Can Movie Theater 3D Glasses be Used for Home Theater?

Thanks to the breathtaking special effects of James Cameron’s blockbuster, Avatar: The Way of the Water, the 3D format is making a comeback with cinemagoers once again sporting 3D glasses.

If you’ve got a 3D-capable projector or 3D TV, you might wonder whether you can use the same 3D glasses at home.

Can Movie Theater 3D Glasses be Used for Home Theater?

Most movie theaters use passive polarized 3D glasses which can be used for home theater only if your projector or 3D TV uses passive 3D technology. If your 3D-ready projector or 3D TV uses active 3D, the passive 3D glasses will not work.

Also read: Will an Amazon Fire TV stick work with a Projector?

How to know if your projector or TV supports active or passive 3D glasses?

There are several ways to find out what type of glasses your 3D TV or projector will support:

Check the 3D Glasses: The easiest thing to do is to check the glasses that came with the projector or TV. If they are slightly heavy and have batteries, then they are probably active 3D. Lightweight 3D glasses are more likely to come with a passive 3D system.
Check the User Manual: You can also check the user manual or the product specifications that came with your gear when you bought it.
Check the Manufacturer’s Website: If you don’t have the manual with you, go to the manufacturer’s website and check the model number to get the specifications. You might come across terms like Passive 3D, polarized or circular polarized, Cinema 3D, etc if your 3D TV or projector supports passive 3D glasses.
Check Your projector/TV: An active projector or TV will come with a built-in or external infrared emitter that sends a signal to the glasses. Look for a port or setting labeled emitter or sync.

Why are most 3D movie theater glasses passive?

The main reason that most 3D movie theater glasses are passive comes down to cost.

Passive polarized glasses tend to be much cheaper than active shutter glasses because they don’t need to be powered by a battery.

Comfort is another factor. Passive polarized glasses are lightweight and easy to use. The viewer isn’t disturbed by issues such as flickering and cross-talk, which are present in active shutter glasses.

What’s the difference between active and passive 3D glasses?

Below is a table that compares the features of active 3D glasses and passive 3D glasses.

Feature	Active 3D Glasses	Passive 3D Glasses
How they work	Synchronize with display, rapidly alternating each eye’s view	Polarized lenses filter separate images for each eye
Display technology	Shutter technology	Polarized technology
Battery	Required (rechargeable or replaceable)	Not required
Weight	Heavier (due to battery and electronics)	Lighter
Price	More expensive	Less expensive
Compatibility	Specific to the manufacturer or display model	Compatible with most passive 3D displays and theaters
Glasses sync method	Infrared (IR) or Radio Frequency (RF) signals	No sync required
Image quality	Full resolution for each eye (1080p or higher)	Half resolution for each eye (540p)
Ghosting/Crosstalk	Less ghosting or crosstalk	More prone to ghosting or crosstalk
Viewing angle	Limited (due to sync technology)	Wider viewing angle
Comfort for extended use	Can be less comfortable (due to weight)	More comfortable
Usable with prescription glasses	Generally more difficult to wear over prescription glasses	Easier to wear over prescription glasses
Maintenance	Requires battery charging or replacement	Virtually maintenance-free

How passive polarized 3D glasses work

Passive polarized 3D glasses have different polarizations on each lens, the lens only lets light pass when it is similarly polarized.

For example, for the right eye, the right lens is polarized for even lines while for the left eye, the left lens is polarized for odd lines of pixels.

The passive 3D TV or projector, meanwhile, projects two superimposed images at the same time, alternating between lines of pixels reserved for each of the eyes.

Each eye sees a slightly different image and the brain does the rest of the work by combining these two images from our left and right eyes to interpret them as a single image with depth.

How active shutter 3D glasses work

Active shutter 3D glasses, on the other hand, alternate between displaying two complete pictures for each eye. They rapidly darken one side at a time in sync with the TV or projector according to its on-screen display rate. This synching is done with the help of a signal from an IR emitter, which indicates the correct eye for each frame.

So when a frame on your TV or 3D projector meant for the right eye is displayed, the right lens displays the image while the left lens becomes dark. The same happens vice versa- when the frame meant for the left eye is displayed, the left lens displays the image while the right lens becomes dark.

Therefore with active glasses, each eye will get to see the full frame, unlike with passive 3D glasses which show only half a polarized frame to each eye.

You can check out this YouTube video to get a visual idea of how this process works.

Which 3D glasses are better- active or passive?

Advantages of Active 3D Glasses

Since active glasses are made of active LCD shutter lenses, they do not alter the resolution of the content.
The quality of the image will be much clearer, with a full 1080 p resolution for each eye. You can see greater detail and get a better sense of depth. The result is a higher level of immersion.

Disadvantages of Active 3D Glasses

Active shutter 3D glasses tend to be a bit bulky since they contain batteries to power the shutters.
Also, the rapid opening and closing of shutters makes these glasses prone to the flickering effect, which can give some viewers a headache.
Another drawback is that they are susceptible to 3D crosstalk- a phenomenon where the edges of objects in an image go blurry.
They’re also more expensive than passive 3D glasses.

Advantages of Passive 3D Glasses

Passive 3D glasses are much more comfortable. They look and feel like regular sunglasses. They’re lightweight and not prone to flickering.
They’re pretty cheap as well, so you can easily buy multiple pieces when your guests come over.

Disadvantages of Active 3D Glasses

The downside to them is that the quality of the image is reduced to half the resolution shared by each eye. But to most, it does not make a perceptible difference.

Which of the two glasses is better?

Well, that really comes down to your personal preferences. It’s a trade-off: picture quality versus comfort.

But if you have already purchased your 3D gear, the best 3D glasses for you are the ones that are compatible with your 3D TV projector or TV.

Will passive 3D glasses work with an active 3D projector/TV?

If your 3D TV or projector is active, it will only support active 3D glasses. To use passive 3D glasses with an active projector you would have to buy an additional polarizing module to make them compatible. You are better off buying Active 3D glasses instead.

Can I use any brand of active 3D glasses with my Active 3D projector/TV?

Unfortunately, most of the time you will need to buy the same brand as your 3D projector/ TV.

This is because each set of active 3D glasses is calibrated to a particular frequency so that it can work in sync with your TV/projector. Not all brands will work the same way and what works for one may not work for another. For example, your Sony active 3D will not work with Samsung.

Some active shutter 3D glasses are advertised as being universal. However, you need to cross-verify which brands are listed as compatible.

Most 3D projectors are active 3D. The ones that support passive 3D usually also require special silver screens and often use dual projector systems. Passive polarized glasses tend to be more universal than active 3D glasses.

The bottom line

The type of 3D projector or 3D TV you have will determine the type of glasses you can use. Movie theater glasses will only work if your gear supports passive 3D technology. For an active 3D setup, it’s best to spend the extra money on 3D active glasses of the same brand as your 3D projector or TV.