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4. 3D – New Age Gimmick or The Future of Film? - Continued
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Something this expensive needs to be of the best quality right? You’ll also have to purchase some of the glasses as separate from the television – some as much as two hundred quid a pop. For friends to watch your television they will have to bring their own – or your very expensive cinema won’t be of any use to them.
They even charge you extra for the glasses at the cinema. When I saw Avatar, I had to pay something like a pound extra to buy the plastic glasses. I had already purchased the ticket of admission for eight pounds. Sense it makes not. I didn’t even want to watch it in 3D, yet my choices were made for me.
They even charge you extra for the glasses at the cinema. When I saw Avatar, I had to pay something like a pound extra to buy the plastic glasses. I had already purchased the ticket of admission for eight pounds. Sense it makes not. I didn’t even want to watch it in 3D, yet my choices were made for me.
2. The expense. Making the films is expensive – approximately 15 percent more. Buying the television will be expensive. Even the 3D films that will explode into the market by Christmas will be very expensive to buy. Are we all willing to do that for something just as good in 2D or on Blu-ray? Even the programs that are currently broadcast are charging a bomb as a subscription. Imagine how annoying the upgrades are going to be. I shudder to think.
3. General confusion. Ok, I’ll admit I don’t know much about the little niggles of purchasing a 3D television and all the bits and bobs that go with it. Others won’t know either. There are LCD and LED 3D televisions available too, which one should we get? What type of glasses should we buy? There are two types that I know of - active shutter glasses or polarized filter glasses. What on earth are they, which ones are better? Are we all ready to learn new terms for our viewing pleasure? Should we even bother? So many questions, so little time.
4. Limited stock. Why even bother buying something that is still taking baby steps? The 3D films are not readily available, major stores don’t really stock them and probably won’t for a while due to the consumer market and there just isn’t much to choose from. Disney is jumping on top of the 3D phase and trying to release their films in the format, but I haven’t seen any yet. In my store we only have one film in our inventory... Monster House, a 2006 cartoon film about kids in a haunted house. Is that what we’re buying 3D tellys for? Personally I want Avatar 3D or Tron Legacy 3D to be released, but we’ll have to wait for a bit.
5. Perception. We’ve all thought it right? Oh it’s just a trend, it’ll go away soon. Or at least I thought that. Wishful thinking gets you nowhere I guess; I was hoping the iPhone would be the same. Most people don’t want to try 3D because of the perception that it is a gimmick. However, most people thought that way about high definition and the Blu-ray technology splurge way back in 2007.
Of course, many of us will remember similar technology steps forward in the past. Betamax (the Sony recordable tape with brilliant quality) and V.H.S. (Video Home System) tapes back in the early eighties? Eight Track tapes and the music cassettes in the seventies? The Compact Disc or CD’s back in the late eighties?
History has shown us time and again that it repeats itself. It looks as though technology is the same and that it is going to happen again.
Of course, many of us will remember similar technology steps forward in the past. Betamax (the Sony recordable tape with brilliant quality) and V.H.S. (Video Home System) tapes back in the early eighties? Eight Track tapes and the music cassettes in the seventies? The Compact Disc or CD’s back in the late eighties?
History has shown us time and again that it repeats itself. It looks as though technology is the same and that it is going to happen again.
Health Problems
Not a lot of people know this (sounding a bit like Michael Caine). There are notorious heath issues to do with viewing 3D. Unfortunately people are not told these effects, which is typical for today’s advertising ploys – but I’ll give you a quick rundown too so you can make up your own minds.
Not a lot of people know this (sounding a bit like Michael Caine). There are notorious heath issues to do with viewing 3D. Unfortunately people are not told these effects, which is typical for today’s advertising ploys – but I’ll give you a quick rundown too so you can make up your own minds.
1. Due to various medical/visual conditions, there are an estimated six million people out of sixty odd that cannot see 3D. For them it would be blurry image constantly whether they use the glasses or not.
2. Medical research shows that when an individual watches a 3D image, pressure is put on the eyes and so your brain is significantly put to work. The illusion involves pushing your eyes to see something they shouldn’t – which is quite a strong manipulation and it involves great stress as a health concern. As enjoyable as 3D telly is, unfortunately it is not something your brain is correctly equipped to handle. After watching Avatar and waddling out of the cinema, I took my glasses off only to find that I was blind for the next hour and a half.
Okay, not blind. However, I was seriously sight impaired for a long time afterward. This was all down to two and a half hours of 3D viewing. I’ll take this opportunity to say that Avatar was one of my favourite viewing experiences of the last decade, so my discomfort was nothing to do with the film itself.
Okay, not blind. However, I was seriously sight impaired for a long time afterward. This was all down to two and a half hours of 3D viewing. I’ll take this opportunity to say that Avatar was one of my favourite viewing experiences of the last decade, so my discomfort was nothing to do with the film itself.
3. The above mentioned fact is also linked with the rise in migraines and headaches linked to vision problems. 3D is actually quite difficult to watch day in and day out and the result is more stress on people’s eyes within their normal vision. Manufacturers have said that the distance between an individual to the screen makes a difference, but people have reported medically that it doesn’t. Best thing is to make up your own minds.
4. Reports of motion sickness have been documented. Those who have a disposition toward motion sickness of any kind will most likely experience it when watching in three dimensions.
5. The sick and the elderly are advised not to watch for health and stress reasons. See above.
So, there are plenty of reasons not to buy a 3D television. Are there any reasons that are positive? I know that most advertisements showing 3D as the next level can be annoying -
Yes is my answer to the question. 3D will be fantastic if the technology is used properly to enhance a film, not degrade the quality. The technology is still taking its baby steps into the world and hasn’t been refined enough so that we as consumers can enjoy the format in its fullest potential. It is most certainly a start to a pretty interesting future in technology and definitely a good time to be alive.
We’ve already got a version of 4D in the London Science Museum, where educational films about the ocean can be experienced with more sensory stimulants e.g. touching things – I think that water is squirted on viewers when the camera comes into contact with marine creatures. I think you can even smell things. I personally believe that in the next decade or so, demand (or public curiosity) will get manufacturers to continue working on televisions that can perhaps allow you to smell the perfume being advertised or what Delia Smith is cooking during her programme. The future of entertainment will come around sooner than we all think.
Filmmakers, television directors and game creators will no doubt use this new technology to enhance the fruits of their labour. This fad is definitely far from over, and unfortunately far from being a gimmick – so I suppose we’d better get used to it. For now however I’d advise you to save your money over the next couple of years. Just as Apple have released the iPad 2 that has eliminated most of its predecessors problems (but not all), I’d wait for 3D to become a little more refined, before you shell out your hard earned cash on something that simply is not quite ready for us yet.
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Penny Glen Investigates
