Sure, $200 for a pair of a manufacturer’s 3D glasses might look like chump change after dropping $4,000 on the TV they go with, but what happens when you upgrade in another two years? More glasses and more money out the door. Monster, a company not typically associated with “saving money” might actually have a better solution with its third-party 3D glasses, which support any 3D TV.
Along the same lines as XpanD, which already debuted universal glasses back in June, Monster’s Max 3D glasses will support any TV on the market. The twist: They’re also the first to use RF technology, rather than the infrared signals typically used by manufacturers.
Planting a Monster IR receiver in front of a 3D TV allows it to receive the sync signals, decode them, and retransmit them to the glasses with ZigBee’s 2.4GHz RF technology. In theory, this should alleviate potential line-of-sight issues that typically come with infrared transmission – but in practice, any obstruction that would prevent IR signals from reaching your glasses would also prevent you from seeing the picture, and 3D effects begin to distort at odd viewing angles, making it a virtual nonissue.
Monster will begin selling the glasses later this month for $249.95 as a kit that includes the necessary RF transmitter, with additional pairs available for $169.95 apiece. Xpand’s X103 universal 3D glasses haven’t yet made it into retail channels, but should sell for $150, and won’t require additional boxes or transmitters.
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