Can A Normal Plasma HDTV Be Used To Display 3D Images?

[Vinnythecent]

As I have read about how 3D images are produced through alternating 2 image sources simultaneously with the requirement of a TV having a refresh rate quick enough to produce the 3D images, I was wondering could it be possible for a normal HD Plasma TV with a refresh rate sufficient to handle the 3D images data, to produce 3D Images?

Or alternatively, could a 3D Kit, such as an emitter, be connected to the TV or player set so as to enjoy 3D images despite just using a normal HD Plasma TV.

I'm kind of hoping there's a possibility of the above happening so I could enjoy 3D Images without investing on a new set of TV.

Thanks alot!

[MrBoylan]

As I have read about how 3D images are produced through alternating 2 image sources simultaneously with the requirement of a TV having a refresh rate quick enough to produce the 3D images, I was wondering could it be possible for a normal HD Plasma TV with a refresh rate sufficient to handle the 3D images data, to produce 3D Images?

Or alternatively, could a 3D Kit, such as an emitter, be connected to the TV or player set so as to enjoy 3D images despite just using a normal HD Plasma TV.

I'm kind of hoping there's a possibility of the above happening so I could enjoy 3D Images without investing on a new set of TV.

Thanks alot!

Hello, Vinny,

Unfortunately what you're hoping to do can't be done. It's not just the screen refresh rate of the TV that matters (although yes, the TVs do need to be able to refresh at 120 Hz in order to produce the left/right 60 Hz rate), but it's the TV's *input* capabilities that matter, as well as what the TV does internally with that input.

Non-3D plasma TVs are out of the running from the get-go because they can't refresh at 120 Hz. The so-called "subfield drive" that is used in plasma TVs, and that has a rating of 480 Hz or 600 Hz, is not the same thing as a full screen refresh rate. The sub-field drive is the technology used to build the image. A frame on a plasma TV with a 600 Hz sub-field drive is built out of 10 sub-frames, so the screen flashes 10X for each inidividual frame. But the full screen image itself is only refreshed 60 times per second. There are exceptions to this, of course. Some Pioneer, Samsung and Panasonic plasma TVs have a Cinematic Playback mode (24p native mode) which flashes the screen 2X, 3X or 4X for the 24 frame/second input source. This results in a 48 Hz, 72 Hz or 96 Hz refresh rate, but again, this doesn't help you from a 3D perspective because the only input supported for these modes in 1080p/24 - not the augmented 1080p/24 frame-packed output from a Blu-ray 3D player.

Moving onto the "top-bottom" and "side by side" formats used for 3D signals in broadcast TV, you'll have a slightly different problem. For compatibility purposes, these signals do use a standard 720p, 1080i or 1080p broadcast format, but they split the screen in half, with the left and right images either next to each other or on top of each other. Your TV could display this, but it would just look like two nearly identical images next to or on top of each other. Your TV doesn't have the necessary processing to isolate and expand these half-frames into two distinct full screen frames, each of which would be alternated on the screen at 60 Hz for a total display refresh rate of 120 Hz.

For a non-3D LCD or LED/LCD TV, the prospects of displaying 3D are not really any better. Again, due to the *input* capabilities of the TV. If an LCD TV could accept a 120 Hz input, and just display this as is (or double it to 240 Hz), then it would be possible for some vendor to create a sort of converter box that would convert all of the available 3D formats (frame-packing, top/bottom, side-by-side) into a 1080p/120 Hz signal, and use an external emitter synchronized with glasses. But since all non-3D LCD and LED/LCD TVs are limited to 1080p60 input (60 Hz), any potential outboard solution would be riddled with motion artifacts. Converting a 3D image into something that would work with existing LCD TVs would mean chopping out half the frames (60 frames/second x 2 would have to be converted to 30 Hz for left eye and 30 Hz for the right eye for a total frame rate of 60 Hz). This -- even when presented on a 120 HYz or 240 Hz TV -- would result in choppy, unnatural-looking motion. Yes, someone could conceivably then create an emitter that would synchronize with this signal, but it would look pretty bad.

Unfortunately for those who recently bought a nice non-3D LED, LCD or plasma TV, there will be no 3rd party aftermarket solutions to turn them into 3D-ready TVs.

BTW, I'm using this Q&A for an "Ask the Expert" article on the main site as the question has come up a few times in the past few months.

-CB

[jenniferharris252]

I think you can not do that on your plasma hdtv