Dolby 3D glasses for $17

By  Zahava Aroesty

(Covering ShoWest in Las Vegas at the Paris Hotel from March 15-17 on special assignment for 3DHollywood.net)

Dolby Laboratories, Inc. has reduced the price of its reusable 3D glasses. Dolby theater exhibitors can purchase new 3D glasses at a list price of US $17.00, reduced from US $27.50, making them even more affordable and cost-effective.

“Since our market entry just over two years ago, Dolby has shipped more than 3,200 3D systems to over 400 exhibitor partners in 67 countries. This growth in the number of Dolby 3D equipped digital cinemas around the world has enabled us to reduce the price of our glasses further,” said John Carey, Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Products, and Services, Dolby Laboratories. “Our eco-friendly glasses are designed to be used repeatedly, bringing per-ticket costs well below disposable single use 3D glasses.”

Dolby’s 3D glasses are high-performance, environmentally friendly passive glasses that require no batteries or charging. However, smaller theater owners expressed concern that using reusable glasses is labor intensive, as staff must distribute and pick up glasses for each showing; wash them periodically in commercial dish washers; and in the case of overlapping shows, purchase more glasses than the number of actual seats.

Some owners preferred lower quality disposable glasses so they don’t need to keep track of glasses; allocate staff; and replenish their stock.