One popular technique for 3D cinema projection utilizes color-banding to achieve a 3D perspective. That is, the left and right eyes each view a different spatially offset image consisting of a unique set of wavelength bands (spread throughout the visible spectrum so as to preserve the color balance). Typically there are three or more colour bands for each eye. The different perspective image in each eye simulates parallax, creating the illusion of viewing a 3D image.

With lamp-based projectors using the 3D color banding approach, a spinning filter wheel is synchronized so that the left and right eye images are transmitted through the left and right portions of a filter wheel, respectively. For more modern laser-based projectors (“6P”) a different subset of red, green, and blue lasers is selected to project the left and right eye images – no extra wavelength separation is required at the projector. In both projector scenarios the light is then reflected off the viewing screen and received by the viewer through a pair of 3D glasses where the left and right images are transmitted through the left and right lens, respectively.

3D Glasses

Iridian has manufactured millions of pairs of re-usable 3D color band glasses over the past five years. The company can provide either coated lenses or complete pairs of glasses as required by the customer. The 3D glasses are durable, scratch-resistant and can be dishwasher cleaned so as to allow many hundreds of uses. They are economically competitive on a per use basis with other 3D-based technologies. The coated lenses have high transmittance and are relatively tolerant to angular effects.

Example of 3D Glasses:

3D Filter Wheels

Iridian has manufactured thousands of 3D projection filter wheels that use color-banding. The filter wheels have two halves each coated with the bands that correspond to those transmitted by the left and right lenses of the 3D glasses.

Example of 3D Filter Wheel:

Both the 3D glasses and filters wheels are designed and manufactured to meet specific customer provided requirements and are available only as custom “designed-to-spec” products.