Customer Reviews

SainSonic 3D Rechargeable Infrared Active Shutter Glasses For Panasonic 3D HDTVs

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I decided to try these glasses instead of spending the $130.00 to $150.00 a pair on the Panasonic branded glasses.
The Pro's: They are well made and come with three different size nose pieces, instructions, usb charging cable and cloth storage bag and cleaning cloth. They work as described and I did not notice any ghosting with the glasses. They also are holding there charges quite well. It has been over a week with on and off viewing and they still have not needed to be recharged. They seem to have all the features of the manufacturers glasses.
The Cons: The instructions could be a little more thorough and precise. The flat surface of the lens in the glasses cause a reflection on the inside of the lens from objects in the room that are behind you. So if you have doors, windows or lights behind you, it causes an annoying reflection. This was corrected by adjusting the conditions in the room, but still annoying to have to do. The fit of the glasses were also a little uncomfortable after an hour or so. The ear pieces tended to cause pressure points on the ends and after a while I began having to adjust them slightly to feel comfortable.
Overall: These glasses worked as well as the Panasonics and cost less than half the price. They are not the most comfortable glasses in the world, but should fit 90% of the owners without causing any issues. The instructions could also be better. I would recommend these to anyone considering purchasing Panasonic compatible 3D glasses. I also plan on purchasing more so that friends and family can come over to watch the latest movies that are coming out on 3D Blu-Ray.

I purchased a pair of these for my Panasonic Viera. I already have a pair of Panasonic 3d glasses and these worked just the same. They actually fit better than the Panasonic brand. I would recommend these a cheaper alternative to the Panasonic glasses.

Warning: the average person probably won't care about the color/contrast issues I'm seeing but if you are anal about video quality like I am, hopefully you'll find this review helpful in your purchasing decision. I was going to give it a 2 star rating but felt that was too harsh for the average person buying these. If you are a video quality nerd, consider this a 2 star rating. :)

Like most people, I bought this because of: a) the cheap price and b) rechargeable usb capabilities vs replaceable batteries.

Pros: fairly comfortable, easy to sync with tv, 3d performance seemed identical to panasonic glasses minus the issues listed under "cons"

Cons: Reflections near the corners of the glasses (not a big deal in my living room though)

This was the dealbreaker for me... the color quality is very muted and the contrast is lacking compared to the panasonics. To know exactly how muted, look at a 3d image on your tv without the glasses and notice how washed out the color palette appears. These glasses seem to add zero saturation and color correction to that as opposed to the panasonic glasses which definitely show a boost in color and even slight contrast once you look through them. It also seems like the colors are way cooler than they should be. It was very appararent in Avatar because of how lush and vibrant the jungles and creatures are. I also tested out some 3D PS3 games and the same problems came up. To be 100 percent sure, I switched between these glasses and my panasonics back and forth and consistently the color/contrast issues were obvious.

Maybe this is only an issue with my hardware but it still bums me out nonetheless. Also, it's possible my particular glasses could be faulty but I'm not going to assume the latter due to the cheap price and lack of professional reviews. "If it's too good to be true it probably is" is what I'll be going by. My specs = Panasonic 50 in. VT20 with latest software updates as of today. PS3 MGS edition with latest updates as of today.

For anybody who has purchased these already and owns either the VT20 or VT25, please test out these glasses vs the panasonics looking for what I mentioned above and let everyone know if you are seeing the same thing or that it's just me and my particular setup.

REVIEW OF PANASONIC 3D COMPATIBLE GLASSES

I've been doing a thorough comparison of all Panasonic compatible glasses since the Panasonic ones are ridiculously expensive at $130+ per pair. Panasonic knows they have competition and their prices are starting to drop. It looks like the 2011 3rd generation glasses will come in at around a competitive $70. These were due to be released August 1, 2011, so they are already late. Panasonic also announced a recent deal with Xpand partnered with Sony and Samsung to release universal glasses that will continue to make the 3D glasses prices drop.

Here are the testing criteria:

COMFORT - This is probably the most important factor to consider since you don't want temple or nose pain after wearing glasses for a 2 hour movie. I have a large head so what I feel as tight or uncomfortable, the kids and wife don't mind as much.

COLOR ACCURACY - Look through any pair of 3D glasses at a bright natural light source like a window. There's no way to not have some darkness introduced. If you think about it, your eyes are only seeing 1/2 the light they normally would when the lenses are switching back and forth.

REFLECTION - Face away from a bright natural light source while wearing the glasses and look at the light source reflected from the inside of the glasses. None of the glasses I tested were dramatically different from each other or had any sort of noticeable anti-relective coating. This is probably not an issue since most movies are watched in dark rooms, but when watching TV during the day, it can really be irritating.

Here's the summary of my findings to hopefully save you some homework and shipping back and forth. The rating is based on comfort and quality, NOT price.

Panasonic TY-EW3D2MU 3D Active Shutter Eyewear for Panasonic 3D HDTVs - Medium
(Excellent) Panasonic 2nd Gen ($130 and dropping) - I can't deny that these are the most comfortable and light-weight glasses, but they come at the most expensive price point. Introduction of the 3rd generation at $70 should be interesting if they are similar quality.

Xpand Universal X103 3D Glasses Compatible with Active 3D TV's, Black
(Very good) Xpand ($75) - These are fairly comfortable even with my big head. The color and glass quality is identical to the Panasonic and the XPAND have a bigger glass area. They also only come with a cloth bag versus the hard cases from all the other glasses I tested. The version I had are batteries-only which is a bit of a drawback, but not a deal killer. And speaking of deals--Xpand just made a deal with Panasonic, Sony, and Samsung to produce universal glasses. This alone should tell you that Xpand is the generic to go with.

SainSonic 3D Rechargeable Infrared Active Shutter Glasses For Panasonic 3D HDTVs
(Good) SainSonic ($60 and dropping) - Second only to Panasonic in comfort. Unfortunately, these glasses add a yellow hue to everything. I was going to keep these until I did the color test. Very obvious color distortion. On the reflection test, they were slight better with less reflection, but this also had the yellow hue, so it may just be the darker yellow coating making a darker reflection.

(Good) Blick ($99) - Largest glasses area, but I really don't see the advantage to this if you can see the whole screen with another brand. Their website (glassesunlimited.com) screams of TV-commercial which should be a warning sign. I found their glasses moderately comfortable even with the hard plastic. The color and glass quality on par with Panasonic, but not worth keeping at the $99 price. They are also the only brand to use a micro-USB connection for recharging (which is only slightly inconvenient in the sense that it's different from any other glasses you may have). I'm taking them up on their boisterous 90-day refund policy. We'll see how much of a hassle and shipping cost loss it will be. So far I've only had an automated answering machine which says they aren't available. I may be stuck with these.

___

Hope this helps you a little with your choice of compatible Panasonic 3D glasses!

I just purchased the Sainstore 3D Rechargeable Infrared Active Shutter glasses for use with my Panasonic TC-L37DT30 tv. Panasonic was kind enough to provide a single set of glasses with the TV, but I needed a second pair for my wife. Panasonic charges a rediculous $150.00 for a set of these glasses (the kind included with the TV) and finding other compatible glassed under $90.00 was really hard (even for used sets on ebay and amazon). Alas, I found these glasses on Amazon and they claimed to be compatible. Well, I gave them a shot. Before the glasses arrived, I received a couple of personal emails from the company advising me that they should work perfectly, but if I should have a problem I would receive a full refund. I had a few questions about the glasses, all of which were responded to within a half hour. Nice service!!!

The glasses arrived within two days with my Amazon Prime account. I glasses come with two extra nose guards to alter their size a bit. They are a bit flat in design. My guess is that this design makes them easier to use for people wearing prescription glasses with them. They are heavier than the panasonic branded glasses and less comfortable. I was able to able to wear them through "How to Train Your Dragon" without much of a problem, but no doubt the panasonics are easier to live. I tried all three nose pieces, but none of them really helped with the fit.

In terms of performance, it took me about eight minutes to figure out how to get the glasses to sink with the TV. It's actually quite simple and should have taken two minutes, but the Chinese to English translation didn't help things. Once they were synced up to the TV the worked without a hitch. The were just as clear and effective as the panasonics. I could see no real difference in 3d performance between these glasses. From an convenience standpoint, you have to remember to press the power button and hold it until the blue light flashes three times--otherwise the glasses won't turn off. That's kind of inconvenient and not nearly as nice as just slighting a hard on/off switch like on the panasonic glasses.

The fact is, these glasses cost a third of what the panasonic branded glasses cost. If you can live with some of the ergonomic challenges, the glasses performed well. I am giving them 4 out of 5 stars because they performed well, the customer service was good and the price is right. I am dinging them one star because these glasses could be more comfortable to wear. If my opinion changes over time, I'll update my review.

These glasses worked great on My Panasonic 3D plasma TC-P50GT30. The instructions are not very detailed, but they were easy to setup non the less. I even tested these out with my PC with 3d vision, and they surprisingly worked. Great price on 3D glasses if you have a Panasonic 3D TV, if you want to save a little get these.

These active shutter glasses cost less than half the price of the OEM Panasonic glasses, so I didn't quite know what to expect.
The glasses come in a sturdy cardboard box that you can keep to store them in when not in use. The box contains the glasses, three various nose support pieces, a microfiber cleaning cloth, a soft fabric pouch, a USB to microUSB charging cable and a folded instruction sheet.
The electronics are located on the left branch of the glasses: a micro USB connector for charging on the bottom, and two buttons at the top, power and sync.

To power on the glasses, you press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the blue light comes on (you can see it from the corner of your eye while wearing the glasses). The first time I used them I had to "teach" them about my TV by pressing the other button until they synced to the Panasonic signal. After that, smooth sailing. Whenever I power them on, they automatically sync to the 3D signal without any further action.

Battery life is excellent; I have only charged them once and used them for about 20 hours without problems. They're too new for me to have any more information than that, but so far, so good. They automatically switch off if they don't detect a 3D signal for a few minutes, so they're pretty forgiving.

I like the design with the thick branches because it filters out side light that might cause reflections inside the glasses. I usually wear contacts, but the other night I watched a movie using my spare glasses instead and the SainSonic were comfortable to wear during the whole movie on top of the glasses, no problem.

The image quality is excellent; I did not have the impression of losing any color accuracy or definition, unlike some other reviewers said. Obviously, you will lose some brightness, but that comes with the territory: both LCD shutter (active) and crossed fields polarizers (passive) technologies significantly reduce brightness. If you can't deal with it, you won't like any of the 3D displays available today.

I do have a few minor gripes: although the lenses and the frame look well built, the branches look and feel a little cheap. Also, the choice of a miniUSB connector is a little odd: while popular, this connector has been superseded by the microUSB connector a couple of years ago.

Bottom line, these 3D glasses work great (at least with my TV, a Panasonic VIERA TC-P60ST30, they're rechargeable (other inexpensive models require replacing CR2032 button batteries every 30 to 50 hours) and they won't break the bank. A good product and an outstanding value! Highly recommended.

This is my first venture into the world of 3d television. I have yet to try the Panasonic glasses so I was conservative in my review of these glasses. They work very well. I had no trouble getting them to sync up with my television. I have to wear them down towards the tip of my nose...not because of the glasses but because I wear glasses and have a tri-focal prescription and have to position the 3d glasses so to avoid the "lines" in my own glasses. All in all...a great buy. Update 11-14-2011: I now have a pair of the the third generation Panasonic 3d glasses and did a side-by-side comparison. My findings are that there is virtually no difference in picture quality, or any other issue. They are bulkier than the Panasonics but find no glaring differences in 3d quality. The Panasonic brand features a mechanical slide on/off switch whereas the Sainsonic uses a momentary contact switch. Based on my experience I feel that the slide switch will fail before the momentary contact style of the Sainsonic brand. Not a big deal...just my observation. Unless you sit there and actually play with the switch on the Panasonic brand this will probably never become an issue. As to which one to buy...that will be your personal choice. If you want to save money buy the Sainsonic brand. If you absolutely have to have the Panasonic brand then go for it by all means. I have both and find neither to be a disappointment...ah yes!...forgot to mention...you do get a velvet pouch to store the Sainsonics in...the Panasonics have no storage except the box they come in.

We purchased a Panasonic TC-P60ST30 3D television and a Panasonic DMP-BDT210 Blu-ray player. Of course the Panasonic 3D glasses work wonderfully but they are $150 a pair! These Sainstore 3D glasses that are Panasonic compatible work just about as well as the Panasonic glasses for less than half the cost. I was a little disappointed at first until I realized there is another button next to the power button that you can push to zero in on the 3D picture if it isn't very clear at first. The different sized nose pieces are very nice for guests also. We are very pleased.

These glasses are a nice replacement for the more expensive ones made by Panasonic only in the sense they are cheaper. Otherwise they are less comfortable, have less brilliant colors and there are double ghost like images sometimes. My experience with the ghosting comes from watching Green Lantern on a 65VT30. Objects in "the distance" often do not match up and you see a dimmer image next to a brighter one.