So, 3D TVs...

hanafuda

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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..
 

SML

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Gimmick. Early adopters are going to feel fucking stupid when the programming doesn't materialize.
 

hanafuda

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Gimmick. Early adopters are going to feel fucking stupid when the programming doesn't materialize.

That kind of leads on to one of my questions:

Will the content need specific programming, or will it be incorporated into regular broadcasts? I can't see it working if it is like 'tonight's special feature presentation in 3D' or something like that.

No idea about the Panasonic videos, but the stuff on the Sony box was of the Argentina V Nigeria game that only took place a couple of days ago, so I don't know how they got the data but Sony or whoever must have processed all of that pretty damn fast to get it ready for today (Tuesday in Japan).

Also, a some of the manufacturers have dumped a huge amount of cash into R&D for this, and are now pumping huge amounts of cast into promoting it, so they must be pretty confident in it.
 

wizkid007

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Ill bite when there is a good portion of xxx related material being produced. By that time the format should be established and making considerable money.

If not, well I wont be buying one.
 

GregN

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Ill bite when there is a good portion of xxx related material being produced. By that time the format should be established and making considerable money.

If not, well I wont be buying one.

3D titties!
 

Tung Fu ru

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Yeah, I've seen some 3D TVs and I'm not that impressed. They're are really expensive and it's pretty gimmicky. Honestly I don't see any sort of 3D TV being successful until someone can figure out how to make 3D TV without using glasses (similar to those 3D optical illusion pictures, but full motion). I just don't see people spending three times the price for these TVs, and still having to wear some special 3D glasses.

Just my two cents
 

RabbitTroop

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Gimmick. Early adopters are going to feel fucking stupid when the programming doesn't materialize.

Well... not exactly. The medium to high end Samsung, Sony, and Panasonic panels all have 3D in them this year. The Panasonic 3D set I bought, I did because it did great 2D. The 3D was a free bonus I figured I'd never use. It wasn't an upgrade offered on a like set, it was basically just on everything out there now.

That being said, my tv came with one pair of glasses and no content to watch on it. Additional 3D glasses cost around $150 a pair, making them completely restrictive and off limits for me. Many people feel this price is set to drop this year and we should see them around $50 a pair by Christmas. I won't hold my breath. Lastly, the content... There is next to nothing now, but it seems like the studios are going monkey-balls out to meet the need. Anything that had a 3D release in the theaters over the past few years will likely see another 3D home release this year. Avatar is slated, as are the Pixar and Disney movies. Is that a lot of content? No... but then you also have DirecTV's new channel lineup with already one full 3D channel being broadcast (and currently showing World Cup games in 3D).

Sony and Microsoft also have plans to bring out games in 3D, and Sony has an update on the tips of their tongue that will allow the PS3 to be used as a 3D Blueray player. That pushes up adoption as well. Combined with the forced adoption, basically tucking it into all new televisions, consoles, and the channels popping up, I don't think it's going away anytime soon... but I also don't really think it's something the populous really wants at this time. It will probably be a very successful failure.
 

T.A.P.

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I can't wait for them to release a slightly better version a few years down the line to make my previous purchase obsolete.
 

Kristian Meller

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Gimmick. Early adopters are going to feel fucking stupid when the programming doesn't materialize.

Quoted for truth.

3D is a fucking sham and it's unbelievable to see people downgrading their 50" Pioneers for a Panasonic 3D-TV just to be able to watch the one or two releases out there in laughably gimmicky 3D.
 

RabbitTroop

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Quoted for truth.

3D is a fucking sham and it's unbelievable to see people downgrading their 50" Pioneers for a Panasonic 3D-TV just to be able to watch the one or two releases out there in laughably gimmicky 3D.

You do know that the Panasonic 3D tvs are using Pioneer's Kuro engine, right?
 

Kristian Meller

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They say they're using Pioneer technology, but for now it seems to be limited to the front glass 'technology'. The new top models are not on par with Pioneer's last two generations in terms of picture quality.
 

RabbitTroop

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They say they're using Pioneer technology, but for now it seems to be limited to the front glass 'technology'. The new top models are not on par with Pioneer's last two generations in terms of picture quality.

You should go have another look at the sets. I've seen them side by side and I can tell you for a fact that this year's Panasonic plasmas are nearly identical to the Pioneer Elites.
 

genjiglove

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If they can figure out how to make the 3-D effect work without having to wear the glasses, I'll be on board. But as a glasses wearer I can tell you that wearing 3-D glasses in a theater is a hassle. I certainly don't want to do that at home.
 

RabbitTroop

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If they can figure out how to make the 3-D effect work without having to wear the glasses, I'll be on board. But as a glasses wearer I can tell you that wearing 3-D glasses in a theater is a hassle. I certainly don't want to do that at home.

I agree that would be great, and I hope it progresses to that as well in the future, but right now the only way to do that is to have a "sweet spot" where you have to sit in order to see the 3D effect. This works well for a single-viewer, on like a CPU monitor, but for a TV this would never work with the current technology. The ones I've seen described online work very well if you sit in the middle of the sofa and look straight at the TV, but any deviation and you've lost the 3D effect. Still... this is where 3D needs to be if it is going to be ready for mass consumption. Honestly, something similar to Sega's old hologram arcade titles would probably stir a lot more excitement than true HD 3D. Too bad nobody is running with that idea.
 

Kristian Meller

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You should go have another look at the sets. I've seen them side by side and I can tell you for a fact that this year's Panasonic plasmas are nearly identical to the Pioneer Elites.

They are not as good. I don't care what you think you've seen. Going from a Pioneer 8 or 9G to a Panasonic VT20 is a downgrade. For example, black levels aren't quite as good.
 

RabbitTroop

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They are not as good. I don't care what you think you've seen. Going from a Pioneer 8 or 9G to a Panasonic VT20 is a downgrade. For example, black levels aren't quite as good.

Watch how I turn your same argument against you: They are as good. I don't care what you think you've seen. Going from a Pioneer 8 or 9G to a Panasonic VT20 you'd have to strain to see any difference... For example, color saturation and black levels are just as good. You say you're right, I say you're wrong.
 

Loopz

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Watch how I turn your same argument against you: They are as good. I don't care what you think you've seen. Going from a Pioneer 8 or 9G to a Panasonic VT20 you'd have to strain to see any difference... For example, color saturation and black levels are just as good. You say you're right, I say you're wrong.

*battens down the hatches for a 6-page Kristian Meller AV freakout*
 

Kristian Meller

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Watch how I turn your same argument against you: They are as good. I don't care what you think you've seen. Going from a Pioneer 8 or 9G to a Panasonic VT20 you'd have to strain to see any difference... For example, color saturation and black levels are just as good. You say you're right, I say you're wrong.

Ah, so you admit that there is a difference... Some people are more specific than others of course, and I've never argued that a VT20 is a bad TV. With regards to black levels, those can be measured, and there is a difference. It's better than on a G20, but not quite as good as the real 'Kuro' deal.
 

Neo Ash

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If they can figure out how to make the 3-D effect work without having to wear the glasses, I'll be on board. But as a glasses wearer I can tell you that wearing 3-D glasses in a theater is a hassle. I certainly don't want to do that at home.

I'm with you on this. This basically sums up the post I made yesterday in the stickied A/V Thread.
 

StealthLurker

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My coworker has one. It can be cool, but just not enough 3D dedicated source material right now. Whatever algorithm the Samsung versions use to convert 2D to 3D is really hit or miss, but that's what I expected.


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