Pictures and videos are available to download in two 3D formats: Anaglyph and 3D parallel. The online videos you can view directly from a webpage, are presented in 3D parallel. If you’re not interested in 3D, pictures and videos are also available to download in non-3D versions. Let’s take a look at the difference between anaglyph and 3D parallel.

3D Side-by-Side Parallel

By no means is this new technology. People have been shooting stereo 3D for almost two centuries and 3D parallel is the original way. When shooting 3D, you take two images: each mimicking the viewpoint from each eye. 3D parallel just means the image shot as if taken from the left eye, is placed next to the image shot for the right eye. Hence, side-by-side 3D. If you took the images and flipped them around, it would be known as “cross-eyed 3D” because you would use your right eye to view the image on the left, and the left eye to view the image on the right.

Side-by-side doesn’t require any special equipment. All you need are your eyes. We decided to present our images and videos in parallel instead of cross-eyed because they are easier to view with the naked eye. All you have to do is sit in the center of the image and far enough back and relax your focus (imagine looking at something BEHIND the picture, or daydreaming). What happens is each eye lines up with the corresponding side of the image, hence the term, “parallel”. This is the exact same method as the popular Magic Eye pictures they used to sell in malls and were all the rage in the 90’s. Check out our full instructions on how to view in 3D with your naked eye.

Side-by-side 3D images and videos are also accepted by all modern 3D playback devices, such as Nvidia’s 3D vision. The Nvidia system consists of a pair of glasses that rapidly switch on and off between the left and the right eye so fast that you don’t notice it, but to your mind, it’s as if you are viewing a single image with depth. Since the glasses close and open like a camera or you blinking, they are called “active shutter” glasses and the preferred technology for today’s high definition 3D televisions and blu-ray players. To playback, all you have to do is boot up the included software and put on the glasses. You’ll also need a monitor that refreshes fast enough, but you’ll be in for a real 3D experience. All the information is available from the Nvidia website.

What’s great about side-by-side parallel is you’ll be seeing images in 100% of the color, unobscured by any color tints. The images also show their full range of depth. Active shutter glasses are even better than the non-active glasses they use in today’s 3D theater movies such as Avatar.

Not everyone however, can do the naked eye method. I have many friends who still can’t view those Magic Eye posters. Personally, I believe this is from a lack of trying and proper instruction because viewing a regular side-by-side image is easier than trying to find something you don’t know what it looks like in a Magic Eye poster. If you can’t, use the Nvidia system, but the drawback is the expense of buying the glasses, a new monitor, and possibly a new video card. Some people also experience eye fatigue using the glasses (although far less of a problem than wearing red/blue glasses) and there is a slight darkening of the image due to the nature of the active shutters

3D Anaglyph

This is also known as “classic 3D” like all the cheesy 3D movies Hollywood tried in the black and white era, with a mini revival in the 80’s. Notice the red and blue fringing in certain parts of the picture.

This method is most recognizable by the use of red/blue-tinted glasses which you can get anywhere, such as on ebay for as little as 10 cents a pair. Nowadays, it’s not really red/blue, but red/cyan, but for simplicity sake, red/blue is commonly accepted.

Anaglyph 3D remains popular because of their low cost and ease-of-use. Almost anyone can put on a pair of red/blue glasses and start seeing images and video in 3D. Because the technology relies on a color shift, images don’t need to be specially formatted in odd ratios or displayed using specialty equipment. They can be viewed with any display (except for black and white of course).

Despite advances in allowing the use of red/cyan to more accurately reproduce normal color, the glasses are still tinted and when anaglyph images are viewed through the glasses, they don’t look quite right. Parts of the image with greater depth, also means a great separation in color so you’ll see parts unblended and looking very blue or red, which can be disconcerting. In other words, the depth is rather limited. Furthermore, they can’t be used for extended periods because the eyes adjust to the tint too much and you’ll start seeing the regular world in odd colors once you take off the glasses.