Mastering the Art of Viewing 3D Films with VLC Media Player - Troubleshooting Common Issues

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How to Watch 3D Movies on VLC & How to Solve VLC 3D Error?

Written by Kaylee Wood | Last updated: April 30, 2020

VLC media player is claimed to be multifunctional, and here comes the VLC 3D feature. With VLC media player 3D function, you can still watch 3D movies videos to have the depth perception even though you don’t have a 3D TV or a computer with 3D capable monitor. This guide will tell you how to watch 3D movies on VLC step by step, plus the solutions to VLC 3D not working problem.

Main Contents:
1. What is 3D Video? Can VLC 3D Support All 3D Videos?
2. How to Watch 3D Movies on VLC?
3. How to Solve VLC 3D not Working?

Part 1. What is 3D Video? Can VLC 3D Support All 3D Videos?

Commonly, there are three types of 3D videos: Anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D video, Side-by-Side 3D video and Top-and-Bottom 3D video. Specifically, Anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D is the earliest method of presenting 3D effect and it requires less technology and specialized hardware. While Side-by-Side 3D and Top-and-Bottom 3D are much newer method. But, the visual effect of SBS 3D video is much better compared to that of TB 3D video.
Source: https://www.tipard.com/3d-intro.html

As of now, VLC 3D player can play Anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D videos movies directly, and display Anaglyph 3D effects to Side-by-Side 3D videos when turning its Anaglyph 3D mode on. Go on reading, and learn how to watch 3D movies with VLC media player we explain here. BTW, below is the 3D video list I use to test VLC media player 3D function.
Red/Cyan 3D Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=81d6Akiej1w
Side-by-Side 3D Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6xyPOttq7o
Top-and-Bottom 3D Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ScZRkRUYLM

Part 2. How to Watch 3D Movies on VLC 3D Player?

Preparations: Now that you have known VLC 3D player can play Anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D and Side-by-Side 3D videos movies, you should download some from 3D movie sites in advance with 5KPlayer if you don’t own one. Bearing in mind, a pair of 3D glasses is necessary for in-depth 3D effects, so buy one that is named as Red/Cyan 3D Glasses, Red/Blue 3D Glasses or Green/Magenta 3D Glasses.

Step 1. Free download VLC 3D player, install and launch it on your computer.
Step 2. Click on Tools on the main UI of VLC player to choose Effects and Filters. In the new popup window, just click on the Video Effects tab.
Step 3. In the Video Effects part, click on Advanced button. Then you will see an option of Anaglyph 3D. Check this option and click on Close button to finishing activating VLC 3D feature.
Step 4. Now, you can watch 3D movies on VLC freely. Please remember to wear on your glasses to have a better effect.

Notice: VLC 3D player also offers various settings to your Anaglyph Red/Cyan 3D video to match with the color scheme of the glasses. Just click on Tools on the main UI of VLC > Preferences > click on All option of Show settings in the left corner of the new window > scroll down to find Video and then choose Anaglyph in Filters > now, you can choose your favorite color scheme from the drop down menu > click on Save > close your VLC 3D media player and then restart > play your 3D videos and the effect you just set will be activated.

Part 3. How to Solve VLC Anaglyph 3D not Working?

Q: “ Hi, i have downloaded a 3d sbs movie and tried to watch it on anaglyph 3d from tools>effects and filters>video effects>advanced>anaglyph 3d but the movie keeps being in SBS. what did I miss?”

A 1: In the old version of VLC media player, you can directly click on the Close button to activate the VLC Anaglyph 3D technology after checking Anaglyph 3D option. But now, you have to first click on Save and then choose Close to save the changes. So, please check if you have clicked on the Save button before closing the window.

A 2: Maybe your downloaded video is not a real 3D SBS file. So, try to watch more 3D movies on VLC 3D player to see if it is the VLC itself or the 3D video causing VLC 3D not working problem.

A 3: Maybe your VLC media player 3D is outdated, so update to the newest version to solve the error. Happily, next big version of VLC media player – VLC 4.0 is on the way, and it is said that the VLC 3D feature has been improved a lot in this version.

A 4: When playing 4K videos, VLC 3D player often shows poor performances. If your 3D video is in 4K, you are highly-suggested to switch to a better 3D video player like 5KPlayer, a professional 4K UHD media player capable of playing 4K 3D 360 VR etc videos.