The 3D phenomena

The 3D phenomena


Advances in 3D technology in recent years has brought new life to the cinema and now to home entertainment as 3D television tries to take over from our ordinary sets.
New depth and detail to a 3D image has meant a host of new films have been made to cater to this format and entertain viewers.
The big question on many peoples’ lips when it comes to 3DTVs is will this technology be around to stay?
Fads come and go but it’s hard to gage how 3DTVs will develop in terms of popularity when more a more films are churned out in this format but the sales of 3DTVs are not going as well as manufacturers would have hoped.
One of the main issues for viewers is that after watching around 20 minutes of a 3D programme headaches can occur.
This problem affects some viewers because essentially our brains have never has to process a 3D image on a flat screen before.
Obviously our world is in 3D and our brains are finely tuned to make sense of the image our eyes pick up.
However when a 3D image is seen on a flat surface the brain has to worker harder to make sense of something it has never had to deal with before and this can cause headaches.
Some viewers also find wearing 3D glasses uncomfortable, especially those who are not used to wearing spectacles.
Manufacturers have found a way around this with the aid of autostereoscopic 3D displays, which means wearing these glasses will be a thing of the past.
However at £10,000 for a TV with this capability, it may be some time until this becomes a mainstream feature.
What can also be viewed as a concern is the sudden obsession with making a film in 3D just because it’s bound to attract more viewers.
This can come at the cost of the story telling in a film and there must be a conscious effort by filmmakers to make sure the fundamental concept of spinning a good yarn is not lost.
There is no doubting that 3DTVs are an exciting development in home entertainment but until some of these issues are resolved the 3DTVs’ time in the spotlight might be short lived.