I really hope 3D TV proves to be a fad and doesn't endure

[thewayne]

Maybe I'm becoming the curmudgeon that I've been looking forward to becoming. I'm not a fan of 3D movies, I'm one of those horrible people who usually prefers good stories over effects. I love digital movie theaters because the light level is more balanced, you also have as good a print if you see it three weeks after release as if you saw it opening weekend. But I don't like 3D movies. I wear glasses, and I don't like wearing 3D glasses over them. But I don't have much of a choice as there's only one movie theater (a ten-plex) within 75 miles of where I live, so if a movie is simultaneously released in 2D and 3D, odds are that we're only going to get the 3D. If we drive to Las Cruces, 90+ minutes away, we MIGHT get a choice between 2D and 3D, but it's a crap shoot.

Well, it turns out that 3D can do funny things to your eyes. And if the under 7 crowd watch 3D movies, there's a strong chance they can end up with damage to their vision and long-term problems. It isn't quite as bad in adults, but now we're looking at 3D TV and at an included technology that lets the TV interpolate 2D source material up to 3D. So now you can spend more hours than you would watching one movie in 3D watching a 3D TV at closer focusing distances. And children will have access to this, quite possibly with little or no supervision.

We also have 3D computer monitors on the horizon. I spend an hour or two playing Warcraft during the week, more on the weekend. I can't imagine what is going to happen to young hardcore player's eyes.

http://www.audioholics.com/news/editorials/warning-3d-video-hazardous-to-your-health/

http://science.slashdot.org/story/10/06/26/2059205/3D-Displays-May-Be-Hazardous-To-Young-Children?art_pos=9


Perhaps I should just embrace my inner curmudgeon like I've embraced my inner snob. Get of my lawn, dammit!

Comments

[deborak]

eh, if the kids go blind from 3D crap they won't be able to find your lawn, so it's a win for you.

[thewayne.livejournal.com]

But if they're not on my lawn, then I won't get any target practice!

WON'T ANYONE THINK OF THE CHILDRENS!

[keleos.livejournal.com]

I've only seen one movie recently (that I saw in 2-D actually) that I walked out of wishing that I'd gotten to see it in 3-D. One. And only because I enjoyed the movie enough that I wanted to see it from a different perspective again. There's really no need for the 3-D on most of the movies that it's slapped onto.

The problem is, movie theaters are dying a slow, lingering death, which makes me terribly sad. With DVD releases happening within weeks of the theater openings now, and On Demand happening soon after if not the same day as the DVD release, theaters simply can't compete. Why would you drive somewhere, pay good money, sit in a crowd with strangers to watch something once, when you can buy it to watch at home over and over again? (Personally, I think some movies HAVE to be seen on a big screen, but I have movies that I automatically put on my Netflix list.)

So the theaters are looking for a hook, any hook, to get butts in the seat. And electronics companies are looking for the next thing to make people buy the newest model and spend more money. You can be as curmudgeonly as you like, and I'll be in the grumpy ranks somewhere behind you, but this isn't going to stop unless there's a MAJOR health issue... and sadly, most people aren't going to think this is one.