If you intend to use 3D glasses to watch a 3D Blu-ray, select glasses designed to be used for the specific television you own. For example, if you own a Panasonic 3D HDTV, only 3D glasses designed by Panasonic will work. If you take home a pair of 3D glasses from a movie theater, they will not create the illusion of 3D at home if you watch a 3D Blu-ray movie. However, you can use any brand of Blu-ray player to watch a 3D film as long as it's capable of playing 3D movies.
Active shutter 3D glasses are typically sold in conjunction with 3D HDTVs and require batteries to operate. These glasses automatically sync with the 3D TV through either a Bluetooth or infrared signal. In the 3D illusion created by the glasses, Two different frames appear on screen during a 3D movie: one frame is intended for the left eye, the other the right eye. The shutters built into the active glasses open and close at a quick rate, creating depth while you view the film. Passive 3D glasses lack shutters, but still allow you to see 3D images by allowing your left eye to see only certain images and your right eye to see other images. Passive glasses are cheaper, do not require batteries and do not need to be recharged, but resolution is not as sharp. Passive glasses allow you to watch films only with 540p resolution, while active glasses allow you to watch 1080p-resolution movies.
The 3D glasses used in movie theaters are similar to the ones used to watch 3D Blu-rays at home. When filming a 3D movie, two cameras are used to create two different images: one for your right eye and one for your left eye. When the film plays in a theater, the footage is polarized using a filter, allowing light to travel on separate planes. The images intended for your left eye travel on a horizontal plane, while images intended for your right eye travel on a vertical plane. The 3D glasses in a movie theater also use polarizing filters, allowing your brain to combine the two separate images into one three-dimensional image. However, these glasses are only intended for theatrical use, meaning they won't work at home while watching a 3D Blu-ray.
If you wear eyeglasses, you can still wear 3D glasses over them, allowing you to enjoy the technology with your friends and family. However, according to the College of Optometrists in Vision Development, almost one million people across the United States cannot view 3D movies, even with the appropriate glasses. If you're concerned that this condition might affect you, visit an electronics retail store and ask to view a 3D HDTV. If the images appear in 2D while you're wearing glasses, you cannot view 3D. You may experience motion sickness, headache or eye fatigue, depending on the severity of your condition.