The Only 3D Blu Ray I Really Want to Watch
November 24, 2019 1:04 PM Subscribe
My favorite film of the last decade is Bi Gan's "Long Day's Journey Into Night", and it's about to release on 3D Blu Ray. Part of the film is mandatorily in 3D. Being completely uninterested in 3D format, I've invested in a nice OLED that doesn't do 3D...but, alas, I really want to be able to watch this film a couple times per year.
Options (none great):
1. Find some way to be alerted to nearby screenings whenever they pop up (Fandango alerts aren't great).
2. Buy a used 3D TV (prefer 44"+) just for this. $500 seems lower-limit.
3. Buy a new 3d gaming monitor for $350 (they seem to max out at 34"). Maybe get a Black Friday deal.
4. Sell my nice OLED and buy a less nice 3-D system
5. Hmm. Just found this. Do I want a $93 3D LED projector???
Any other ideas? Or tweaks to these ideas?
Options (none great):
1. Find some way to be alerted to nearby screenings whenever they pop up (Fandango alerts aren't great).
2. Buy a used 3D TV (prefer 44"+) just for this. $500 seems lower-limit.
3. Buy a new 3d gaming monitor for $350 (they seem to max out at 34"). Maybe get a Black Friday deal.
4. Sell my nice OLED and buy a less nice 3-D system
5. Hmm. Just found this. Do I want a $93 3D LED projector???
Any other ideas? Or tweaks to these ideas?
Best answer: The new Kino Blu-Ray comes with two separate discs that each contain the full movie, one disc entirely in 2D, the other disc compatible with Blu-ray 3D systems. So, if you pick up the Blu-ray, you'll still be able to watch the 2D disc without a 3D system, while also having the 3D disc at hand in case you get something that supports 3D down the road.
3D playback quality varies wildly between devices, from amazing to unwatchable. If you do go the 3D route, I would strongly recommend getting a 4K display that uses "passive" 3D technology if you really want to enjoy the experience of this particular film.
Most TVs and all home projectors use "active" 3D, meaning that they use electronic, battery-powered 3D glasses that contain LCD panels that sync up with the TV or projector to flicker, blocking the image back and forth between each eye. While this creates a legitimate 3D effect, it's also generally a pain to use - loading fresh batteries into the glasses and pairing the glasses when the 3D turns on. The flickering lenses can cause trouble or headaches in all but the darkest rooms.
Given that LONG DAY'S JOURNEY transitions into 3D mid-film, I would be inclined to believe that "active" 3D might be especially annoying, as you may have to pause the movie to pair the 3D glasses during that transition.
Also, note that the cheap projector you linked to is only 480p (DVD!) resolution with "active" 3D, and likely does not come with the 3D emitter or glasses, which can be expensive or difficult to obtain. It's just not going to be a good experience.
"Passive" 3D, on the other hand, uses the same 3D glasses you'd get at a Real-D showing of a 3D film in the theater - you just put on the glasses and that's it. While older 2K "passive" 3D TVs could only show a 3D film at half-resolution, the newer 4K passive 3D TVs can play back a 3D Blu-ray at full 1080p resolution. That said, you'd have to get a 4K "passive" 3D display used, as nobody makes them any more.
Note that many of the 2016 LG 4K OLEDs (the C6, E6 and G6 models) do support passive 3D at full resolution, and are considered some of the best TVs for 3D viewing. LG's panels haven't changed that much since 2016, so the 2016 OLEDs still offer great performance on non-3D titles. Perhaps someone who doesn't have a need for 3D might trade their 2016 for your 2019? (Unfortunately, since the 2016s are still desirable, they tend to still go for quite a bit used.)
posted by eschatfische at 2:33 PM on November 24, 2019
3D playback quality varies wildly between devices, from amazing to unwatchable. If you do go the 3D route, I would strongly recommend getting a 4K display that uses "passive" 3D technology if you really want to enjoy the experience of this particular film.
Most TVs and all home projectors use "active" 3D, meaning that they use electronic, battery-powered 3D glasses that contain LCD panels that sync up with the TV or projector to flicker, blocking the image back and forth between each eye. While this creates a legitimate 3D effect, it's also generally a pain to use - loading fresh batteries into the glasses and pairing the glasses when the 3D turns on. The flickering lenses can cause trouble or headaches in all but the darkest rooms.
Given that LONG DAY'S JOURNEY transitions into 3D mid-film, I would be inclined to believe that "active" 3D might be especially annoying, as you may have to pause the movie to pair the 3D glasses during that transition.
Also, note that the cheap projector you linked to is only 480p (DVD!) resolution with "active" 3D, and likely does not come with the 3D emitter or glasses, which can be expensive or difficult to obtain. It's just not going to be a good experience.
"Passive" 3D, on the other hand, uses the same 3D glasses you'd get at a Real-D showing of a 3D film in the theater - you just put on the glasses and that's it. While older 2K "passive" 3D TVs could only show a 3D film at half-resolution, the newer 4K passive 3D TVs can play back a 3D Blu-ray at full 1080p resolution. That said, you'd have to get a 4K "passive" 3D display used, as nobody makes them any more.
Note that many of the 2016 LG 4K OLEDs (the C6, E6 and G6 models) do support passive 3D at full resolution, and are considered some of the best TVs for 3D viewing. LG's panels haven't changed that much since 2016, so the 2016 OLEDs still offer great performance on non-3D titles. Perhaps someone who doesn't have a need for 3D might trade their 2016 for your 2019? (Unfortunately, since the 2016s are still desirable, they tend to still go for quite a bit used.)
posted by eschatfische at 2:33 PM on November 24, 2019
Best answer: I've really enjoyed watching 3d movies in a VR headset. The effect is often more pronounced and you don't lose brightness like when wearing glasses. You can have the screen "size" as large as you want. If you only want one for watching and not other gaming I think some of the windows mixed reality ones could do the trick for less than the cost of a tv.
posted by Wulfhere at 2:37 PM on November 24, 2019
posted by Wulfhere at 2:37 PM on November 24, 2019
Response by poster: eschatfische, thanks for the in-depth answer. Yes, only part of film is 3D, but, as I said, it's mandatory. And in this unique case, pausing the film to don the glasses is no problem at all. It's a clean transition, anyway (the 3D part is a film-within-a-film, and you're signaled when to put on glasses). Swap idea sounds smart, thanks.
Wulfhere - hadn't even considered that, thanks!! I wonder if I should wait for Apple VR/AR. At very least, can wait a year or two, so the tech is available cheaper on eBay.
posted by Quisp Lover at 2:45 PM on November 24, 2019
Wulfhere - hadn't even considered that, thanks!! I wonder if I should wait for Apple VR/AR. At very least, can wait a year or two, so the tech is available cheaper on eBay.
posted by Quisp Lover at 2:45 PM on November 24, 2019
Response by poster: Good news is Samsung HMD Odyssey+ Windows Mixed Reality Headset just plunged down to $229 on Amazon, and one reviewer says he's loving watching 3D Blu-Rays on it.
Bad News is I think I'd run into troubles without a Windows computer (I'm a Mac guy).
But I think headset - either now or in future - is going to be my solution on this.
posted by Quisp Lover at 4:15 PM on November 24, 2019
Bad News is I think I'd run into troubles without a Windows computer (I'm a Mac guy).
But I think headset - either now or in future - is going to be my solution on this.
posted by Quisp Lover at 4:15 PM on November 24, 2019
Try this link for that headset. Got a 404 on Quisp Lover's link.
posted by zenon at 7:55 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
posted by zenon at 7:55 AM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The Playstation 4 can play movies in 3D with the VR headset (which contains a 1080p OLED display).
posted by whisk(e)y neat at 10:31 AM on November 25, 2019
posted by whisk(e)y neat at 10:31 AM on November 25, 2019
Response by poster: Yup, much research later, all roads lead to Playstation 4 with VR headset. Many reports of people loving 3D Blu Ray in that setup. With anything else, I'd need to rip, use third party hacks, and risk varying results (e.g. the dreaded "screen door effect").
Unless there are crazy Black Friday deals (so far, best I've found is PS4 Slim 1Tb $200 and VR bundle w/Trover and 5 Night Freddy for $200) I'll either buy second-hand next year after PS5 comes out (hopefully PS4 prices will crater), or, if PSVR2 has much better resolution, wait still another year for that price to come down. Fortunately I'm in this long-run...
posted by Quisp Lover at 10:38 AM on November 25, 2019
Unless there are crazy Black Friday deals (so far, best I've found is PS4 Slim 1Tb $200 and VR bundle w/Trover and 5 Night Freddy for $200) I'll either buy second-hand next year after PS5 comes out (hopefully PS4 prices will crater), or, if PSVR2 has much better resolution, wait still another year for that price to come down. Fortunately I'm in this long-run...
posted by Quisp Lover at 10:38 AM on November 25, 2019
Best answer: I love my ps4 and psvr, although that may be overkill if you only intend to use it for watching a 3D blu-ray. A lot of what you’re paying for in that rig is the positional tracking and gyro and stuff that make actual VR possible as well as the whole rendering pipeline; eg in a psvr game when you turn your head you’ll actually be looking in another direction in-game, which is (naturally) not how prerecorded 3D movies work with their baked-in camera angle.
If you have a blu-ray player already, you could get similar or better results more cheaply with a regular “HMD” that’s a simple screen-for-each-eye kind of thing, without hundreds of dollars of polygon-rendering and head-tracking hardware you’re not using. I don’t have a firm recommendation for an individual unit but I think it’s worth comparison shopping those instead of a VR-focused setup. Just make sure you get one with actual displays and an HDMI input, and not just a head-mounted caddy for your smartphone, which are sometimes lumped together in the same category.
BTW as one of the seemingly-few 3d tv owners who actually likes using it for 3d content, a side note; if you go the 3d TV route instead, I really don’t think you’d have to pause and pair the glasses and/or switch TV modes partway through. Just wear the glasses and treat the whole movie as if it’s 3d, and the 3d disc will just send an effectively 2d picture (E.g. same angle for both eyes) until the moment it adds the 3d effect (E.g. stereoscopic, slightly different for each eye). As far as the disc and hardware are concerned there’s no difference between the two, it’s sending an agnostic stream of frames to each eye and it doesn’t “care“ if the effect adds visual depth or not from one moment to the next.
posted by churl at 12:45 PM on November 25, 2019
If you have a blu-ray player already, you could get similar or better results more cheaply with a regular “HMD” that’s a simple screen-for-each-eye kind of thing, without hundreds of dollars of polygon-rendering and head-tracking hardware you’re not using. I don’t have a firm recommendation for an individual unit but I think it’s worth comparison shopping those instead of a VR-focused setup. Just make sure you get one with actual displays and an HDMI input, and not just a head-mounted caddy for your smartphone, which are sometimes lumped together in the same category.
BTW as one of the seemingly-few 3d tv owners who actually likes using it for 3d content, a side note; if you go the 3d TV route instead, I really don’t think you’d have to pause and pair the glasses and/or switch TV modes partway through. Just wear the glasses and treat the whole movie as if it’s 3d, and the 3d disc will just send an effectively 2d picture (E.g. same angle for both eyes) until the moment it adds the 3d effect (E.g. stereoscopic, slightly different for each eye). As far as the disc and hardware are concerned there’s no difference between the two, it’s sending an agnostic stream of frames to each eye and it doesn’t “care“ if the effect adds visual depth or not from one moment to the next.
posted by churl at 12:45 PM on November 25, 2019
Response by poster: Churl, thanks. I’m a Rick and Morty fan, so at very least I’d play Trover. Problem with HMD is I’m a Mac user, which severely limits options. My choice seems to be overkill or underkill and PSVR would at least assure me of quality.
Also, Agnostic Stream was my Jethro Tull cover band in high school!
posted by Quisp Lover at 7:57 PM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
Also, Agnostic Stream was my Jethro Tull cover band in high school!
posted by Quisp Lover at 7:57 PM on November 25, 2019 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Quisp Lover at 1:06 PM on November 24, 2019