actually, you can see 3D with just one eye!?!

How is it possible? There are some explanations, but just try for yourself - it would take up to 10/20s to get the 3D "pops" out, so just close one eye - try to leave the dominant eye open, of course - wait about 20s, and then watch this (fullscreen): https://youtu.be/dvaosZlQqrY - you would be amazed!