Having been a Li3D Family for almost two months now, I can say that I am a 3D convert. I know there's some of my forum posts from last year where I expressed some scepticism about the 3D technology, and I am glad to say I stand corrected. Is it perfect? No. Will this become mainstream in the next 2 years? Probably not. But the quality of the picture, and the ever-increasing content is showing great potential for 3D technology. Now that there have been reports of using 3D and active shutter technology for gaming, offering two different pictures to two different people watching the same screen (head explodes!) I think the world is starting to look at this technology in ways that may not have been initially intended, but will increase exposure and usefulness, which is a good thing!

Without a doubt, the Panasonic VT20/25 series of plasma TVs offer the best picture quality of any HD TV currently out there (and if it weren't for that pesky Pioneer Kuro, it would be the best picture ever seen so far; rumor has it the Kuro engineers actually collaborated on this display...). And this is just in 2D! Having this quality and adding 3D capability on top of that is just icing on the cake. What is striking to me is the clarity of the 3D content. Every time I wear the glasses, I expect things to look a little dimmer on screen, like in the theater with the dark glasses. The opposite is true, the picture is just as bright and sharp in 3D as it is in 2D.

And here is also the disadvantage of 3D technology, the glasses. While very comfortable, the price point, and the fact that you have to wear them, is something that, I think, will prevent 3D TV from catching on as replacing all TV content. It will probably continue to exist as 'premium' content, and people will have to decide to watch a 3D program, and sit through an entire show. It gets a little tiresome taking off the glasses to walk to the fridge. Not that you'd need to, but it just looks funny. Families with small children will be very hesitant to give expensive eyewear to their kids, I think. Every time we have guests over with kids, I get nervous and always have to wipe off the lenses afterwards.

Overall though, my experiences with 3D have been overwhelmingly positive. I am very glad Panasonic is collaborating with DirecTV in providing an all 3D channel, and as mentioned, content is growing steadily, and getting better.

Bas,

Thank you for posting your experience with 3D products! 

Aug 25, 2010 -- 1:06AM, RemixCity by Kairy [LiHD #60] wrote:

Sebastian,

What's the best use of 3D you have seen so far? Just a program or an event so far given the choices that exist.

Will IMAX and others lose their lunch when more households go 3D?

Given that with polarization you can have different views to different people looking at the same screen will 3D help in certain applications like collaborative learning in a school for example?

I love your thoughtfulness so thought I'd see what you think.

Thanks for your time and your posts man!

Woohoo!

 

Hmm, the best 3D content I've seen, Avatar would be at the top of the list, but on my TV I'd say the nature documentaries on n3D (a dedicated 3D channel on DirecTV, sponsored by Panasonic). The World Cup Soccer was cool, but the format of that game which more often than not requires a wide-angle view didn't really bring out the depth of the close-up shots, which were a lot better, but more sporadic. I think nature and geo documentaries will continue to be some of the best 3D stuff.

While IMAX delivers an experience that goes well past most households (even the 'mini' IMAX theaters have screens that are 28x58 feet and deliver 12,000 Watts of digital surround sound), I think these mini IMAX screens will actually help bring 3D content to the consumer. 'True' IMAX theaters are few and far between so now that regular theaters can offer an experience that's definitely different from what they were able to show before, it will draw movie lovers to the theaters, and give more people exposure to 3D content as well. I see it more like the progression of HD. At first, you could buy Standard Def TVs that were fairly large, but now all the large screen TVs are plasma, LCD, or LED, and all HD compatible. I think the same thing will happen to 3D TVs. People will continue to want larger screens, and in a few years, 3D will be just another feature, like HD was, or stereo when that technology became first available on TVs. To go back to your question though, I do predict a small drop in IMAX attendance when you can watch 3D content crystal clear at home, with TVs large enough now that at a comfortable viewing distance, you get almost the same immersion as IMAX.

The concept of having two people watch the same screen and see a different picture is fascinating to me. It works similar to what active shutter technology does currently, transmit a picture from the 'right-eye' perspective, and the glasses being synched to shut off the left lens, and then the 'left-eye' picture gets sent and the right lens will be shut off. When you can hide a different picture altogether in the signal, and have the other glasses be synched to that picture instead of the first one, now we're talking sci-fi come true. So one person would see picture 1 which is synched to his or her glasses via signal 1 (which still does the active shutter in 3D, or maybe 2D at first. So instead of left/right t would be signal1/signal2 which would give a 2D picture), and the other person would see picture 2, via signal 2, through their glasses. The applications are endless, science, education, games. It'd help save costs for sure (pair of glasses vs. a whole new monitor/display). In business, I can certainly see application of 3D in R&D (pharmaceuticals, medical devices), as well as engineering. It's much nicer, not to mention more accurate, to able to view models of drug compounds, artificial knees, or complex machinery, in 3D.

Hope that helped :)

Aug 5, 2010 -- 1:57PM, Sebastian wrote:

Having been a Li3D Family for almost two months now, I can say that I am a 3D convert. I know there's some of my forum posts from last year where I expressed some scepticism about the 3D technology, and I am glad to say I stand corrected. Is it perfect? No. Will this become mainstream in the next 2 years? Probably not. But the quality of the picture, and the ever-increasing content is showing great potential for 3D technology. Now that there have been reports of using 3D and active shutter technology for gaming, offering two different pictures to two different people watching the same screen (head explodes!) I think the world is starting to look at this technology in ways that may not have been initially intended, but will increase exposure and usefulness, which is a good thing!

Without a doubt, the Panasonic VT20/25 series of plasma TVs offer the best picture quality of any HD TV currently out there (and if it weren't for that pesky Pioneer Kuro, it would be the best picture ever seen so far; rumor has it the Kuro engineers actually collaborated on this display...). And this is just in 2D! Having this quality and adding 3D capability on top of that is just icing on the cake. What is striking to me is the clarity of the 3D content. Every time I wear the glasses, I expect things to look a little dimmer on screen, like in the theater with the dark glasses. The opposite is true, the picture is just as bright and sharp in 3D as it is in 2D.

And here is also the disadvantage of 3D technology, the glasses. While very comfortable, the price point, and the fact that you have to wear them, is something that, I think, will prevent 3D TV from catching on as replacing all TV content. It will probably continue to exist as 'premium' content, and people will have to decide to watch a 3D program, and sit through an entire show. It gets a little tiresome taking off the glasses to walk to the fridge. Not that you'd need to, but it just looks funny. Families with small children will be very hesitant to give expensive eyewear to their kids, I think. Every time we have guests over with kids, I get nervous and always have to wipe off the lenses afterwards.

Overall though, my experiences with 3D have been overwhelmingly positive. I am very glad Panasonic is collaborating with DirecTV in providing an all 3D channel, and as mentioned, content is growing steadily, and getting better.

The reports about 3D gaming seem really interesting, Sebastian. Do you know any articles or videos that discuss that topic?

This thread is very interesting. I can't wait to actually get to see a 3D TV. I was in awe when we got HD! LOL!