Max's Cool Beans
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feanorgem
Horizontal and vertical polarizers are the older way, you can test your glasses ...
David Ashton
So you'd count yourself as an uber-geek, Max??
Embrace your inner geek!
Clive Maxfield
7/13/2011 1:57 PM EDT
I just received the latest newsletter from those little scamps at ThinkGeek (www.ThinkGeek.com). This started off by informing me that July 13 is “Embrace Your Geekiness Day!”
“Hmmm,” I thought, “I’ve not heard of this one.” So I did a quick search on Google for “Embrace Your Geekiness Day” and by golly there are hits everywhere.
Of course this is not to be confused with Geek Pride Day, which is celebrated on 25 May. Also of interest is the fact that Geek Pride Day shares the same day as Towel Day, for fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy saga by Douglas Adams, and the Glorious 25 May for fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (see also my Got Discworld? Blog)
You have to admit that these are more fun than some of the more traditional holidays. In fact, thinking about it, we should all soon start preparing for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which takes place on 19 September (am I the only one who dresses up for this?).
But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. One of the products mentioned in the ThinkGeek newsletter was a set of Special Glasses that are said to turn 3D films back into 2D. Check out This Video on YouTube where the presenter (who starts off saying “I like pie, but that’s not why we’re here today” [grin]) explains why he invented these glasses that let people watch a 3D movie in “Two very crisp, very beautiful dimensions.”
If you found this article to be of interest, visit Programmable Logic Designline where you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to programmable logic devices of every flavor and size (FPGAs, CPLDs, CSSPs, PSoCs...).
Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for my weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).
“Hmmm,” I thought, “I’ve not heard of this one.” So I did a quick search on Google for “Embrace Your Geekiness Day” and by golly there are hits everywhere.
Of course this is not to be confused with Geek Pride Day, which is celebrated on 25 May. Also of interest is the fact that Geek Pride Day shares the same day as Towel Day, for fans of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy saga by Douglas Adams, and the Glorious 25 May for fans of Terry Pratchett's Discworld (see also my Got Discworld? Blog)
You have to admit that these are more fun than some of the more traditional holidays. In fact, thinking about it, we should all soon start preparing for International Talk Like a Pirate Day, which takes place on 19 September (am I the only one who dresses up for this?).
But that’s not what I wanted to talk about. One of the products mentioned in the ThinkGeek newsletter was a set of Special Glasses that are said to turn 3D films back into 2D. Check out This Video on YouTube where the presenter (who starts off saying “I like pie, but that’s not why we’re here today” [grin]) explains why he invented these glasses that let people watch a 3D movie in “Two very crisp, very beautiful dimensions.”
Now, on the one hand this makes sense. Some people become nauseated when
watching today’s 3D offerings (hopefully they will enjoy things more as
the technology improves). So you might ask why these folks would want
to watch a 3D movie in the first place. The answer is simple – going to
the movies or to a friend’s house to watch a movie is a social thing –
so if you are one of the people who can’t take today’s 3D movies, but
you want to see one for social reasons, then these glasses would be a
good idea.
If the truth be told I’m now quite sure how these work. In a traditional 3D movie two images are displayed overlapped on the movie screen. My understanding is that these images are presented using polarized light – horizontally polarized for one image/eye and vertically polarized for the other. The ThinkGeek Site explains that these special glasses eliminate the left eye image and show only the right eye image to both eyes. I suppose that this could work if the lens for the left eye took the polarized light intended for the right eye and rotated it by 90 degrees before presenting it to the eye.
Hmmm… I’ll have to think about this.
Also of interest is that the ThinkGeek folks also say “In double-blind scientific tests it was determined that when watching 3-D movies the right-eye image was consistently more action packed and humorous than the left-eye image.”
Hmmm… I’ll have to think about this also.
The only thing that worries me is that those little rascals at ThinkGeek have been known to play tricks. Do you recall my Arcade style gaming with your iPad blog? I hear that this actually started out as a spoof product (possibly an April Fool’s Joke), but that the ensuing demand was so great that they ended up building them.
The trouble with the ThinkGeek site is that once you are there you get sucked in. A couple of weeks ago I purchased an EvilTron, which is currently puzzling my friend Bruce Till who sits in the office next door, and an Electronic Butterfly in a Jar, which is sitting on my desk and which looks amazingly lifelike. I for one am really enjoying both of these products (I obviously can’t speak for Bruce, who does not yet know what’s making the strange sounds in his office :-)
If the truth be told I’m now quite sure how these work. In a traditional 3D movie two images are displayed overlapped on the movie screen. My understanding is that these images are presented using polarized light – horizontally polarized for one image/eye and vertically polarized for the other. The ThinkGeek Site explains that these special glasses eliminate the left eye image and show only the right eye image to both eyes. I suppose that this could work if the lens for the left eye took the polarized light intended for the right eye and rotated it by 90 degrees before presenting it to the eye.
Hmmm… I’ll have to think about this.
Also of interest is that the ThinkGeek folks also say “In double-blind scientific tests it was determined that when watching 3-D movies the right-eye image was consistently more action packed and humorous than the left-eye image.”
Hmmm… I’ll have to think about this also.
The only thing that worries me is that those little rascals at ThinkGeek have been known to play tricks. Do you recall my Arcade style gaming with your iPad blog? I hear that this actually started out as a spoof product (possibly an April Fool’s Joke), but that the ensuing demand was so great that they ended up building them.
The trouble with the ThinkGeek site is that once you are there you get sucked in. A couple of weeks ago I purchased an EvilTron, which is currently puzzling my friend Bruce Till who sits in the office next door, and an Electronic Butterfly in a Jar, which is sitting on my desk and which looks amazingly lifelike. I for one am really enjoying both of these products (I obviously can’t speak for Bruce, who does not yet know what’s making the strange sounds in his office :-)
If you found this article to be of interest, visit Programmable Logic Designline where you will find the latest and greatest design, technology, product, and news articles with regard to programmable logic devices of every flavor and size (FPGAs, CPLDs, CSSPs, PSoCs...).
Also, you can obtain a highlights update delivered directly to your inbox by signing up for my weekly newsletter – just Click Here to request this newsletter using the Manage Newsletters tab (if you aren't already a member you'll be asked to register, but it's free and painless so don't let that stop you [grin]).
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Max the Magnificent
7/13/2011 2:17 PM EDT
I don't know about you, but think I deserve a hug :-)
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David Ashton
7/13/2011 8:19 PM EDT
So you'd count yourself as an uber-geek, Max??
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feanorgem
7/18/2011 12:25 PM EDT
Horizontal and vertical polarizers are the older way, you can test your glasses by holding 2 at 90 degrees to each other and it should be solid black when viewing through them. More modern systems use circular polarizers CW and CCW because of better image quality and they tend to let more light through.
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