3D TV is an exciting proposition for home cinema buffs, yet the technology comes with a hell of a lot of baggage. It demands our attention and the emptying of our wallets, but TV shouldn’t be this hard to watch.
It’s not hard to decipher our love affair with the telly. It welcomes our unceremonious slump onto the sofa after a hard day, demands only half of our attention, but always has plenty to give back (if you’re prepared for a bit of channel surfing).
If, on occasion, our telly does show what we want to watch, then we sit up and pay attention, but it’s still a ‘take me or leave me’ proposition. No strings.
Forget all that with 3D TV
3D TV is an event; an event with so many strings you’ll end up tied in knots. It demands not only your total attention but the attention of everyone else in the room, each wearing a pair of ridiculously priced glasses for good measure (£100 a pop anyone?)
It’s like settling down to watch your favourite DVD with the family but having to ensure everyone is appropriately dressed. No quick crossword, no quick web surf on the iPhone and definitely no sneaking off to the loo. The 3D telly is on and it’s in control.
‘Fair enough’, you might say – for a special event like a 3D movie it’s fine to make that extra special effort. It’s worth it in the end right? Well in a word, no. Sure the technology is impressive, and the first time you slip on the specs you’ll experience the ‘wow factor’. But it doesn’t last long.
The glasses are uncomfortable and heavy, background light flickers in the corner of your eye and the 3D effect is quickly muted if you happen to take your eyes off the screen. In short, 3D TV is a chore and like most chores it doesn’t make you feel good.
3D TV doesn’t match the hype
Don’t get me wrong – I was very excited about 3D TV and love new technologies (no really, you’re never more than three steps away from a gadget in the Briggs’ house). And this is nothing to do with the lack of 3D content (it’ll come) or the high price of the TVs (they’ll fall in time).
3D TV just doesn’t match the hype being generated by the industry. It feels like a gimmick born from TV industry executives gathering in the boardroom, plonking Avatar’s receipts on the table and saying, ‘We want some of this’.
Once the dust has settled, tales of clunky glasses and monster 60-inch screens will get around and 3D TV will be quietly consigned to the canon of expensive technology flops. Only LG’s passive display technology (cheap glasses included) could save the day. But then why bother when you can go to the cinema?
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