3D TV in 2021

Jeemy2021

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I had one of the very best Panasonic 3D TVs back in the day. Most people hated it, but I loved 3D. I got 4 pairs of the really nice glasses, and then one day, there was a small pop and a circuit board went somewhere.

In hope of better times ahead, with little money or time, I wrapped the TV in padded film, put it in the loft and moved on.

Cue 2021 and I'm rebuilding my living room in my new house, putting in 7.1.4, Denon 6700, zoning out the house, and when I was pulling out old cable, I found the box I packed the glasses away in.

The thing is, I'll be putting the PS3 back into the setup. I've got pretty much every decent 3D game and 3D Blu-ray that they ever made.

I've not got a PS5 yet (won't be using a PC in this room) but I'm making sure I'm set up for 8k, 4k/120Hz, VRR, all of that kind of stuff.

I have had a look about and it seems like this is a non-started, but if you don't ask - does anybody know of anybody making 3D TVs that will support, say 4K/60Hz?

I found one model - Samsung UE48JS8500T - a curved, 3840x2160 4k TV that might possibly support the glasses.

I'm pretty sure this is a dead duck, but if there's something I don't know, please enlighten me.

I've seen guys hacking the PS3 so that the PSVR (which I do own) will support 3D titles. As a cheap second PS3 is eminently accomplishable (in fact I have a spare one that just needs the heat treatment) I may just go this route as everyone else hates 3D anyway, but I like it and if there is a chance I could have it before 8K really becomes a thing in a year or so, that would be awesome.
 
You're looking at TVs exactly like the model you picked out, although it will be hard to find a TV that has both good 3D and decent HDR. 2016 models are your best bet...but earlier than that and you can forget really about using HDR on the TV.

Probably the best combination of 3D and HDR picture quality would be the Passive 3D 2016 LG C6 OLED. The 2016 Panasonic DX902 is also a good TV, but 3D is poor...sadly a lot of the last gen TVs like the DX902 that used active (shutter glasses) display 3D poorly with lots of crosstalk and poor motion, or a mix of both.

Perhaps consider a projector for 3D movie use and treat the TV purchase separate? That would be a much wiser thing to do since a lot of what you buy into nowadays with TVs is HDR, and by doing that, you can stay future proof. There are still 3D projectors being sold new, today.
 
Thats exactly what I was looking for, I'd never considered a projector. Thank you!
 
I forgot to explain in my last reply but projectors in general seem to be poor at displaying HDR, since much of HDR is being able to get very bright. So a dual solution of a capable HDR TV, and a projector for 3D would suit.

That is unless you have big money to spend on one of the very best projectors.
 
Nono, I'm on it. I'm vaguely considering an 8K TV but as I don't even have the PS5 (which is allowed for in the setup, I've already got the cameras and VR bits so I can wire it all in), I'm kind of leaning towards a 4K TV for now, and an 8K TV down the line when there's enough content available for it.

So a 4K TV that supports HDR10+, VRR, ALLM, 2.1 etc to match the Denon, and then a projector to be mounted with the rear Atmos speakers for when I fancy some 3D (for which I have TONS of media).

There will definitely be a TV, I'm just not going to try and find a 3DTV that has all the other standards, projector is the way.
 
I cannot understand why 3D particularly the passive version fell from favour. The 32" LG TV I am using as a monitor/mancave viewing display is 3D. Problem is I could find very little 3D content to view. Some films on Prime but not much else. What I could view was great. This TV also has a 3D synthesizer that can be applied to standard HD displays, this is mostly overplayed but surprisingly it works well while watching Rugby. Coverage of this sport has much more close shots of Line Outs, Scrums, Rucks and other close play than say Football or other sports.
Whatever 7 years ago I expected this feature to be incorporated in all future TV''s to the extent that when I shortly after bought a Blu Ray player to use with the lounge TV I was sure that it had to be 3D to ensure it would be able to be compatible with a future replacement . As said I assumed all future TV's would be 3D!
 
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I've no idea why it fell from favour. I had a pretty top-range 50" 3D Panasonic and 4 pairs of glasses. One day the TV made a pop noise and stopped working, it was like Christmas Eve so I shoved it in the garage, ran to get a TV from my work for the kids through XMas and always intended to go back and fix it one day - still never have looked at it.

I loved it, had lots of 3d PS3 games and Blu-rays. My brother who used to come over and game all the time hated it, thought it got uncomfortable after a half-hour or so.

Even after reading loads of articles about it I still don't quite get why it fell so hard. It came on the back of HD, so a lot of people had just upgraded their TVs and didn't want to shell out for 3D straight afterwards, sure. Some people found it uncomfortable. But why they didn't persist with it and improve the tech, I just don't know. It seems so easy to include it as a feature, to the extent it seems conspiratorial as to why it just disappeared so completely seemingly overnight.
 
It's really simple why it failed. The market was flooded with really rubbish implementations of 3D in every TV store giving everyone who saw it a really bad experience so by the time LG brought really rock solid passive 3D to their OLED range the public perception of consumer 3D was already destroyed and it was too late to save it.

The market machine then rapidly switched to pushing 4K HDR and what little interest there was for 3D then ceased to be mass market and became niche at which point TV manufacturers including even LG stopped making 3D TV's.

Now that there is no 3DTV and all the crap implementations have gone it could be a good idea to re-issue a 4K OLED with passive 3D again. The technology is perfected and the OLED panels today are much brighter although I never had any issue with brightness of my E6V in 3D mode. I know I would buy a 65" one in a heartbeat to replace my ageing 55 E6V. It would be a really good USP too if LG were to keep it for their own TV's. It's the lack of 3D support that has stopped me spending on a TV upgrade.
 
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It's really simple why it failed. The market was flooded with really rubbish implementations of 3D in every TV store giving everyone who saw it a really bad experience so by the time LG brought really rock solid passive 3D to their OLED range the public perception of consumer 3D was already destroyed and it was too late to save it.
I'm not sure if it's fact but I remember reading somewhere online that people were sending back their LG OLED 2016 models for repair due to the polarized film being misaligned on the 4k panel which caused too much trouble/costs for LG.

I had a Philips LCD TV with Ambilight and passive 3D glasses which was great for 3D movies. The 3D games which I was able to play (Silent Hill Homecoming, Gears of War 3, Assassin's Creed Revelations) weren't that good. The only game which was impressing in 3D was actually James Cameron's Avatar.

After my Philips TV I considered getting a Sony HMZ-T3 headset for 3D movies, but they sold out. For 3D movies you can also use the PlayStation VR headset on a PS4:
 
I've tried PSVR for 3D movies. The resolution loss was awful. LG proved that a 4K display with full uncompromised 1080p per eye for passive 3D is really "the way". Maybe if PSVR2 is native 4K it can be an option with PS5 but I think PS5 currently does not support 3D bluray so a firmware patch would likely be required. The hardware is certainly capable from a raw grunt pov.
 
Another reason why 3D failed was because film makers gradually stopped shooting films in true 3D with appropriate cameras. Once they found techniques to simulate 3D from normal mono stock they took advantage of the cost saving. They took Titanic and transformed it to an apparent 3D film by electronic means. After achieving that there seemed little point in shooting in true 3D again. Generally the results were pretty awful and the public turned away.
 
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I've still got the PS3, although it was mothballed it's getting put back into the new setup. I can't imagine the VR resolution is surmountable in 2021 for watching 3D movies/games. However I'm not sure if Cinema mode is the correct implementation - I read a thread which I've saved somewhere from a guy who was running custom firmware/OS on his PS3 and had got "reasonably" easily full 3D in actual VR.

All of the above points are valid but the terrible implementation and shoddy work/bad QA has happened to most generations of hardware, it wasn't limited to 3D. I think the terrible implementation of poor virtualized 3D as noted above is a good point and may well have put the public off, but again one could argue that videophiles will seek out and purchase the better hardware for each iteration in enough numbers to compensate manufacturers, but if the film studios have burnt their boats cheaping out then if the media dries up at the same time as the tech isn't profitable I guess you get a kind of perfect storm of disinterest.

Dug out my old Panasonic 3D glasses which I'd wisely put in dust bags and they're pristine, so a projector to suit them is well on my radar!
 
The latest BenQ UST projectors are being very favourably reviewed from a 3D point of view right here on AVForums. I've emailed HiSense to ask if they will consider adding 3D support to their forthcoming TriChroma LaserTV range. If they do that and the spec is up to what they are teasing in preview my credit card will probably light up like a torch. :)
 
My TV is a 50 inch 3D Panasonic one. EX750 thing. I was super into the whole 3D thing but something happened where I seemed to get less of an effect from it.

Like at first 3D really popped but now if I watch a 3D film, I barely notice it. A lot of films also just used it for a bit of depth where as what you really want is the in your face popping out stuff.

The same thing happened with PSVR. At first it was incredible but after a while it just felt like being sat in the front row of a giant cinema.

I'm pretty close to bailing on it as I fancy getting something more up to date.
 
My TV is a 50 inch 3D Panasonic one. EX750 thing. I was super into the whole 3D thing but something happened where I seemed to get less of an effect from it.
Its because the 3d on that TV is very poor. They kinda didn't care about it in the last few years. I think there were only some good active shutter 3D tvs around 2010-13. Passive 3D is generally a lot better, and the mixture of 3D + Big Screen is awesome on projectors.
 
I really love my (relative old now) LG 55UH850V. I understand from recent reviews the HDR isn't the best any more but to my untrained eyes it looks lovely. The passive 3D also looks great to me and I have over 200 3D movies alongside the odd few old PS3 games.

I'll shed a little tear the day this TV bites the dust and would be very keen to hear options on how to reinstate the format on a mid-sized budget. A projector sounds a little intrusive, are there options for these that might be more subtly integrated into a conventional living room?
 
A projector sounds a little intrusive, are there options for these that might be more subtly integrated into a conventional living room?
Not really. I think some VR headsets may work with 3D though. You may even be able to use ones that attach to a smartphone.
 
Oh that's a pity. It's more of a family movie night thing for us. My boys love watching them too.
Unfortunately it seems like no TV manufacturer is producing 3D TVs anymore. It is forgotten by the industry and replaced by "Smart TV" and "4K/HDR" - but not the same thing as 3D.

Seems like the best practice is to stick to your 3D TV as long as possible. Personally I miss my old Philips 3D TV with Ambilight, still have many 3D blu-ray movies and have some fond memories playing a few of those 3D games.
 
PS4 with the VR head set is 3d
 
PS4 with the VR head set is 3d
Thanks, but I'm struggling to get this to work with my local media shares. I can always watch the discs but I prefer to use Plex to view my ripped BluRays for convenience and simply cannot get it working. I'm also using my PSVR with the PS5 more than the PS4 now and that offers no 3D at all.

As stated above, I'm gonna miss watching these with the kids when the TV dies.
 
He fury used to do offer an after market addition to add 3D, I am not sure if you can. Get anything similar
 
I'm not sure what the story is with the new SONY X95J series TV's, but I read this in a description of this model TV at a retailer here in Australia.

This Sony TV's 65-inch screen lets you catch every detail from a distance. It features an LED display. Connect to streaming video subscription services with the Sony XR65X95J's smart TV capabilities. It features 3D compatibility, so you can watch 3D films leap out at you without going to the theatre. The Sony television has 4K HD video. Its 3840 x 2160 pixel screen resolution allows you to pick out crisp details in each frame of video. You can watch high-definition images by connecting other devices with the television's four HDMI inputs. It features three USB inputs. Also, this Sony television has surround sound, so you can envelop yourself in multi-dimensional sound. Improve your viewing experience with this Sony TV.

I then went to the SONY website to see the Spec's and to see if in fact this TV is 3D capable, and nothing is mentioned about it.

I have watched a few YouTube reviews of the X95J and nothing has been mentioned about 3D capability, but then few reviewers now days would even look for it anyway, few gave 3D a mention in reviews on TV's that did last have this as a feature, so it is something that could have easily been missed.

I remember Panasonic not mentioning the EX750 in the UK / EX780a here is Australia were 3D capable TV's in the spec list back in 2017.
Which is the reason I'm wondering if that is what might be the case here.

So it's a bit of a mystery ATM, I suppose it could be the description given by the retailer somehow got 3D visual mixed up with SONY's 3D Audio .....but then again.

Something to look out for anyway until this mystery is finally sorted one way or the other.

We 3D fans can always live in hope.
 
I'm not sure what the story is with the new SONY X95J series TV's, but I read this in a description of this model TV at a retailer here in Australia.

This Sony TV's 65-inch screen lets you catch every detail from a distance. It features an LED display. Connect to streaming video subscription services with the Sony XR65X95J's smart TV capabilities. It features 3D compatibility, so you can watch 3D films leap out at you without going to the theatre. The Sony television has 4K HD video. Its 3840 x 2160 pixel screen resolution allows you to pick out crisp details in each frame of video. You can watch high-definition images by connecting other devices with the television's four HDMI inputs. It features three USB inputs. Also, this Sony television has surround sound, so you can envelop yourself in multi-dimensional sound. Improve your viewing experience with this Sony TV.

I then went to the SONY website to see the Spec's and to see if in fact this TV is 3D capable, and nothing is mentioned about it.

I have watched a few YouTube reviews of the X95J and nothing has been mentioned about 3D capability, but then few reviewers now days would even look for it anyway, few gave 3D a mention in reviews on TV's that did last have this as a feature, so it is something that could have easily been missed.

I remember Panasonic not mentioning the EX750 in the UK / EX780a here is Australia were 3D capable TV's in the spec list back in 2017.
Which is the reason I'm wondering if that is what might be the case here.

So it's a bit of a mystery ATM, I suppose it could be the description given by the retailer somehow got 3D visual mixed up with SONY's 3D Audio .....but then again.

Something to look out for anyway until this mystery is finally sorted one way or the other.

We 3D fans can always live in hope.
As much it would be nice it was true I feel this is a mix up with the 3d surround literature surrounding this TV. Don't think it has 3D support.
 
I've still got the PS3, although it was mothballed it's getting put back into the new setup. I can't imagine the VR resolution is surmountable in 2021 for watching 3D movies/games. However I'm not sure if Cinema mode is the correct implementation - I read a thread which I've saved somewhere from a guy who was running custom firmware/OS on his PS3 and had got "reasonably" easily full 3D in actual VR.

All of the above points are valid but the terrible implementation and shoddy work/bad QA has happened to most generations of hardware, it wasn't limited to 3D. I think the terrible implementation of poor virtualized 3D as noted above is a good point and may well have put the public off, but again one could argue that videophiles will seek out and purchase the better hardware for each iteration in enough numbers to compensate manufacturers, but if the film studios have burnt their boats cheaping out then if the media dries up at the same time as the tech isn't profitable I guess you get a kind of perfect storm of disinterest.

Dug out my old Panasonic 3D glasses which I'd wisely put in dust bags and they're pristine, so a projector to suit them is well on my radar!
I decided to get an Epson projector for Watching 3D. It's just needs to be bright, 1080p and work with my Panasonic 3D glasses.

I plumped for the EH-TW5650 which can be got for below £600. Works a treat and works with my old glasses.
 

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