Is 3D video all that it’s cracked up to be?
Written by Iyaz Akhtar on January 15th, 2009 in News.
Section: Video, Features, Originals
At this year’s CES, there was plenty of 3D demonstrations. I got to see both Sony’s and Mitsubishi’s 3D technologies. Panasonic also had its 3D video which I was unable to see first hand.
The difference between this crop of 3D and the old red and blue glasses-style 3D is depth perception. Older movies used gimmicky events like throwing objects at the screen or objects protruding out at you. This latest version of 3D requires polarized glasses and is like looking through a window.
Watching the demos, you can really tell how far away objects are in relation to others. A college football game was shown and it looked terrific. Watching the football go from the quarterback to the receiver you could get a sense of how far away the receiver was without seeing field markers.
Sony also showed off Gran Turismo in 3D and the vehicles looked excellent. Seeing objects that you have regular experience with, like cars, makes seeing these objects in 3D pretty natural.
However, quick cuts in the Dreamworks 3D movie shown at the Sony Keynote were a bit disorienting. Going from a bridge at street level and then to the top of the bridge took a little adjusting time to determine where objects were in relation to each other. I’m sure with repeated exposure to 3D video, this determination will be made quicker.
Is 3D video really the future? The most recent upgrade to video has been HD. Would HD succeed if you needed to wear special glasses? Possibly. I think 3D (in the way it was shown at CES) will take off in the sense that IMAX did. Not every movie or event will be shot in 3D. Other events will demand 3D. This might be the way movie theaters make their come back. I’m sure many people will be willing to watch something like the SuperBowl at a movie theater in 3D.
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