The appearance of three-dimensional depth is effective – more than I had expected in fact – but you need a high spec TV to handle the 3D wizardry, and that does come at a cost. Some of the manufacturers are being a bit coy about pricing at the moment, but you’re looking at £1800-2000 for even an entry-level 40in LED-backlit LCD model such as the Samsung LE40C750 - although online prices are already dropping to around the £1500 mark.
Some specs are snazzier than others: Panasonic's glasses
Step up to a larger plasma display, and you could pay, say, up to £5000 for Panasonic’s 65in TX-P65VT20.
What to Watch: Broadcast 3D Content
There’s not much point in spending the best part of two grand on a new 3D TV if there’s nothing for you to watch. Sky has already begun broadcasting a number of football and rugby matches in 3D – but only to pubs and other public venues.
Its full 3D channel will broadcast films and drama programmes as well as sport, but won’t be available to ordinary subscribers until “the second half of this year” – and probably later, rather than sooner.
3D footie coming home in the autumn, says Sky
Existing Sky subscribers who already take its ‘top-tier’ HD package will get the 3D channel for no extra cost, although other subscribers may need to upgrade their existing package. However, existing Sky HD boxes are already 3D-compatible, so at least you won’t need to buy a set-top box.
It turns out that existing Virgin and Freesat set-top boxes are also 3D-compatible. But while both companies say that they are exploring the possibility of future 3D broadcasts, neither has made any definite announcements so far.
Freeview has only just starting broadcasting in HD, so don’t expect it to get into 3D for another five years or so. The BBC has indicated that it hopes to film and broadcast some of the 2012 Olympics in 3D, but it has no plans for a full-scale 3D channel.
COMMENTS
tried the samsung in john lewis
blu-ray looked pretty good but it all comes back to the same 2 points:
- is the whole family going to sit there with jarvis cocker style specs on to watch eastenders in 3d?
- ah yes eastenders. content is king, so 90% of the stuff on tv is not better in 3d anyway. so 3d in the cinema is great but still doesn't work for the living room...
Total Fad
I don't even have Blu-Ray or a HDTV. I simply don't see the point (no one has been able to show me an HDTV and standard TV, of comparable size and show me any difference). On the HDTVs my friends have, I can't see any difference between a DVD or a Blu-Ray. So I don't see the point in wasting money on them until kit needs replaced.
Sound is the important thing. That is what will immerse you into the story. Black-and-white movies are still captivating because of the sound and, well, the story. Laural&Hardy are still funny because of the jokes. 3D adds nada.
Actually I take that back. 3D might give a good movie something extra, but a bad 3D movie is just going to be a bad movie in 3D.
From what I understand, the brain only uses stereoscopic depth perception for the first 10m or so, after that it's brute logic and other tricks (Anyone know for sure?). So what is the point in 3D when vast swathes of the scene don't need to be 3D at all?
More anti-piracy bullcrap is my guess. Bullcrap that *would not be needed* if the RIAA and MPAA simply got with the feckin' program!
Stereoscopic
Good clear introduction.
Misses some points:
1) While implied, the article doesn't explicitly state that it's not 3D at all. Only Stereoscopic. Like Viewmaster or Victorian novelties.
2) Maybe 20% of people who DO see real 3D, don't get ANY depth illusion from Stereoscopic video.
3) The Active shutter glasses may work for some people with one eye slightly weaker where the passive glasses don't..
4) Prolonged Stereoscopic video viewing will cause headache and eye strain. In reality unlike real life or real 3D displays(there are some not holographic), the image distance is actually always on the screen. The eye unconsciously tries to focus on apparently closer or further objects based on the parallax illusion. This is what causes the headaches or even nausea. The definition of "prolonged" is going to vary per person.
Not so standard after all.
Interestingly I went to IMAX in London with a pair of the decent quality Real3D glasses a friend had bough to go to his local cinema with.
When the 3D stuff started I just got a blurred image. No matter which way I turned the glass around. I was popular getting up to go and get a pair of IMAX specs that day!
Oh hum.
Are the companies having a laugh?
First there is far too little content around to justify buying a 3D TV.
Especially since Microsoft announced last week a 3D imaging technique that needs no glasses.
So surely any sensible IT bod will wait a year or two.
But in the mean time, have a laugh and ask Currys for a demo.
I went into Currys for a 3D TV demo and was told that the TV did 'upscaling' to 3D. I asked them to explain this and I had to try hard to reframe from laughing.
They seem to actually think that the TV can turn _any_ 2D programme currently on Freeview into a simulated 3D show in real-time no less and they tried to show me a '2D->3D' 1 min demo from a USB stick.
This 2D-3D demo was less effective than real 3D TV but it did have a 3D effect.
I tried to explain that they had the wrong end of the stick about up-scaling and what they had tried to show me was pre-rendered 2D to 3Dvideo and I had to leave before I started choking with laughter.
Oddly the '2D -3D' or 3D demos they had on their £2200 TV were obvious at the wrong data-rate or just plain broken as they kept on stuttering and pausing. No reason from the staff as to why these were the only 2 demos available (no 3D Bu-ray was available and no they didn't have it connected up to Freeview!) Dude - If I'm shelling out £2500 I want to see it working!
Last thing.
I spoke to a recent Currys 3D TV customer and he was asked to shell out a further £50 for a HDMI 1.4 cable as one wasn't included (choke) with his £2500 TV.
He went home and tried a HDMI 1.3b and guess what, it worked just fine.....
Nice one Curry. Don't think you'll get many sales...
