Three dimensional television – really? Why do we need 3D TV?

What is it with the rush to adopt 8.65 billion new technologies every year? I work in television and believe me there has been a TON of talk about 3D television, in the trade magazines, at the National Association of Broadcasters show, I mean everywhere. It seems that somehow just simple High Definition television is no longer good enough. HD television is just hitting stride, most programming is now produced in HD and delivered in HD with 5.1 surround sound right to the viewers in their homes. That is a hell of a technological accomplishment all by itself and now we are on to the next best thing – 3D TV. Somehow HD has becomes blasé, as common as USB thumb drives over 10gig and camera phones with 900 billion pixels, like most folks even know what that really means. That seems to be the gist of the message and from a technical perspective 3D is compelling, no doubt about it.

The migration of television to the new formats has somehow brought with it the same sort of expectations of fluidity that all silicon-based industries now have to bear the weight of. I understand that nothing remains the same, that understanding is a tenant that I base my life on, but the obsolescence curves have reached ridiculous levels. I read that TrueCycle recycling says that the average lifespan of a computer in 1997 was 4 to 6 years. Now that time frame is said to be less than two years. It reminds me of that commercial where the guy is driving home with his new computer and he sees that they are putting up a new billboard with the next newer model, that is becoming more and more a reality in our world. Now it seems that the television world has morphed into much the same platform and business model. That is good in that the prices will continue to drop, TV’s are half what they were 2 years ago and the biggest and badest will always be in the top tier, cost wise, just like with computers.

There are the pontificators who swear that 3D TV will take hold quicker than HDTV. They go on about the business model, the 3D format itself will be a multi-billion business within two years time, etc, etc blah, blah, blah. There is an awful lot predicting going on but the early attempts at 3D sports has really left those who saw it with mixed reactions. The common theme was “Some of it was really tough on the eyes.” Some companies are hawking glasses-free 3DTV sets, it depends on the format as to whether they will work, why you might ask? Because there are no industry standards established as of yet. To deploy a technology across the country that will include manufactures, broadcasters, producers and the myriad folks who would have to be involved takes a set of standards. (remember the Bluray and HD-DVD battle?) Those governing most of what we do as broadcasters come from SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers). Will it be the parallax-barrier technology that wins, that is essentially an overlay or a coating on the screen, to split the image so that it appears to be 3D within a very limited viewing area. Or will it be one of the other methods? Who knows and who wants to invest until we know for sure?

To be fair, over the last year or so there has been a lot that has happened, but there are miles to left to go. In Cowboy Stadium, on Dec. 13 a 3D version of the action on the field was displayed on the venue’s 160-by-72-foot video screen, a good test right – YEP but the results may not have been what was expected. Pupils are a fixed distance apart, and vision converges at around 60 feet, where we naturally see two dimensions. The big-screen 3D effect caused people’s eyes to veer out of alignment. With home 3DTV, this so-called “vergence” occurs at around two feet behind the viewing screen, giving large venues an on-screen appearance of a diorama. This problem is so pronounced that Samsung’s Australian office has issued a warning about the health risks of watching 3DTV. They are taking it very seriously and the dangers must be real for a TV maker to come out with comments such as those. The warning explains that fluorescent lights may cause flicker in conjunction with the active-shutter glasses necessary for viewing 3D television. It recommends turning off “all fluorescent lighting and blocking sources of direct sunlight before watching in 3D mode.”

The advisory goes on to warn that “some viewers may experience an epileptic seizure or stroke when exposed to certain flashing images or lights contained in certain television pictures or video games.” It further advises that if individuals or their family members have a medical history that includes epilepsy or a stroke, they should consult a medical specialist before attempting to try out 3D television. “Viewing in 3D mode may also cause motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain and decreased postural stability,” the warning continues. “It is recommended that users take frequent breaks to lessen the likelihood of these effects. If you have any of the above symptoms, immediately discontinue use of this device and do not resume until the symptoms have subsided.” WHAT, decreased postural stability!!!! I do not want a TV that causes me any of those problems, hell that sounds like the disclaimer you hear after a prescription medication commercial. Come on folks, there is nothing on the tube worth enduring any one of those maladies, let alone the whole list.

3DTV is exciting, as much for the technical challenges as for the format itself, which being in the technical side of the business is extremely interesting to me (yes I am a technogeek at heart). But, for me, I do not see it replacing HDTV any time soon. When you consider that half of the TV-equipped households in the country have standard-definition TVs anyway. Yep, some folks have not tasted the cool aid and felt the overwhelming urge to go out and buy a HDTV set – for whatever reasons. Another significant portion of those folks have converters or a pay service hooked up to a cathode-ray tube, it is just the boob tube I mean seriously. It seems to me that the press, under the direction of marketing monsters, will continue to hype 3DTV, as if we were talking about the adoption of cold fusion as a primary power source for the whole planet. I suspect, as with all new technologies it will quickly work its way from novelty to necessity and most likely that will happen at nearly the speed of light and will be available soon on whatever the latest gadget Apple is hocking at that particular moment.

I also wanted to talk about what might be next as well, if we are now contemplating 3D television what about implementing 3D in other parts of our lives, for example – cell phones, point and shoot cameras, toe nail clippers, coffee pots and even letters from our creditors. Why has no one thought about 5D electricity, right into our homes at a blazing 400meg download speed. What about a 500” LCD display that has 18.9 billion colors that it uses to reassemble the picture, how damn cool would that be? What about a 3D visioning system that can park our cars for us, oh wait we already have that so nevermind that one. I would like to wear 3D glasses all the time and think everything we see should be in 3D. I mean aside the stylish and fashionable look imagine how EVERYTHING in the world would look in 3D with 23.9 surround sound, mainly because 5.1 surround is so passé right?

3D television my ass!