3D - 2

3D television, someone explain please?

My parents are buying a new tv, and they saw a samsung ad for a 3D television. I remember hearing it on the news yesterday but I wasn't paying any attention to it. Does that mean all shows are 3D? Cause it seems a little annoying. I was also wondering whether watching 3D movies are bad for your eyes. I also heard that being mentioned on the news, but they didn't talk about it much and it wasn't clear to me.

Public Comments

1. See the link below for one of the better on-line explanations of 3D TV. Short version: for the foreseeable future, watching 3D TV will require the viewer to (a) have well balanced vision in both eyes, and (b) wear special glasses while watching 3D. If that works for you or your parents, the good news appears to be that 3D-capable sets are already on the market and not terribly more expensive than conventional sets. Of course, having a 3D capable set is not enough; the networks also need to be producing and broadcasting programming in 3D. That has yet to happen in any meaningful quantity, but it eventually will. The special glasses issue will be a stopper for many viewers. Technology will eventually do away with the glasses, but don't expect that to happen for at least 10 years (per the article below).
2. The only 3D TVs on the market right now are of an older DLP type and they don't support full HD 3D. The new HD 3D Television standard that everyone is talking about won't be coming out on the consumer market until around this summer. Only some 3D Movies (on Blu-Ray) will be available to watch in 3D, and eventually some cable/satellite channels may be broadcast in 3D as well. 3D Blu-Ray movies require the use of a 3D Blu-Ray player (also not coming out until the summer, although the PS3 is officially upgradeable to support the new 3D standard). In order to view the movies in 3D, you will need special 3D glasses. For most TVs coming out this year, that means buying expensive 3D shutter-glasses that can cost between $100 and $200 a piece! Unlike older shutter-glass technology which had low shutter frequency (which game some people slight headaches), the newer technology displays 60 frames per second per eye (120 frames per second total) so that there is no noticeable flicker and no headaches. Some people naturally feel a bit dizzy or otherwise 'different' when watching a 3D movie because it can be very realistic and if there is a lot of motion on screen you may get mild motion-sickness (caused by your perceived motion differing from your actual static motion). This isn't really a problem with 2D video because your brain doesn't take much notice to 2D and doesn't perceive it as 'realistic' whereas a 3D video can be very realistic, involving and immersive as you feel like you are actually in the environment you're looking at.
3. Sony and the Discovery Channel will partner on a 3D channel, and ESPN is planning SportsCenter 3D content. DirectTV and Fox Sports are also developing 3D TV content. AS soon as the fall of 2010! As long as they control the motion that's going on and minimize projectiles coming at you..it should be entertaining. However, watching Avatar 3D in a theatre, you marvel at the 3D effects....constant programming of 3D shows would be too overwhelming to the senses...but once a year...ok for me. The skinny on 3D in link below