3D Vision Blog

Not long ago Mitsubishi has released their Mitsubishi 3-DA1 3D Adapter Pack for $99.99 USD intended for their 3D DLP HDTVs in order for them to be able to take HDMI 1.4(a) stereoscopic 3D input from devices like Sony’s PlayStation 3 console, 3D set-top boxes, Blu-ray 3D video players and others. However the adapter has turned out to work only with Mitsubishi’s product line and there are a few other manufacturers that also produce 3D DLP HDTVs like Samsung for example, so it seemed that the Samsung users were out of luck, but not for long…

Thanks to a company called TRU 3D the owners of Samsung 3D-capable DLP HDTVs can now also use HDMI 1.4(a) stereoscopic 3D input on their TVs by using a modified version of the Mitsubishi adapter kit. The 3D TV Adapter Kit for Samsung 3D DLP HDTV by TRU 3D should be available this month with a price of $289.99 USD.

The 3D TV adapter kit supports the following Samsung 3D DLP HDTV models:
- Samsung HL-T5076S 50″ (127cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T5087S 50″ (127cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL-T5089S 50″ (127cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL50A650 50″ (127cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T5676S 56″ (142cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T5687S 56″ (142cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL-T5689S 56″ (142cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL56A650 56″ (142cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T6176S 61″ (155cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T6187S 61″ (155cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL-T6189S 61″ (155cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL61A650 61″ (155cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL61A750 61″ (155cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL67A750 67″ (170cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D LED DLP
- Samsung HL72A650 72″ (183cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T7288W 72″ (183cm) 1920×1080 (1080P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP

The 3D TV adapter kit does NOT support the following Samsung 3D DLP HDTV models:
- Samsung HL-T4675S 46″ (117cm) 1280×720 (720P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T5075S 50″ (127cm) 1280×720 (720P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP
- Samsung HL-T5675S 56″ (142cm) 1280×720 (720P) checkerboard 3D Lamp DLP

- More about the 3D TV Adapter Kit for Samsung 3D DLP HDTV by TRU 3D…

We are already seeing the new wave of 3D-capable HDTVs with stereoscopic 3D support over the HDMI 1.4(a) hitting the stores from brands like Samsung, Panasonic and LG with other names like Sony soon to follow. But we are talking about high-end HDTVs with support for 3D content and as such they are quite expensive and then again there is still the issue with not a lot of content and the content in the form of 3D games is still hard to get displayed in 3D on these TVs. Even if you opt out for the cheapest possible solution and that is the 40-inch Samsung from the C750 series without LED backlight you are still going to have to pay over $1000 USD. On the other hand there are the 3D DLPs from Mitsubishi (unfortunately not available in Europe) that use the DLP checkerboard pattern to produce the 3D effect which also makes them fully compatible with 3D Vision and some models can be bought at a very good prices…

So if you are into buying a 3D capable HDTV primarily for gaming in stereo 3D, then currently some of the 3D DLP HDTVs from Mitsubishi can turn out to be a great choice, especially considering the fact that the Mitsubishi 3DC-1000 adapter (expected to be soon available) that will allow you to connect HDMI 1.4(a) sources that are sending 3D content even to your 3D DLP HDTV, so you’ll be future proof. As I said this is a good choice especially for gaming in stereo 3D as even on the new generation of 3DTVs using HDMI 1.4(a) for stereo 3D content transmission you cannot get Full HD 1080p 3D content at 50 or 60 frames per eye, as we already know for gaming these TVs will work at 50/60 fps per eye only in 720p. And the 1080p is only available for watching Blu-ray 3D movies at 24 fps per eye, and for 3D TV broadcasts we are going to get 1080i at 50/60 frames per eye. And that is precisely why a good deal on a high-end and big-screen 3D DLP HDTV is not to be missed at the current moment, as you will get much bigger screen size with top-end features as a significantly lower price compared to what you need to pay for a 60 or 65-inch 3D HDTV using HDMI 1.4(a). Just have in mind that some of the 3D DLP HDTVs come without active shutter glasses, so these might be needed as a separate purchase, but if you already have got a pair of 3D Vision glasses then you are already prepared…

Some good deals I’ve found available at the moment are:
- 65-inch Mitsubishi WD-65C9 available for $1,189.99 USD
- 60-inch Mitsubishi WD-60737 available for $1,119.03 USD
- 60-inch Mitsubishi WD-60C9 with a price of $1,039.22 USD
- 60-inch Mitsubishi WD-60735 available for $949.88 USD
- 60-inch Mitsubishi WD-60638 for pre-order with a price of $999 USD

I’ve also noticed that Amazon has the Mitsubishi 3-DA1 3D Adapter Pack available for $99 USD as well as the Mitsubishi 3DC-1000 3D HDTV Starter Pack already listed with a price of $399 USD that includes the Mitsubishi 3-DA1 3D Adapter Pack, two pairs of active shutter glasses, Disney Blu-ray 3D Showcase Disc and an HDMI cable.

As for me, I would love to get one of these Mitsubishi 3D DLP HDTVs for testing, but unfortunately, as I’ve already mentioned these are not officially sold in Europe so I’m out of luck. So I’m already saving for a Panasonic VT20 3D Plasma HDTV, with the idea to get it by the the end of the year, hoping for a better price and improved usability within the next few months. And another important moment that you should have in mind (I’ve already considered that idea) if you want to import a Mitsubishi 3D DLP HDTV to Europe and use it with the 3D Vision glasses is the fact that you’ll need an additional cable to connect the TV with the IR transmitter. It seems that only in US the 3D Vision kit does come with the 3D sync cable included and in Europe it is not present. You can however find the stereo jack to 3-pin mini DIN cable used for synchronization between the TV and the glasses in Europe sold by companies that also sell the professional Quadro line of GPUs by Nvidia, but then again you won’t like very much the price for these cables…

We have another stereoscopic 3D video made available by the Explore Media Group. This time it is Al Caudullo interviewing Frank DeMartin from Mitsubishi, who talks about the company’s DLP-based 3D products and some of the future plans. This video can give you a nice idea on what to expect from the upcoming 3D TV channels when there will be interviews with someone in 3D. You can kind of feel like you are sitting next to the two guys you see talking in the video when you are watching the video. The level of the sound in the video however is a bit low so you may have to turn up the volume, you also need to select Side by Side format and 16:9 aspect ratio when opening the video and you are asked about the 3D format of the file by the 3D Vision Player or the Stereoscopic Player. The video is also available in stereo 3D format on YouTube 3D in other 3D formats such as Anaglyph, Row interleaved, for Crosseye viewing and so on. Feel free to share your comments about the video if you download and watch it…

- Download the CES 2010 interview video in S3D – mirror 1 – mirror 2
- You can check out the 3DGuy website for more information regarding S3D…