3D movies are really starting to become more common and increasingly popular, and for good reason, because 3D movies look cool as heck.
Having the movie pop out and you and being able to see real depth is super cool. So, you want to watch 3D movies and you have a great home theater setup ready to rock, but you aren’t sure about compatibility.
Are all Blu-ray players 3D capable? This is a pretty important thing to know if you plan on buying 3D Blu-ray movies. After all, there is nothing worse than having a Blu-ray player and 3D Blu-ray movies, only to find out that they are not compatible with one another. Let’s take a closer look at this issue right now.
A Note on 3D Blu-Ray and 3D TVs
Something that is important to note is that the production of 3D television sets has been discontinued for the most part. This is important because to play a 3D Blu-ray disc, not only do you need a 3D-capable Blu-ray player, but also a 3D television or 3D capable projector.
The problem is of course that 3D televisions really are not in production anymore. However, that said, you may still have a 3D TV or a 3D projector which you can use with a 3D Blu-ray player to watch 3D movies.
Something else to keep in mind is that to enjoy the experience, not only do you need a 3D-capable Blu-ray player, a 3D disc, and a 3D TV, but you will also need 3D glasses. Without the 3D glasses, none of this will work.
How Does 3D Blu-ray Work?
Let’s quickly talk about how 3D Blu-ray players work. First off, a 3D Blu-ray disc has the information encoded onto it at 24 frames per second, either at 720 or 1080P. This is done in a manner that is called frame packing, which means that two frames are stacked over each other, which is what then helps create the 3D effect.
When a 3D Blu-ray disc is inserted into the player, the player’s laser assembly reads the disc and the encoded 3D signal, and then sends that information through the chain of command to your 3D TV.
You can then see 3D images thanks to that frame stacking, which then means that two overlapping but slightly different images are shown at the same time. There are two images because one is for the left eye and the other for the right. There are special 3D glasses needed which then blend both images together for the final result.
Are All Blu-Ray Players 3D Capable?
Just to hammer this point home, no, not all Blu-ray players are 3D capable, and in fact, most are not. Sure, there are plenty of models out there, but when compared to non-3D capable models, the numbers are quite few. 3D Blu-ray discs will only work with 3D capable Blu-ray players.
If you try to play a 3D Blu-ray disc in a non-compatible Blu-ray player, you will either get an error code, or nothing will happen at all. A saving grace here however is that your average 3D Blu-ray player should also be able to play standard Blu-ray discs and usually even DVDs as well.
Using 2D Discs with 3D Blu-Ray Players
Something that is pretty neat with the high-end 3D Blu-ray players, is that some of them can actually take normal 2D Blu-ray movies or even 2D DVD discs and turn them into 3D.
There is special programming involved and some high tech stuff which we are not going to get into here, but the fact of the matter is that the best 3D-capable Blu-ray players may actually be able to convert 2D movies into 3D. With that being said, you will notice some differences, as converted media won’t look as good as native 3D movies.
Conclusion
So, the bottom line is that there are plenty of 3D capable Blu-ray players out there, but not all Blu-ray players are 3D capable. In fact, this is still a really new development in the world of media viewing, and while there are plenty of 3D-capable models, they only make up a small percentage of all Blu-ray Players, most of which are not 3D capable.
You need to make sure that your Blu-ray player is 3D capable, or else you will go to watch your movies and they won’t work. You’ll get some kind of error code and you’ll end up having to watch something else.