Panasonic TY-EW3D3ME 3D Glasses - Medium

First it has to be said that these new glasses are a big improvement on the previous generation which were £35 more expensive (I bought a pair for £105 in August - dohhh!) and they did not sit well on any member of my families face as they were set too far forward. This meant you got ambient light from the side of the frame and the general weight and positioning made them heavy on the mid / end of your nose. These new glasses are much lighter in weight and are much thinner all round.

The on/off switch and more importantly flashing LED indicating the charge are now on the top of the glasses so you don't get a flashing light in the corner of your left eye! The quality of the picture is also excellent with only very fast moving scenes showing any distortion (such as the battle scenes in Avatar). Thor looked absolutely amazing!

The main problem our whole family have found with these and the previous generation of Panasonic glasses is that it takes your eyes nearly a day to recover from the strain of watching a 2 hour film in 3D. I assume this is a function of the active shutter system rather than anything specific to either pair of glasses but it really is a let-down having had no problem with the passive glasses used watching the same films at the cinema.

I would say if 3D is the main reason for getting a new TV, I would check out the LG 3D passive TV's (the only manufacturer currently making both passive and active 3D sets) in a store as well as the active 3D TV's (for which you couldn't do better than Panasonic but Sony and Samsung's sets are also active) and see how each affects you and your family.... If the 2D image is the most important issue (and 95%+ of everything you watch probably will be) then the Panasonic plasma TV's pictures are amazing in 2D and great in 3D.

I would still recommend both the Panasonic plasma TV (42" GT30) and these new glasses but I won't be watching a huge amount of 3D until the technology improves hence 4*. Read more ›

If there is one major improvement with the third generation 3D glasses, it is a decent working range.

I received two pairs of first generation glasses with my 50VT20. One starts to flicker at 10ft, the other at 14ft. I can only use one pair from my settee which is 12-13ft from the screen. With the other, I have to move closer otherwise it just flickers off. The third generation glasses will allow me to sit at my dining table 20ft away and they still work. Whilst I wouldn't suggest this for normal viewing as the 3D effect starts to diminish, it certainly is a massive improvement on the first generation glasses so, I can relax on my settee and enjoy. Well done Panasonic !

Are they brighter ? Comparing the two directly, I could not find any real difference. My family could not see any brightness improvement either.

The new glasses are quite a bit lighter though that is due to a combination of smaller lens size and, (cheaper ?) hollowed-out, moulded, lightweight, flexible, uncoated plastic. The old ones felt a lot more solid with its harder plastic and better finish. However, that's probably why they are easier to break. This makes the new 3D glasses a little more comfortable if you don't wear corrective glasses. However, if you do wear glasses, the smaller lens on the new 3D glasses does not allow them to sit over your specs in the way that the old ones do. And the old ones have fully adjustable bridge supports.

The old 3D glasses came with hard shell cases, the new ones don't. With that, cheaper plastic and smaller LCD lenses, you can see why the third generation glasses are less costly though, hardly cheap.

The ability to recharge the glasses is a huge plus as opposed to fiddly batteries which either ran flat PDQ or just didn't work at all.... I bought a stack of CR2032s and worked through them at an alarming rate. Now there's no cost to power the new 3D glasses and, the recharge lasts for several movies.

So there you have it; much better working range, battery-free convenience, lighter, more comfortable if you don't wear specs and a much lower price.

However, I am not convinced that the manufacturers went the right way with active shutter classes in the first place. LG are showing that polarised ones can be effective on a domestic product as well as the cinema ......... and, at a fraction of the cost. Read more ›

Got 2 of these now. Really hard to get hold of. But much better than the other 2 generation glasses. Lighter and I guess brighter - although difficult to discern without direct comparison. Much more comfortable and they last forever on a full charge. So well done to Panasonic for great innovations.

However just don't turn to Panasonic for support. In my opinion and experience their products are 1st class but regrettably their service and customer support doesn't match.

I had the second generation TY-EW3D2 and decided to try the TY-EW3D3 because I didn't like the fit of the D2s and they left a red mark on my nose after watching a film because they were a little too heavy. Initial impressions were that they had forgotten to build in the battery and electronics because they weigh the same or less than a pair of plastic sunglasses, probably less than my Oakleys. They fit much closer to my face and eyes, which improves the field of view and is much more comfortable. The greater field of view means that I can sit in a wider variety of positions and be more comfortable. With the the TY-EW3D2's I couldn't lean my head back on my sofa because they sat too far away from my eyes and the frame obscured the screen. They are so light that I forget I'm wearing them and they don't leave red marks on my nose. Charge time is very quick and they seem to last forever. As other reviewers have commented, if you have a reasonably bright light in your field of view then flickering is evident, perhaps more so than the TY-EW3D2's but your brain adjusts for this somewhat and you probably don't want a bright light source in your field of view anyway. They let more light through than the TW-EW3D2's, which makes the picture a little brighter. 3D films and games are excellent and aside from being slightly brighter they share the excellent performance of the previous model. An excellent improvement Panasonic, thank you. Slight niggle is that they don't come with a storage case like the TW-EW3D2's do and they don't fit the previous model's case. I guess I'll have to find some smart looking sunglasses cases for my living room to keep them free of dust and protected from accidents. Overall - brilliant 3D glasses, you can't go wrong.