Today, manufacturers of modern home theaters offer consumers passive and active 3D glasses that form a three-dimensional image when connected to a signal source (monitor or TV). How do passive and active technologies of 3D glasses differ from each other?
Technological differences between 3D glasses
First of all, when choosing active and passive 3D glasses, the buyer is guided by their cost - active glasses are much more expensive than passive ones. In addition, these two technologies differ in the resolution of the supplied image - in passive glasses, the detail and clarity noticeably lag behind active glasses. However, the brightness in passive models is more or less natural, however, when switching to 2-D, glasses with active technology give a better image due to the high flicker frequency and the absence of a polarizing filter.
It is the polarizing filters and shutters used in 3D glasses that negatively affect brightness in both cases.
Since 3D glasses with active technology are technically complex devices, their weight is much heavier than that of passive glasses. This greatly affects the comfort of the viewer, who is literally pressed on the bridge of the nose by heavy active glasses. Active 3D glasses also cause increased eye fatigue due to flickering, which is a side effect of this technology. There is another problem with passive glasses - they limit comfort due to the impossibility of changing the angle of inclination of the head, at which the effect of three-dimensionality disappears. In addition, passive technology does not have very wide viewing angles, which also makes it difficult to watch movies comfortably.
Additional differences
Unlike active 3D glasses, which require regular battery changes or recharging, passive glasses do not need anything like that. Active shutter glasses can also produce "ghost" images and crosstalk, while passive technology has a limited distance range, low resolution and sharpness, and limited viewing angles.
Passive 3D glasses often come with lens cover filters, which are a great advantage for wearers.
In 3D glasses with circular rather than linear polarization, the problem of keeping the head in an exclusively vertical position is eliminated - however, such glasses require a special projector and filter. Active glasses, unlike passive ones, are equipped with a power-on LED indicator, which shows the current charge of the battery and allows you to watch the film without premature discharge of the glasses.
