How to watch an eye-popping 3D film in glorious regular 2D

Not everyone likes to watch movies in 3D, but if you have to endure a movie in three dimensions when you’re taking the family to see it, there’s a pair of glasses you can use to switch the flick back to good ol’ trusty 2D.

Most people know that 3D movies work by showing two overlapped images which, when caught by the glasses and interpreted by the brain, make us see depth and spacial differences.

These glasses have two types of lenses, one for each eye.

But there’s a type of 3D glasses that only has one set of lenses used for each eye, allowing us to see only one of the sets of images being shown up there on the big screen, or even at home on the small screen, provided your 3D TV is of the passive variety.

The top pair of glasses is just like every other pair of 3D glasses, with a different lens for each eye. But the second pair uses the same lens for each eye, allowing you to see only one of the two images on the screen.

First seen with LG’s latest range of 3D TVs, the “dual play” glasses are configured with one set of lenses optimised for either what the left eye or right eye will see.

These glasses are technically designed for use with the simultaneous split-screen gaming action offered by various passive 3D TVs, including the latest models from LG and Toshiba, as well as countless other brands that no doubt plan to include the technology.

At the moment, LG is the only company selling them in stores, with a two-pack of the glasses costing a little over twenty bucks at local electronics stores. They’re designed to work with LG’s dual play TVs, but because of how they’re made – one set of lenses for both eyes – they should make it easier for those who hate 3D to get along and watch in two dimensions once again.