
What would have been nice
Is if Avatar had expanded interest in well-told, dramatically engaging, complex storytelling. But 'Dances with Wolves' for the ritalin generation didn't have any.
Hit movie Avatar appears to be persuading punters - in the US, at least - that it might soon be possible to view 3D films on TV at home. Whether it will convince them to buy into the notion is another matter. Electronics price-comparison site Retrevo said yesterday that while a mere 39 per cent of consumers were aware of 3D TV …
It's kind of a chicken and egg problem. What is the point of buying a 3D television when there is so little content to watch on it? With no content, 3D TV is pointless. It is also such a fledgling technology you would have to be pretty brave or pretty stupid to buy into it right now. The *really* early adopters always get stung for a lot of money for a half baked implementation that will be superseded by semi-decent models after a generation or two.
Aside from that, the biggest impediment is the glasses. They induce headaches, they look stupid, and they cost a lot of money. You'd be lucky if TV manufacturers toss even one pair in the box and most people are going to need more than that.
I think 3D is an interesting concept and probably it will become a standard feature of midrange TVs over time. Maybe then its worth investigating, especially if more content appears. But I simply do not see the point of it right now except for novelty value. And those glasses have to go. Whichever TV set manufacturer produces a convincing 3D effect without the need for glasses or other absurd restrictions is going to make a lot of money.
Didn't HD have a similar issue? No programming, so no point buying TV's, until Sky and Sony joined forces (marketing) to make HD plausable.
And that's happening again in a few short weeks when Sony release their 3DTV's - look out for the glasses to be stuck on a Sony Centre's window near you...
....PC's and consoles step in. All directx games have been viewable in 3D using stereoscopic glasses for a good 12 years. I think this movement was stalled by the popularity of LCD's with low refresh rates.
All Console and PC games should be made with 3D in mind (crosshairs in the right place with the 3d effect on etc), films will soon follow.
I'm sure games will play their part but its still not enough. No console is 3D yet, and even if Sony or Microsoft enable some form of 3D it will be patched into games on a per case basis. Some games will get the treatment, some won't, either because their frame rate isn't high enough or other fundamental issues.
I don't consider PC games to make the slightest bit of difference to the situation. I am aware that some solutions claim to 3D-ify older games (e.g. 3D Vision) but PCs are generally speaking not plugged into living room TVs, so the content you may or may not eventually be able to play is irrelevant. Even on the PC some games won't work because they overlay 3D with 2D elements like the HUD, muzzle flash, blood splatters, lens flare, anti-aliasing etc. It leads to some very weird artifacts where the muzzle flash is floating above the gun or the perspective is all screwed, or clipping issues caused rendering from two viewports..
Yes eventually 3D will have content but that time is not now. I think it would be a colossal waste of money to buy a 3D TV for a few years unless its a value add tossed into an otherwise decent 2D TV. Let the early adopters fork out for the half implemented, slow, broken 1st generation of TVs to play a handful of titles. In maybe 2 or 3 years there may even be enough content to justify someone in the mainstream buying a TV for its 3D features.
the problem with glasses is that people dont actually watch TV. most of the day they "glance" at it. -They wake up and turn the telly on and listen to the news whilst getting ready for work.
How many people would put a pair of 3d glasses before they get dressed just so the morning news didn't look strange?.
Then people, sorta like, come home in dribs and drabs from school/work/manicurist; now there would have been no reason to wear the 3d glasses on the way home; apart to look like a dick, so you glance over to the tv to see what junior/missus/sir is watching and your eyes go funny cos you've not put the 3d glasses on.
Silly. Until we polarise everyone's eyes at birth, 3D is a stupid fad.
HD isn't/wasn't such an issue - hellfire its just a better quality picture for gods sake. Whether the picture is B/W or colour or HD - all you just need to do to watch is to turn your head and look at it - not "turn your head, turn it back, find a pair of 3d glasses, then turn back and look at telly". Hmm. maybe radio will have a resurgence.
3d glasses at £25+ a pop will be fine(*) until your mates come round to watch the footie and you tell them they wont be able to watch it without forking out for a pair of fluffing stupid glasses.
(*) cough (**)
(**) actually you know that's not how it goes - Once Murdoch puts out a 3D channel we'll get BOGOF vouchers in The Sun and a multitude of competitions that allow us the opportunity to win a 3D telly and pair of matching his and hers glasses(***)
(***) I can picture them now - they'll have a green stripe along the top where you can put your names...
That tried to tell us that Blu-Ray was dead, and that Digital Downloads were the future, concede that they were wrong on that (and in most cases, the HD DVD thing), and their new mantra is that 3D is not worth bothering with..
Oh, hang on, Microsoft have already started telling their droids what to think...
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.joystiq.com%2F2010%2F01%2F13%2Fxboxs-greenberg-questions-demand-for-at-home-3d%2F
Obviously, anything they can't do sucks (until such a time, that they can do it, then it's the best thing evah...)