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Into Darkness in 4K Dolby Vision 3D in Apple Vision Pro for $5

Cryogenator

Captain
Captain
Browsing CheapCharts this morning, I noticed that Into Darkness has just dropped to $5 on Apple TV for the first time in over a year. This price has been seen only quince previously (thrice in 2023 and once in 2017).

You can watch it in 4K Dolby Vision 3D (plus Dolby Atmos) exclusively in the Apple Vision Pro (where it's also available in 3D through Paramount+), whereas on Blu-ray, you have to choose between 1080p SDR 3D or 4K Dolby Vision 2D. If you don't have a Vision Pro but plan to get one as they continue to drop in price (I've heard of Facebook Marketplace sales as low as $1,500, and the low $2,000s are common) or to buy an eventual cheaper model, you can buy it on sale to watch in 2D now and be able to stream it in 3D later.

It's a conversion, but one of the best I've seen, with impressive depth apparent, especially on a giant 3D cinema screen in the Vision Pro. From a frontrow balcony seat in the Apple TV cinema environment, the screen almost totally fills my field of view. Arrows flying at me during the opening sequence on Nibiru made me blink! 4K Dolby Vision 3D is certainly a huge upgrade from 1080p SDR 3D Blu-ray (although even those look much better in the Vision Pro than in other headsets or on any 3D television or projector). Thanks to the OLED microdisplays, whether in 2D or 3D, the video (although not the audio) quality is actually better than in a commercial physical theater.

However, the half hour of IMAX expanded aspect ratio scenes on the 2D Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray aren't included. The only way to see those in 3D is to convert them yourself from the Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray using software such as Moon Player or CineUltra's realtime conversion, or Depthify, Owl3D, or iw3 if you want to prerender for a better result.
 
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Browsing CheapCharts this morning, I noticed that Into Darkness has just dropped to $5 on Apple TV for the first time in over a year. This price has been seen only quince previously (thrice in 2023 and once in 2017).

You can watch it in 4K Dolby Vision 3D (plus Dolby Atmos) exclusively in the Apple Vision Pro (where it's also available in 3D through Paramount+), whereas on Blu-ray, you have to choose between 1080p SDR 3D or 4K Dolby Vision 2D. If you don't have a Vision Pro but plan to get one as they continue to drop in price (I've heard of Facebook Marketplace sales as low as $1,500, and the low $2,000s are common) or to buy an eventual cheaper model, you can buy it on sale to watch in 2D now and be able to stream it in 3D later.

It's a conversion, but one of the best I've seen, with impressive depth apparent, especially on a giant 3D cinema screen in the Vision Pro. From a frontrow balcony seat in the Apple TV cinema environment, the screen almost totally fills my field of view. Arrows flying at me during the opening sequence on Nibiru made me blink! 4K Dolby Vision 3D is certainly a huge upgrade from 1080p SDR 3D Blu-ray (although even those look much better in the Vision Pro than in other headsets or on any 3D television or projector). Thanks to the OLED microdisplays, whether in 2D or 3D, the video (although not the audio) quality is actually better than in a commercial physical theater.

However, the half hour of IMAX expanded aspect ratio scenes on the 2D Blu-ray and 4K Blu-ray aren't included. The only way to see those in 3D is to convert them yourself from the Blu-ray or 4K Blu-ray using software such as Moon Player or CineUltra's realtime conversion, or Depthify, Owl3D, or iw3 if you want to prerender for a better result.
Perhaps better suited to a different thread, but just out of curiosity, can an Apple Vision Pro be connected in some way to a 3D Blu-ray player (either directly or indirectly) or is it restricted to Apple (formerly iTunes) titles? I have a fair number of 3D Blu-rays and a 3D capable projector but I foresee some downsizing of my home cinema space where a projector and large screen will no longer be practical. I’d hate to go without the 3D titles if possible (I will have a dedicated space for a near field setup sitting close to a flatscreen display for a proportional big screen effect but they stopped making 3D capable TVs years ago). As I would be the only viewer in this space 90% of the time, an Apple Vision Pro (or its successor/competitor) is something I’ve not considered but seems well suited to my future plans.
 
Yes, you can stream from a PC's 3D Blu-ray drive using a program such as Virtual Desktop or convert to MKV or ISO to stream or sideload to a Vision Pro, Meta Quest 3, or other headset with a third-party player such as Moon Player.

The Vision Pro weighs 650g, but the just-released Shiftall MeganeX Superlight 8K and upcoming Pimax Dream Air and XEO BIG all weigh under 200g and have 3840×3552 (more than the Vision Pro's 3,660×3,200) OLED microdisplays at the same 90Hz refresh rate of the Vision Pro with around the same FOV of about 100° horizontal for $1,500 less than the Vision Pro. I've worn my Vision Pro for fourteen hours straight without any discomfort, but having a lighter device will be even better, although the Vision Pro is currently the only source for 4K 3D movies. I'll probably get the Dream Air or possibly XEO BIG when they release later this year (not the Superlight 8K since it requires a tracking basestation). I also preordered the XREAL One Pro videoglasses with 1080p OLED microdisplays and a 57° FOV.

How many 3D Blu-rays do you have? I made a spreadsheet of all the 3D movies I've found.

OLED VR headsets are the best way to watch 3D Blu-rays.
 
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I watched the Kelvin trilogy last night on 4K Blu-ray in my Vision Pro using Moon Player’s realtime stereoscopic conversion and large theater environment. I prefer the much higher bitrates of the 4K Blu-rays and especially the IMAX scenes to the manual conversions of the latter two films. Seeing them at such high bitrates (even though all three are upscaled from 2K) on such a massive virtual OLED screen was like watching them for the first time again. I noticed many details I hadn’t seen before and was amazed by the skin and fabric textures. Realtime 3D is also fantastic.
 
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