3D Bits: Shrek Movies Converted To 3D For Blu-Ray, Real D In Your Home, World's Lightest 3D Glasses

A bunch of 3D news stories have hit the web today, including DreamWork Animation's plans to post convert the first three Shrek movies in "fake 3D" for Blu-Ray 3D release, Samsung is teaming with Real D to bring the same 3D you experience in your local multiplex to your home. What this means to you is no clunky active shutter display glasses, and one step closer to glassless 3D. Read all this and more after the jump.

Variety is reporting that 3D conversion company Legend3D is converting the first three Shrek films into 3D for release on Blu-Ray. The four films (Shrek Forver After was released theatrically in 3D) will be bundled together in a 3D Blu-Ray set. The strangest part of this announcement is that Legend3D is one of those companies which handles the post conversion 3D. What that means is that they key frame a series of "stereo design frames", and mask each selection to a depth and volume. Basically what I'm saying is that they create a fake 3D out of 2D images.

While this method is the only way to turn films shot in 2D into a 3D presentation, computer animated films like Shrek were created in a 3D enviorment. I'm sure DreramWorks Animation keeps all of the source files in their archieves, and could have gone into them and created a secondary rendering for the second eye. This is the way something like this should be done, as it would provide the best possible 3D experience. However, it could be very costly as artists would need to be brought in and the entire film would essetially need to be completely rerendered from a slightly different camera angle. But I'm wondering just how much money is being saved by going with a post conversion company rather than rendering the film in real 3D.

Samsung have teamed with RealD 3D, the company that provides the 3D technology and glasses for most of the multiplexes in the United States (but not internationally). In movie theaters the shutter wheel is put on the projector, but almost all of the home 3D televisions released employ an active shutter display in the glasses. You might have noticed that all of the home 3D glasses are pretty bulky and need to be charged. Samsung and RealD have finally found a way to put the active shutter technology in the television, instead of the glasses, which means you will be able to watch the 3D tvs wearing the same glasses you get in theaters. The new display technology is being called RDZ, and they claim it will provide a full resolution picture with no loss in brightness.

Not only will glasses become a lot cheaper (you'll be able to buy a dozen pairs for the price of a few active shutter glasses) but I'm sure that prescription RealD 3D glasses (which would work in your home and at your theater) might not be far behind. And maybe eventually a lens which changes between real glasses and 3D glasses when presented with 3D content. I know this doesn't mean anything to a lot of the glassless /Film readers, but for someone wears perscription glasses like myself it means a lot. [businesswire]

Meanwhile, Samsung have unveiled the world's lightest 3D glasses, in partnership with Austrian design firm Silhouette. Weighing a measly 28g, the active glasses will recharge wirelessly, and will also detect when 3D content is being screened at them and automatically turn on/off. So if you're worried about those heavy active shutter glasses, a solution is in the works.[geekalerts]