Digital TV Guides

3D TVs: Choosing a 3D TV set

Monday 23 March 2012

By Becca Talbot - becca@consumerchoices.co.uk

Want to experience 3D box office blockbusters in your living room? Get a 3D ready TV set and a subscription to Sky 3D TV or Virgin Media’s 3D On Demand and you could watch films, sports and documentaries in mind-blowing 3D.

Advertisement: Article continues below

Virgin HD deal of the month FREE installation + FREE HD Box + £20 off your bill Go

3 months FREE Sky HD + FREE Sky+HD box + FREE £25 M&S Voucher + FREE standard set-up Go

3D TVs let you watch TV programmes, movies and sport in immersive 3D from the comfort of your sofa. But which should you choose, and how much do they cost?

Video: Quick guide to 3D TV

How does 3D TV work?

Put simply, a 3D TV set is any television that can show images and videos in 3D. These TVs use work by delivering different images to each of a viewer’s eyes. Like in real life, each eye sees the same scene, but at a slightly different angle. Our brains then put these pictures together and interpret the images in a 3D format.

To achieve this you’ll have to wear a pair of 3D-ready glasses while watching your 3D TV. These can be either active shutter or polarised, and the type you need will depend on your 3D TV:

• Active shutter - Active glasses require batteries to “black out” each eye depending on whether the right or left image is being displayed on the screen
• Polarised - Polarised, or “passive”, glasses do not require any batteries however. Instead, the left lens filters out the right image while the right lens filters out the left image.

Active shutter glasses and 3D TVs are a lot more expensive than polarised glasses and TVs, however unless you plan on spending a lot of money on a fancy polarised 3D projector to create a home cinema system, active shutter 3D technology will give you a better experience.

What can I watch in 3D?

Both Virgin Media and Sky offer 3D TV packages, which show a range of films and entertainment. The services from each provider will work with either the active shutter 3D format or the polarised format, so it won’t matter which kind of TV you have. The 3D content available with each provider differs though:

Sky - If you’re a Sky (www.sky.co.uk) TV subscriber, upgrading to the Sky World package, plus the HD Pack, will get you access to Sky’s dedicated 3D channel, the imaginatively named Sky 3D. The channel broadcasts a variety of programmes, from dramas to nature documentaries, sport, including Champions League matches, and movies, including James Cameron’s smash hit Avatar.

Just some of the movies that have featured on the channel include:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Harry Potter and The Half Blood Prince
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Megamind 3D.
• My Bloody Valentine

Certain Premier League matches are also shown in 3D, along with other live sports, such as boxing.

Virgin Media - Although cable TV provider Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) doesn’t have a dedicated 3D channel like Sky, it does offer a selection of on-demand 3D movies that are available to all customers.

Pay-per-view movies are available to rent for 24-hour, and brand new 3D releases are appearing all the time.

3D TV sets - what’s on offer?

All of the big electronics manufacturers, including LG, Panasonic, Sony and Samsung, offer 3D TVs. 3D projectors are also available, which will give you a cinema-style 3D experience at home.

If you haven’t yet experienced 3D TV, you should head to your local electrical retailer and ask for a demo - don’t buy a TV without seeing 3D in action. Like most products, the best and cheapest deals will be found on the internet - so once you’ve seen 3D in store, compare packages and prices online before purchasing anything.

Things to look out for include:

• Active or polarised? - The TV you buy will need to work with the 3D format of the glasses you have. Sometimes the TVs and glasses can be bought together in packages, but if you need to buy additional glasses make sure you buy the right format.
• Glasses? - If you’re considering the active shutter format, look at things like battery size and cost, as these will need to be replaced regularly if you’re watching a lot of content.
• Screen size? - The size of your screen should depend on the size of the room it is in and how far you’ll be sitting when you watch it.
• HDMI ports? - Check the back of the TV (if you can) to look for the connections available to you. Ideally you will need at least two HDMI ports, to connect your Sky or Virgin Media set-top box to your TV, and to connect a DVD/Blu-ray player or games console.

Should I buy a 3D TV now?

Choosing to buy a 3D TV is a big decision, and the cost of the necessary hardware may be discouraging you from upgrading. For example, as well as a 3D set, which are still more expensive than high-definition TVs, you also need to consider things like extra pairs of 3D specs.

3D TV is growing, but it hasn’t hit mass market just yet. But that could change - as additional content becomes available via Sky and Virgin Media however, subscriptions will increase - just as they did with high-definition services. The cost of the hardware will continue to come down too, making the switch to 3D a lot cheaper.