Dolby and Barco Team Up for 3D Cinema By Scott Wilkinson April 2, 2009 — As you probably know by now, 3D movies are all the rage in commercial cinemas these days. In most cases, however, these presentations require a special screen, and the image can't be larger than about 40 feet wide due to the loss of light that polarized systems inflict. To address the first problem, Dolby has developed a 3D system that can be used on any screen, and a new partnership with Barco addresses the second problem. Using two stacked projectors, the combined light output is enough to fill screens up to 70 feet wide.

The Dolby system, which the company calls "color interference" technology, inserts a color-filter wheel in the light path to separate the images for the right and left eyes. This is similar in concept to the old red/blue system—technically called anaglyph—but it goes way beyond that. The image for each eye is divided into red, green, and blue components and alternated on the screen. Unlike a conventional DLP color wheel, however, the red, green, and blue filters are arranged in a complex pattern that is said to make the filter look "rainbowy" when viewed directly.

As with all major 3D systems, this one requires viewers to wear glasses, which are passive in this case—that is, both lenses are open at all times. By contrast, Imax 3D glasses are active, alternately opening and closing each lens in sync with the projected images.

Dolby 3D was introduced in November 2007 with the release of Beowulf, which was shown in 3D on 75 screens in 12 countries. Since then, the company has shipped over 1000 3D systems to 41 countries.