Introducing Designer 3D Glasses

It is no secret that current and past 3D technologies require special glasses to reveal the magic that is 3D. It's also true that these accessories have not always been seen as being desirable. Fortunately there are a number of companies focussing on marketing designer 3D glasses models which definitely reduce some of the concerns about glasses that face 3D TV fans.

One such company - through their easy to use website at 3Bee3D.com - have taken what was once a piece of junk and turned it into serious fashion hardware. They're fast building a reputation for selling high quality 3D glasses for adults and children with great styling and prices.

3Bee3D co-founder Emanuel has specially written up some valuable info on designer 3D glasses for publication here on 3DTVGuide. It's a useful read for anyone who wants to know:

Why 3D Glasses Are Needed

The Difference Between Active & Passive

Why Passive Glasses Are Better

The Drawbacks Of Wearing 3D Glasses - And How 3Bee3D's Designer 3D Glasses Solves Them

3Bee3Ds Designer Glasses Products

...And Some Info On The Creators Of 3Bee3D

Why 3D Glasses Are Needed

So why are 3d glasses needed exactly? In short, a special lens or filter is required to trick the human brain to perceive a normally 2 dimensional image in 3 dimensions by giving the image and contours of the image extra depth.
The human eyesight and positioning of the eyes on the front of the head is fantastic for viewing depth. You notice it if you close one eye and try to judge the distance of near and far objects. What you will notice is it is far more difficult to judge the true distance with one eye shut.

What 3D glasses do is filter out different offset images to the left and right eye or combine different offset images to the left eye to give depth perception. There are different forms of lenses and filters some of which we will explore further on.

What's The Difference Between Active And Passive

When you go to the cinema and they give you either the old school paper red and blue lens 3d glasses , or the new plastic clear ones (Imax, RealD, Master Image) these are referred to as passive 3d TV glasses. Passive in the fact that it takes the viewer nothing more than placing the lenses in front of their eyes and the combination of the 3d projection or 3D TV do the rest. It is a simple and effective method of 3D viewing.

The other type of 3d glasses are available for the new breed of 3D TVs are called active 3d glasses or ‘’shutter’’ lens 3d glasses.

The main differences between the two formats are as follows:

1) Active lens 3d glasses take batteries and have electronics that need to be recharged, Passive 3d glasses do not take batteries or a power source.

2) Active lens 3d glasses are very expensive ($50-$300/pair) in comparison to passive glasses ($1-$30)

3) Active lens 3d glasses are usually bigger, heavier and less disposable than their passive counterparts.

4) Most active lens 3d glasses need to be worn directly in front of the 3d screen to be effective, most passive 3d glasses you can get the same 3d image from any angle.

5) Active lens 3d glasses have tiny LCD screens in each lens and one shows an image while the other goes black and so forth. This happens faster than the human eye can see and you will not notice it however the brain picks it up. This can lead, in many cases, to a sense of seasickness and nausea, Passive lens 3d glasses do not have this problem.

Why Passive Glasses Are Better

Let me give you some more general background of the 3D marketplace.

RealD 3D cinemas, Master Image 3D and Imax 3D cinemas ( I am ignoring Dolby 3D because they are technically not disposable and most cinemas who installed this 3d projection have converted back to one of the aforementioned formats) basically control the hardware installs for the mainstream 3D cinemas. RealD has its hardware installed in most of the bigger name cinema chains, Master image is a fraction of the cost to the cinema owners and you will see this in many independent cinema chains, and Imax 3D is unique due to its screen size and the fact that its 3D projection is Linear not Circular.

The cinemas sell you a cheap pair of plastic 3d passive glasses with flimsy lenses and if you are a prescription eyeglass wearer you must balance a pair of these over the top of your glasses. Not very practical but effective enough to get an eye full of Avatar. 3Bee3D started selling a very practical solution which has been a great hit among web shoppers, 3Bee3D ‘Clip & Flips’ and also some cool wayfarer and aviator style 3d glasses named ‘’ Nightcrawlers’’ and ‘’Depthmasters”. Simple, cool and best of all affordable at under 30 bucks a pair.

The 3D home televisions then hit the shelves but ignored the ease of use of passive glasses and worked a electronic solution by installing the aforementioned LCD shutter lenses into pairs of brand exclusive format 3d glasses. A good solution but one which seemed to lack foresight. The glasses did give many people seasickness, were uncomfortable on the wearer and downright expensive. They also only come with one or two pairs when you purchase the 3D TV.

Mid 2011 our friends at LG decided to release a new series of 3D Televisions called the LG Cinema 3D TV Range. These high end 3D TVs use passive lens glasses which are identical in format to those of the RealD Cinema glasses you would purchase at the cinema or from a company like 3Bee3D.

This release was key in the next move forward for 3D tvs and cinema. A pair of glasses that can not only be used in the cinema on your next movie date but also on the couch at home. Lightweight, battery and hassle free, the designer home 3d passive glasses are starting to make more appearances in fashion and tech savvy households.

The Drawbacks Of Wearing 3D Glasses

The drawbacks of wearing glasses are that they are : Heavy, expensive, battery operated, non-durable, capable of making the wearer sick, do not come in child sizes, have no uniform format, lack any fashion sense, and come in a limited range of colours and styles.

Why 3Bee3D's Designer 3D Glasses Are Good News

3Bee3D solves all these drawbacks by producing a range of glasses that are light, truly affordable, passive and non battery operated, durable, safe for the wearer from seasick type illness, come in child sizes, come in a uniform format which is a circular polarised passive lens which can be used at both the RealD 3D cinema and on the new range of LG Cinema 3D home televisions, come in a range of styles that would accompany any fashionista and come in a wide range of colours.

3bee3D's Designer 3D Glasses - Introducing Popular Models.

3Bee3D sells designer 3D glasses with circular polarised lenses that are compatible with RealD 3D Cinemas and LG Cinema 3D home televisions.

Models include:
1) The ‘’Depthmasters’’ - Aviator style 3D fashion glasses for the discerning viewer. Lightweight, gold metal frames with hard 3d lenses. Complete with limited edition hard case and cleaning cloth.

2) The ‘’Nightcrawlers’’ - Wayfarer style 3D fashion glasses for the young at heart . Lightweight PC frames come in bright red or brilliant white with hard 3d lenses. Complete with 3Bee3D logo soft pouch.

3) The ‘’Clip & Flips’’ - Clip on 3D glasses for views who wear prescription eyewear. Easy lightweight clip attaches directly to your personal glasses. They are of medium size and fit all viewers. Made of hard 3d lenses and steel clip these 3d clip on glasses come complete with a 3Bee3d logo soft pouch and cleaning cloth.

4) The ‘’Spectrums’’ range are plastic coloured, affordable 3D glasses. They come in both adult and kids sizes and give plenty of bang for the buck. Great for kids parties and customisable printing on the frames makes for great corporate sponsor events and goodie bag gifts.

5) Real D Certified Range - 3Bee3D has developed a RealD certified range of 3D Spectrums which come in some cool packaging and are available in bulk to cinema chains at a fraction of the cost of most wholesale 3d glasses suppliers.

All 3Bee3D glasses are under $25 USD. 3Bee3D has attempted to justify people paying more than $25 for a pair of designer 3D glasses but simply just cannot do it. 3Bee3D knows that their products are just like their motto says “Better, Brighter…Brilliant”

Introducing The Creators Of 3Bee3D

The 3Bee3D Designer 3D glasses company was founded in 2009 in a famous pub in London’s trendy Chelsea district. 3 friends (the 3 bees) Sean, Emanuel and Adrienne came up with the idea for designer 3d glasses after watching Avatar and feeling silly walking around with uncool plastic glasses on their heads.

Sean comes from a crude oil transport background, taking care of global shipping, Emanuel from a commodity trading background managing most of the e-commerce side and Adrienne from a high flying vocal artistic career in theatre and musicals.

In 2010 Emanuel headed to Australia to setup the Asian 3Bee3D office and with London and Sydney locations 3Bee3D is starting to reach out of the 3D screen and into your living rooms! Founded in 2009 in response to the growth in the 3D industry and the lack of choices in 3D cinema eyewear, 3Bee now ships all over the globe. Its 3D products are available via their website and also on US eBay.

3Bee 3D has now expanded from London to Sydney, and has recently entered into a license agreement with RealD Inc. to produce RealD certified premium eyewear. RealD is a global leader in 3D technology and is the world’s most widely used technology in 3D equipped cinemas.

"As a single woman my two greatest fears for a first date were bowling shoes and those goofy 3D glasses”, remarked 3Bee founder, Adrienne Stiefel.

Along with partners, Sean Peterkin and Emanuel, Adrienne identified the market for cool 3D glasses while chatting over a round of drinks at the famous Chelsea Potter pub in London, UK. Their most popular models include: the “Depthmasters" (Gold metal, aviator style frames with a limited-edition hard case), the child sized, brightly coloured "Spectrums," which also come in a family pack and are great for kids' birthday parties. And at the top of Sean’s list are the company's "Clip 'n' Flips," frameless 3D lenses which clip onto the customer's prescription eyeglasses.

Until 3D TV without glasses models become widely available, we're going to continue to need to wear glasses to get a fix of 3D entertainment. One of the issues wth wearing glasses is their look and feel, donning a pair of designer 3D glasses does solve at least one of the problems.