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Attack of the Giant 3-D TVs!

Posted by Paul_Asay on Mar 11, 2010 9:08:09 AM
3-d glasses.JPGWouldn't you know it. Just when I break down and buy a new, HD, flat-screen, fancy-schmancy television (it even comes with a remote!), I find that it's already behind the times. HD? That's sooooo 2009. The Joneses are buying 3-D TVs now.

 

Well, maybe they're not buying them quite yet. Panasonic and Sanyo just unveiled their first 3-D sets this week, and Sony won't be selling its own multi-dimensional screens until this summer. Still, television makers believe that folks like us will be screaming for 3-D sets in the near future. "We want to spend $500 more for our TVs!" we'll allegedly tell them. "And we want to wear funny glasses, too!"

 

But this is problematic for folks like me who already wear funny glasses. When I go see 3-D movie screenings, I have to slip a pair of plastic, 3-D glasses over my regular specs—a look that would surely make me king of the faraway land of Nerdtopia.

 

Thank goodness I'm not dating.

 

But I put up with these 3-D glasses in the theater because, of course, I'd get fired from my awesome movie-reviewing gig if I didn't. And also because the 3-D effects can be kinda cool. But I think 3-D movies are cool precisely because they're like a special treat: You have to go to a theater to see them. They're like Girl Scout cookies: fantastic in small quantities, but you wouldn't want to eat them for dinner for the rest of your life, would you?

 

OK, so maybe you would. But the point is still valid. Sure, some folks think a film like Avatar is much improved in 3-D. But how much would it add to, say, American Idol or Iron Chef? And frankly, I can think of a few shows—Discovery's Dirty Jobs comes to mind—that I'd pay not to see in 3-D.

 

And here's another thing: I can't keep track of my remote now, much less a pair of 3-D glasses. I don't know if I want to shell out another $40 for a replacement pair every time I lose mine, or sit on them, or remove them from my dog's mouth.

 

But maybe I'm just bitter because my television is already obsolete. Plus, I'm old. Maybe I'm looking at this new technology all wrong. What do you think?

793 Views Tags: television, technology, consumerism, avatar, 3-d


Mar 11, 2010 10:07 AM LionesSong LionesSong    says:
I don't think that these new 3-D TV's will catch on as quickly as the HD TVs.  Besides the problems you've mentioned, there are several people that I've met who aren't able to handle watching anything in 3-D.  3-D only would only be worth having for certain shows and movies, and the glasses would just be on more thing to lose.
Mar 11, 2010 11:16 AM MommyTopics MommyTopics    says:

My family rarely goes to see movies in the theater anymore, 3-D or not, due to language and specifically how many movies just can't seem to make it to the big screen without misusing the Lord's name. We check every movie, no matter what it's rated, on Plugged In first. If the film misuses the Lord's name, that's strike one to keep us out of the theater. We do however watch those films later when they come out on DVD because at our house we have a TV Guardian which filters out misuse of the Lord's name among other foul language problems. There may be some films we'd like to see in 3-D, but won't want to go see in the theater without our foul language filter. For that reason, 3-D at home could be fun.

 

I'd also watch "A Christmas Carol" with Jim Carrey in 3-D at home every December. I loved that movie and I just know it wont be the same without the 3-D. But that brings me to my next hesitation over this new technology for home...

 

I can't imagine that having a 3-D TV at home is very spectacular unless you have a REALLY BIG TV, with surround sound, in a nice, comfy, dark home theater room. 3-D in my bright, busy, living room on a small flat screen doesn't sound very spectacular. And, watching A LOT of 3-D at home sounds migraine inducing, among other things. I'm not sure our bodies were made to watch hours and hours of TV each week, in 3-D.

 

I'm a parent in my thirties and I'm certainly not jumping up and down over this new technology. I probably won't get a TV like this unless I get that great home theater I was talking about first... not likely to happen in this lifetime.

 

But... my 8 year old who was looking over my shoulder as I read this post said, "What? 3-D TVs? They have those now? Oh we've got to get one!"

Mar 11, 2010 11:45 AM knifehed knifehed    says:
I wouldn't sweat it too much bro. I really doubt that 3-D TV is the next industry standard for how we watch our shows. However, smell-o-vision... now that's a possibility.