Not sure if I am posting this in the appropriate place so forgive me if I’ve goofed.
My question is, "Does anyone know why movies filmed in 3D aren’t available for streaming? A friend just saw ‘F1’ in 3D & loved it.
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I believe you can in Kodi. Just Google “can Kodi play 3d” lots of info.
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Cool! Thank you.
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Kodi can play 3D movies. Kodi supports several 3D video formats including Side-by-Side (SBS), Top and Bottom (TAB), anaglyph, and interlaced. Starting with version 13, Kodi has built-in support for these formats, including handling subtitles and on-screen controls in 3D.
Kodi Wiki +2
To watch 3D movies on Kodi, you’ll need:
- A 3D-capable display: This could be a 3D TV, projector, or even a VR headset.
- 3D glasses: Make sure they are compatible with your display.
- A 3D movie file: Kodi supports various 3D formats like SBS, TAB, and others.
- Kodi configured for 3D playback: You may need to adjust settings to enable 3D mode and select the appropriate format.
If you are using an Android TV, you might need to configure the display settings and Kodi to work correctly with the 3D format. For example, some users have reported issues with automatic stereoscopic mode switching on Android TV, requiring manual adjustments.
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Wow! That was a complete and succinct explanation. Thank you very much. People like you are what makes this such a great platform. Again, thank you.
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You should try some of the AI chat applications like chat gpt they are a great resource for info.
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@ProBowler This is the result I got when I asked “can Kodi play 3D movies”
Yes, Kodi can play 3D movies, but there are some requirements and settings you need to configure for the best experience. Here’s what you need to know:
1. Supported 3D Formats
Kodi supports the following 3D movie formats:
- Side-by-Side (SBS) – Left/Right eye images side by side (Full or Half-width).
- Top-and-Bottom (TAB) – Left/Right eye images stacked vertically (Full or Half-height).
- Frame Packed (MVC) – Used in Blu-ray 3D ISO files (requires passthrough to a compatible player).
2. Requirements
- A 3D-capable TV or projector (with active shutter glasses or passive polarized 3D).
- A compatible media player (if using MVC 3D Blu-ray ISOs, your device may need extra software like MakeMKV).
- Correct Kodi settings (see below).
3. How to Play 3D Movies in Kodi
For SBS/TAB (Side-by-Side / Top-and-Bottom)
-
Enable 3D Mode in Kodi:
- Go to Settings → Player → Videos.
- Under Stereo Mode, select the appropriate format (Side-by-Side, Top-and-Bottom, etc.).
- If your TV supports automatic 3D switching, Kodi can trigger it.
-
Play the 3D Movie:
- Open the movie in Kodi.
- If your TV doesn’t auto-detect 3D, manually enable 3D mode on your TV.
For Blu-ray 3D (MVC)
- Kodi cannot natively decode MVC 3D from Blu-ray ISOs.
- Workarounds:
- Use external players (like PowerDVD or MPC-HC with madVR).
- Rip the 3D Blu-ray to Half-SBS or Half-TAB using MakeMKV or BD3D2MK3D.
- Use Kodi + libbluray (limited support).
4. Best Kodi Add-ons for 3D Movies
- Official Kodi Player (built-in).
- PlexKodiConnect (if using a Plex server with 3D movies).
- Emby for Kodi (similar to Plex).
5. Troubleshooting
- No 3D option? Ensure your display supports 3D and HDMI is set to 1.4+.
- Wrong aspect ratio? Adjust stereoscopic mode in Kodi’s settings.
- Blurry image? Use Full-SBS/TAB instead of Half if possible.
Conclusion
Kodi can play 3D movies (SBS/TAB) with the right settings, but Blu-ray 3D MVC requires extra steps. If your setup supports it, you can enjoy 3D movies smoothly in Kodi.
Would you like help with a specific 3D format or setup? 
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I use Grok and got a similar result. Gotta love the AI chatbots
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They are not perfect but are helpful.
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You can set up Stremio with the Trakt addon.
There are several Trakt lists you can add when configuring with 400+ 3d Movies.
Note: I own two Sony 3D TV’s, one being the 65Z9D.
Yes, Yes, Yes & Yes!
KODI + Orionoid.com + TorBox + RealDebrid. Free + $3 + $3 +3 / month
Nothing else, no add-ons. TorBox=movies<5 years old, RealDebrid=movies>5years
For $3/month add Premiumize to pump up your movie list.
three-D effect requires playback in red and green(or blue) at slightly different angles to make you believe that you are seeing 3-d {hence the need for glasses with different colored lens).. Most streaming services don’t use double the bandwidth to achieve a 3-d effect on a small TV screen. And most people wouldn’t have the different colored glasses to appreciate the effect.
Without the special glasses you’d see a red hue movie with a blue shadow.
Hope that helps.
3D Effect does not necessarily require the coloured glasses. The wife can’t see 3D with the coloured glasses so I would get the SBS 3D videos and played them on a 3D capable bluray player using polorized glasses. Our favourite was Avatar. I forgot to mention active shutter glasses as well.
That’s Old School 3d.
Modern 3d Tvs, well until they quit making them in 2016, use Passive or Active glasses. They don’t have colored lenses. Mine both use active glasses, like these.
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I have the 75 inch of the last 3D model Sony made which I think is the z9 as well
I always got 3D TVs and it was getting bigger and more accepted and then it just died out I don’t know I guess people just didn’t like to wear 3D glasses but the act of shutter glasses while more expensive than you had to charge them were way better 3D at home with 3D Blu-rays then polarized glasses which is like what you get in the movie that disposable polarized classes for polarized 3D I also was a member of a private 3D Club website where you could download 3D Blu-ray isofiles and I had the Oppo 3D Blu-ray player that allowed you to connect portable USB powered hard drives with the Blu-ray ISO files on them and play the 3D Blu-ray ISO files straight from the hard drive connected to the 3D Blu-ray player.
I still have all that but it’s just at my house where my ex-wife is taking over for the past few years but I I will at least eventually be able to get back the TV and the 3D Blu-ray player then I just have to find the bookmark to the website on my laptop and see if they’re still active and what the latest on 3D is since it kind of died out cuz I don’t think they make 3D Blu-rays anymore they certainly stopped making 3D capable TVs so it kind of died out but being a 3D club I’m sure they’re still keeping it alive with whatever content is available because it one point even the cable companies like FiOS and Comcast were had a 3D channel on the cable box even and they’re getting to be more and more content before completely died out now I think the future 3D seems to be with the not only in VR but the xr/ar glasses like the x-real and the Viture brand which I prefer them in their ecosystem and they have a mode in the XR glasses which give you basically a big screen when you put on what looks like a pair of sunglasses and you can make any movie you watch 3D with those so that probably is the future of 3D and what will help bring it back into popularity and the mainstream
Ok, 3D movies are not passed around because of their size, a one hour movie could take up to 20 plus billion bytes. Try to imagine how long it would take to transfer a file in the 20 to 50 billion bytes across the internet. It is just not worth the effort and time. Hope you can see why no one does this.
That isn’t so. SBS can go from 1.5 GBs to say 16. That is in no way a huge size. I play 35GB vids every day and some are even bigger than that.
Internet speeds of over 1 TB are very expensive, I expect the additional cost of transmitting such large files is just another reason 3D files are not being used.
Again not so. It takes no more effort to play a 3D SBS than another vid like HDR 10. 35 GBs is 35 GBs no matter the format of the file. I have a 150Mbs internet connection which is more than enough for Streaming and provides me with the extra bandwidth for added devices.
Only Kodi add-on I’m using at this time is The Crew. Watched F1 Have surfshark and Premiumize