3D TVs -- review/comparison of Panasonic vs. Sony (29Jul2010)

[Mr. Analog]

Just watched Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D in the theatre.  Now there is a movie I'd like to see demoed on these TVs as it had some of the best 3D I've seen to date - very well done.  Mind you I have not seen Avatar in 3D yet...

Avatar it isn't the greatest story but DAMN it has some great visuals.

Agreed!

[Darren Dirt]

The problem of Blueray image quality probably has more to do with the size of set and viewing distance
http://hd.engadget.com/2006/12/09/1080p-charted-viewing-distance-to-screen-size/

^ interesting chart, but CSS warning: HORRIBLY messes up in Chrome

I think the same things could be said about the slack Blu-Ray adoption.

Personally, I can't be convinced in seeing a point in re-purchasng my pretty-decent-sized library of DVDs (forget VHS vs. DVD, it's more like like 8-track/audiocassette/CD all over again -- at some point you're "fine" with the level of technology) and especially with streaming and/or legit-download-on-demand services becoming so much more prevalent...

Which is what Mr. A and Lazy pretty much said (but I somehow missed it)

They are just trying to create a false race.. I guess they wanted to try and make up for the shortfalls the economy collapsing caused. They realized what other people learned, early obsolescence makes you money.

Actually, the more I think I about it the more I feel that the television/film industry is feeling very threatened by the internet.

Television programming is becoming more and more available on the net, how long before people just opt to buy a computer with a big monitor rather than an appliance like a TV? Big companies like Sony and Samsung are split into divisions that compete with each other, how long I wonder before the TV divisions get absorbed into the more generic "display" divisions? Especially when you consider that something like a 3D display that only works well for a single user sounds like it has immediate applications for PC users rather than TV watchers.

Plus I guess after the giant screen push of the early to mid 2000s has only left one marketing option; the next dimension! OooOooOooOoo!!

they are just turning TVs into PCs....

You can now get the following features on high end TVs:
- DNLA streaming / Players built in
- Built in web browsers
- Built in RSS and Twitter clients...

[Darren Dirt]

What I want to know is who is driving this whole shift to 3D, is it the film industry or the television industry?

Back in the 50s the reason things like Cinemascope, 3D, seat buzzers, etc came into being was to compete with television which was decimating the film industry. I kinda see some parallels, except this time it's TV and film VS teh interwebs.

Crazy!

3D's future "dim"?
http://www.toronto.com/article/686899
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2011/05/the_dying_of_the_light.html

The big selling point of 3-D when the change began a couple of years was that the image would be so much better than 2-D, and also superior to older forms of 3-D used in previous fads of the 1950s and 1970s. This hasn’t proven to be the case at all.

Less publicly stated was the other big reason for 3-D: the hope that it would deter pirates from illegally copying films and trading or selling them via the Internet. Judging by the large number of pirate download sites that still exist, I don’t see any value in this argument, either.

It’s time for all concerned to admit that 3-D: The Sequel has been a massive flop in multiplexes and in the eyes of beholders.


...

Digital projectors have been force-fed to theaters by an industry hungry for the premium prices it can charge for 3D films. As I've been arguing for a long time, this amounts to charging you more for an inferior picture. The winners are the manufacturers of the expensive machines, and the film distributors. The hapless theaters still depend on concession sales to such a degree that a modern American theater can be described as a value-added popcorn stand.

'For 3D showings a special lens is installed in front of a Sony digital projector that rapidly alternates the two polarized images needed for the 3D effect to work. When you're running a 2D film, that polarization device has to be taken out of the image path. If they're not doing that, it's crazy, because you've got a big polarizer that absorbs 50 percent of the light.'

It is as if the Industry is courting self-destruction.

The movie industry feels under threat these days from DVDs, cable movies on demand, a dozen streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, Fandor and Mubi, and competition from video games. Decades ago, it felt a similar danger from radio (it introduced talkies) and television (it introduced wide-screen). The irony today is that it hopes to rescue itself with 3D, which is not an improvement but a step back in quality. The fact that more people wanted to see "Pirates" in 2D than 3D is stunning. The fact that 3D projectors in some theaters are producing murky and dim 2D pictures makes me very unhappy.

The film should have a brightness, a crispness and sparkle that makes an impact. It should look like a movie! -- not a mediocre big-screen television. A movie should leap out and zap you, not recede into itself and get lost in dimness. Short-sighted, technically illiterate penny-pinchers are wounding a great art form.

:sigh: oh the 2008-vs-now irony: http://articles.boston.com/2008-03-12/ae/29270530_1_3-d-movies-screens-access-integrated-technologies

[Mr. Analog]

Well, I can't say I'm all that surprised really...

[Darren Dirt]

"3D is just one more tool for a film maker to use"
http://www.cracked.com/article_18877_4-reasons-3-d-movies-dont-have-to-suck_p2.html

[Mr. Analog]

And if 3D bugs ya, you can always get glasses that convert 3D into 2D -> http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/miscellaneous/e9b4/?cpg=164H&link

[Lazybones]

And if 3D bugs ya, you can always get glasses that convert 3D into 2D -> http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/miscellaneous/e9b4/?cpg=164H&link

But then you still have to pay the 3D tax on the ticket!

[Mr. Analog]

And if 3D bugs ya, you can always get glasses that convert 3D into 2D -> http://www.thinkgeek.com/tshirts-apparel/miscellaneous/e9b4/?cpg=164H&link

But then you still have to pay the 3D tax on the ticket!

hehe, exactly!