A high resolution 3D image may be encoded into a first multiplexed image frame and a second multiplexed image frame in a base layer (BL) video signal and an enhancement layer (EL) video signal. The first multiplexed image frame may comprise horizontal high resolution image data for both eyes, while the second multiplexed image frame may comprise vertical high resolution image data for both eyes. Encoded symmetric-resolution image data for the 3D image may be distributed to a wide variety of devices for 3D image processing and rendering. A recipient device may reconstruct reduced resolution 3D image from one of the first multiplexed image frame or the second multiplexed image frame. A recipient device may also reconstruct high resolution 3D image by combining high resolution image data from both of the first multiplexed image frame and the second multiplexed image frame.