hanafuda
Dr. Brown's Time Machine Mechanic
- Joined
- Oct 27, 2004
- Posts
- 4,967
I was passing through Bik Camera today and they had a big demo of 3D TVs on so I couldn't pass up the opportunity as I have been curious about them for a while now.
I only had a very short time as I was coming to the end of my lunch break, but got to check out two offerings:
They have TVs from several manufacturers on show, but I only got to try Panasonic and SONY kit.
Anyone else checked these out?
I only spent about 1 minute with each one, but here are my thoughts.
Firstly, they were not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting cinema type 3D of things jutting out of the screen at you, but they were not like that at all (from the limited time I had with them). I can only explain the effect as really emphasising the depth of field. The effect is particularly noticeable in wide angle shots, where things in the distance seem really far away, and things in the foreground seem much closer (sounds obvious, but the effect was not really what I was expecting).
In a way, it was kind of like really exaggerated paralax scrolling (sp), with objects on very noticably different planes.
Anyway, with the Panasonic setup the glasses were fixed to the stand and you had no freedom of movement. The video was some girl band dancing to some music on a kind of cross shaped stage, and the 3D effect was quite noticeable. Was quite impressed. Then, on a bigger TV next door they had some shot of moving through a doorway and there was really no noticeable effect in that, so I moved on.
The SONY box had glasses attached only via a chain so there was a lot of freedom of movement. The video was of the world cup. Maradonna on the touchline etc. The wide angle shots of the pitch and stadium looked really cool, while some other shots from a higher angle looking down had no noticable 3D effect.
One other overall thing I noticed was that the picture seems 'crisper' than normal HD TV. Again, it is hard to explain, but I think it is because the depth of field effect makes objects stand out from their background significantly, and the edges of them seem really crisp and clear cut.
Anyway, I had to run, but my overall impression was:
A) The effect was not what I was expecting at all
B) I was reasonably impressed, and can imagine normal TV looking quite dull in comparison
C) Hard to tell, but I don't see it tiring your eyes or causing headaches or any of that alarmist shit
D) Wearing the glasses could be a pain in the ass
I've got a bunch of questions regarding the tech if anyone (thirdkind ?) feels like answering..
I only had a very short time as I was coming to the end of my lunch break, but got to check out two offerings:
They have TVs from several manufacturers on show, but I only got to try Panasonic and SONY kit.
Anyone else checked these out?
I only spent about 1 minute with each one, but here are my thoughts.
Firstly, they were not what I was expecting at all. I was expecting cinema type 3D of things jutting out of the screen at you, but they were not like that at all (from the limited time I had with them). I can only explain the effect as really emphasising the depth of field. The effect is particularly noticeable in wide angle shots, where things in the distance seem really far away, and things in the foreground seem much closer (sounds obvious, but the effect was not really what I was expecting).
In a way, it was kind of like really exaggerated paralax scrolling (sp), with objects on very noticably different planes.
Anyway, with the Panasonic setup the glasses were fixed to the stand and you had no freedom of movement. The video was some girl band dancing to some music on a kind of cross shaped stage, and the 3D effect was quite noticeable. Was quite impressed. Then, on a bigger TV next door they had some shot of moving through a doorway and there was really no noticeable effect in that, so I moved on.
The SONY box had glasses attached only via a chain so there was a lot of freedom of movement. The video was of the world cup. Maradonna on the touchline etc. The wide angle shots of the pitch and stadium looked really cool, while some other shots from a higher angle looking down had no noticable 3D effect.
One other overall thing I noticed was that the picture seems 'crisper' than normal HD TV. Again, it is hard to explain, but I think it is because the depth of field effect makes objects stand out from their background significantly, and the edges of them seem really crisp and clear cut.
Anyway, I had to run, but my overall impression was:
A) The effect was not what I was expecting at all
B) I was reasonably impressed, and can imagine normal TV looking quite dull in comparison
C) Hard to tell, but I don't see it tiring your eyes or causing headaches or any of that alarmist shit
D) Wearing the glasses could be a pain in the ass
I've got a bunch of questions regarding the tech if anyone (thirdkind ?) feels like answering..