Price Differences in Active 3D Televisions vs. Passive 3D TVs; Which are more expensive

by Jack Burden, staff writer

For a variety of reasons, passive 3D televisions are less expensive than active 3D TVs. The actual cost of manufacturing a pair of these glasses must by in the range of $1. However, in the store at retail the manufactures mark them up quite a bit due to the fact that most people believe you need to purchase the branded glasses for your individual Television. This is not true with passive 3D glasses for the most part. They should work interchangeably. So instead they sell for between $10 and $20 a pair at retail. This is still far below active shutter glasses which newly retail for around $59 to $79. Still, buying several sets will set you back quite a bit in comparison to passive glasses.

One other trend we've noticed is that passive 3D televisions usually come with 4 pairs of glasses in the box as opposed to 2 sets (or less) with active 3D televisions. This allows multiple person households to not have to purchase extra glasses - right off the bat saving them money. The process of manufacturing active and passive 3D televisions is fairly similar, but there are a few technological differences in the emitters and the circular polarization techniques that cause active 3D televisions to be more expensive. One, is the need for higher refresh rates in active 3D televisions to allow each eye to see 1080p rather than the passive 540 lines of resolution. This is called the Hz rate in today's televisions, so you will normally see a Hz rate of 240hz or more in active shutter 3D televisions. Higher Hz rate in the TV leads to higher prices at the counter as this is considered a major upgrade feature.