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(More customer reviews)I intended to simply review the Viewsonic 3D DLP Link glasses, but I thought I would also share some things I needed to do to get my system setup to display 3D material.
I have a 2008 model Mitsubishi WD 65735 DLP television. In order to watch 3D programming there are a number of options that one can choose, each one of which requires a different type of setup. The "3D ready" TVs that Mitsubishi sold in 2008 (and a couple of other years) require the 3D signal to be formatted in what is called "checkerboard" format. This is one of three or four different methods in which 3D video might be formatted. I wanted to be able to view 3D video that is provided both by my cable provider (Brighthouse) as well as 3D video that is gradually becoming available on Blu Ray disks. Unfortunately, this required two different approaches to make the 3D source material compatible with the checkerboard format required by my Mitsubishi television.
1. The easy part - 3D video via Blu Ray disks: In order to view Blu Ray disks on my model Mitsubishi DLP television, I needed a 3D capable Blu Ray player that would output a 3D signal in the checkerboard format required my Mitsubishi. Panasonic makes three models of players that specifically support this format (the BDT 350, BDT 300 and the BDT 100 and its private model variations such as the BDT 105 and BDT 107. I chose the BDT 100 because it was the least expensive and still met all my connectivity needs. To set up the components to watch a 3D video, all I needed to do was to connect the player via HDMI, set the Mitsubishi to 3D mode in the setup menu, and set the Panasonic player to output 3D in checkerboard format via its setup menu. If you are using the Viewsonic 3D glasses, you can set the polarity in either the normal or the reverse mode in the television 3D setup menu because these glasses have the ability to switch polarity by simply pressing the power button once they are turned on and viewing a 3D image. You can tell which mode is correct simply by looking at the picture. If the polarity is not set correctly, the 3D image will look flat and somewhat blurry. Simply press the power button on the glasses a couple of times and to see what looks best. It will be pretty obvious
(NOTE: I discovered that it is critical to set the Mitsubishi in 3D mode BEFORE you choose the HDMI input through which the BluRay player is connected to the television or before you turn the player on. This is because the Blu Ray player communicates with the TV to determine whether or not it (the TV) is capable of playing 3D videos. If this communication occurs before you set the TV to 3D mode, the player will think that the TV is not capable of displaying a 3D image and will only play the video in 2D format. If this happens, turn the player off, set the TV to 3D mode, and then turn the player back on so the "handshaking" between the two occurs again. (You will not want to set the TV to 3D mode and keep it there, because when you watch 2D source material with the TV in 3D mode, the picture will look washed out and less bright.)
Once this is all done, start the video, power on the glasses, check the polarity and you will be enjoying great 3D video. There is no external emitter required with the Viewsonic glasses as the glasses automatically synch up with the TV using a burst of light that the TV produces This is what the "DLP Link" technology does and why these glasses will only work with at DLP television.
2. The harder part -- watching 3D video via cable: Although my cable provider does have a limited selection of 3D video available, the format it provides the signal in is not the checkerboard format required by the Mitsubishi television. To view this content, I had to buy the $99 Mitsubishi 3DA-1 adaptor. This adaptor converts a variety of other types of 3D signals to the checkerboard format required by the television. I did not buy the Mitsubishi starter pack (which also contains 2 pairs of glasses) because the starter pack with two pairs of glasses cost more than buying adaptor alone and three pairs of the Viewsonic glasses. Also, the starter pack does not use the DLP Link technology for the glasses. It uses "active 3d" glasses which require a separate emitter (which is included in the starter pack). While there are pros and cons to the different approaches, I chose the DLP Link approach because it is not possible to disable the DLP Link burst of light on the Mitsubishi television. This burst of light is not visible when using DLP Link glasses, but it has been reported that when using active 3D glasses (which do not require this burst to operate), the resulting picture looks more washed out because of it.
The adaptor is not hard to hook up, but it is certainly more complicated to get working correctly than is the Blu Ray player. This is because you have to set the adaptor for the particular format that your source material is being provided in (which can vary depending on the service provider) in order for it to be properly decoded into the checkerboard format that the TV requires. Once you have it set up and working however, the 3D picture quality is excellent as well.
This was supposed to be a review of the glasses so here it is: The glasses work great. They are reasonably comfortable and will work on top of regular glasses. While a 3D picture will always be less bright than the comparable 2D picture, I did not find the reduction in brightness at all objectionable. The 3D image is as good as the movie theater experience.
There are a couple of cons to these glasses. The first is that you may want to dim or eliminate any lighting behind you as it can result in an annoying reflection in the glasses. The second is that these glasses are not rechargeable. There is a second set of batteries provided with the glasses, but because they are button cells, you won't simply be able to replace the batteries with ones you may have around the house. The batteries are supposed to last about 70 hours, but I haven't had the glasses long enough to verify this. The glasses do turn off automatically, which should maximize battery life, however. Also, DLP link glasses are prone to displaying what has been called a "rainbow" effect when viewing bright backgrounds. I did notice this effect in certain scenes, but I did not find it very distracting, and if I hadn't been looking for it, I might not have noticed it. Finally, the glasses are "industrial strength" (the instructions make reference to them being used in classroom settings). While this may make them durable, they also don't fold up like regular eyewear, which makes them a little difficult to store.
Overall, I am very pleased with them. They are among the most inexpensive of the 3D glasses and work as advertised. I will be buying a couple of more sets so that I can enjoy 3D movies with company.
Click Here to see more reviews about: ViewSonic PGD-150 Active Stereographic 3D Shutter Glasses for ViewSonic DLP Link 120 Hz/3D Ready Projectors, Black
The PGD-150 Active Stereographic 3D shutter glasses open new worlds of immersive learning possibilities. Molded in durable plastic, these glasses also feature water and dust proof design. Long lasting lithium batteries provide for up to 70 hours of usage before replacement. The three different sizes of custom interchangeable nose pieces guarantee a comfortable fit for each user.
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