Thomson’s Technicolor Business Group announced an affordable 3D process that works with existing 35mm projectors. Technicolor says that its 3D solution can be deployed immediately to bridge the gap until digital cinema can be more widely rolled out.

According to exit-polling interviews conducted by independent research firm OTX, moviegoers ranked Technicolor 3D as being comparable to digital 3D cinema technologies.

Existing 3D technologies work exclusively with digital projectors, but currently only approximately 6,500 theatre screens in the U.S. have been converted to digital and roughly only 2,500 of those screens will be 3D-capable by year’s end, according to Technicolor estimates. The company says its new technology puts 3D within economic reach of all theatre circuits, allowing them to benefit from the incremental revenue generated from increased ticket sales and surcharges for 3D
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“In today’s economic environment, it’s a harsh reality that not every exhibitor has access to the funding required to install digital 3D projection systems. It was the desire to make 3D accessible to the masses that resulted in Technicolor creating a 3D solution to fill the gap between celluloid and digital cinema,” said Frederic Rose, chairman and CEO of Thomson/Technicolor.

Warner Bros. teamed with Technicolor for initial consumer testing at the AMC Burbank 16 in Burbank, CA. Sixty-five percent of moviegoers polled after viewing Warner Bros.’ The Final Destination in Technicolor 3D said the “overall image quality” of the 3D was “excellent” or “very good,” comparing identically to results from digital 3D exit polls.

The Technicolor 3D Solution employs a patented lens system, a silver theatre screen, and circular polarized glasses.