A system (10) for two-dimensional (2-D) or three-dimensional (3-D) display of images includes a projector (100) for projecting the images; a processor (20) for determining whether to project 2-D or 3-D images; glasses (30) for viewing the 3-D images; a first transmitter (22) for synchronizing the projector with the glasses for viewing 3-D images; a switch (34) in the glasses to detect whether the glasses are on or off; a second transmitter (36) in the glasses for transmitting on/off position information; a receiver (24) for receiving switch position information from the second transmitter; wherein the receiver sends the on/off information to the processor; and wherein the processor switches the projector to project 2-D when the glasses are off.