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3D TV Is Dead (cnet.com)

While Samsung dropped 3D support in 2016, LG and Sony -- the last two major TV makers to support the 3D feature in their TVs -- will stop doing so in 2017. None of their TVs, including the high-end OLED TV models, will be able to show 3D movies and TV shows. As a result, 3D TV is dead. The question is no longer when (or even why) 3D TVs will become obsolete, it's will 3D TVs ever rise again? CNET reports: The 3D feature has been offered on select televisions since 2010, when the theatrical success of "Avatar" in 3D helped encourage renewed interest in the technology. In addition to a 3D-capable TV, it requires specialized glasses for each viewer and the 3D version of a TV show or movie -- although some TVs also offer a simulated 3D effect mode. Despite enthusiasm at the box office and years of 3D TVs being available at affordable prices, the technology never really caught on at home. DirecTV canceled its 24/7 3D channel in 2012 and ESPN followed suit a year later. There are plenty of 3D Blu-ray discs still being released, such as "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," but if you want to watch them at home you'll need a TV from 2016 or earlier -- or a home theater projector. Those market trends are clear: Sales of 3D home video gear have declined every year since 2012. According to data from the NPD Group, 3D TV represents just 8 percent of total TV sales dollars for the full year of 2016, down from 16 percent in 2015 and 23 percent in 2012. Native 3D-capable Blu-ray players fell to just 11 percent of the market in 2016, compared to 25 percent in 2015 and 40 percent in 2012. As for whether or not 3D TVs will ever become popular again, David Katzmaier writes via CNET, based on his own "anecdotal experience as a TV reviewer": Over the years, the one thing most people told me about the 3D feature on their televisions was that they never used it. Sure, some people occasionally enjoyed a 3D movie on Blu-ray, but the majority of people I talked to tried it once or twice, maybe, then never picked up the glasses again. I don't think most viewers will miss 3D. I have never awarded points in my reviews for the feature, and 3D performance (which I stopped testing in 2016) has never figured into my ratings. I've had a 3D TV at home since 2011 and I've only used the feature a couple of times, mainly in brief demos to friends and family. Over the 2016 holiday break I offered my family the choice to watch "The Force Awakens" in 2D or 3D, and (after I reminded everyone they had to wear the glasses) 2D was the unanimous choice. But some viewers will be sad to see the feature go. There's even a change.org petition for LG to bring back the feature, which currently stands at 3,981 supporters. Of course 3D TV could come back to life, but I'd be surprised if it happened before TV makers perfect a way to watch it without glasses.

271 of 399 comments (clear)

  1. But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by elrous0 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Oh god, I put my life savings into Facebook stock after they bought Oculus! And now Zuck is getting sued and acting like a dick in Hawaii. Oculus is my last hope! I *need* this, man!

    --
    SJW: Someone who has run out of real oppression, and has to fake it.
    1. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Wait, there's VR porn?

    2. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by chromaexcursion · · Score: 2

      you have to ask?

    3. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Nostalgia4Infinity · · Score: 1

      Only in Hawaii?

    4. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Kremmy · · Score: 1

      You're fine. VR isn't going anywhere. Still waiting on Zenimax to produce anything that even hints that they were interested in VR *at all* before John Carmack left to develop it elsewhere. They're claiming that Palmer Luckey couldn't have built a functioning HMD without Carmack when one of his prototypes had been used in a room scale VR demonstration months before Carmack even got involved. It's all pretty silly.
      Also I find it really amusing that Zenimax is so insistence that Oculus couldn't have built an HMD without their tech but I haven't heard them levy any such claims against any of the others who have produced HMDs. The only thing particularly unique in these devices is the drift correction provided by Constellation/Lighthouse, everything else can be found in your average smartphone. You can even put lenses in a piece of cardboard and slide your phone in. It's that simple.

    5. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      Proper VR has full motion real-time head and hand tracking. It's like you're really there. It's light years ahead of what was available the last time consumer VR was around.

    6. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      I guess my point, which I forgot to add, is that it's sticking around.... unless the high-resolution lcd panels become too expensive during a trade war or something.

    7. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      VR will be the next on the chopping block... oh wait there are no true VR experiences yet, just a lot of "use your VR HUD as a camera" support. Wake me when I can see my chest, hands, legs and feet.

    8. Re: But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You lack imagination.

      There's also boobies. ^_^

    9. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by sir-gold · · Score: 1

      If you can't clear a 6ftx4ft space in your house...you might be a hoarder.

    10. Re: But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by unami · · Score: 1

      where is it? until now i've just seen flat and badly compressed 180/360-degree video with very wrong size ratios. unless your fetish is roleplaying as a one-eyed dwarf, that's probably not the "VR"-porn you're looking for.

    11. Re: But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by unami · · Score: 1

      that's what i wanted to read. thanks :-)

    12. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      Wait, there's VR porn?

      Yes, there is. If you don't know, there was a convention in Japan earlier this year. You may take a look at here and here

    13. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by parkinglot777 · · Score: 1

      Corrected what I said... There was a convention in Japan last year.

    14. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Marxist+Hacker+42 · · Score: 1

      Both 3D TV and VR are doing it wrong.

      What you really want is 5-6 screens arranged in a cube. In the case of 3D, you want the screens facing out. In the case of VR, you want the screens to be much larger and facing in.

      --
      SJW: a person who perceives an injustice, and while correcting it, commits a greater injustice.
    15. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by HumanWiki · · Score: 1

      Depending on your living room it's not overly hard to clear out the needed space. I move two small tables and flip up the ottoman (takes 2m) and I'm set. My room-scale light houses are mounted high up on the walls and just look like satellite speakers. I have a 4.0m x 3.1m space just like that. It's really not all that hard to do for me and is actually less annoying and time consuming than dragging out my PlaySeat simseat, pedals and wheel.

      The game quality needs to come up, but that's partly due to pixel density in the headset.. They all still have the screen door effect to some extent, but I rather like my HTC Vive and am looking forward to getting the upgraded headstrap and the tracker.

    16. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by flux · · Score: 1
    17. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      You don't have to develop special motor skills to grab stuff. It's not 1994. The new controllers are intuitive, especially the Touch controllers from Oculus. If you can pick up a can and walk around in reality without stumbling, you can play a VR game. You don't even need two eyes - real-time head tracking (positional, not just rotational), is in my opinion, the real key to VR.

      Also... room-scale, even the new controllers, is all completely optional. I don't actually have Touch controllers or a second sensor yet. But have faith in this hardware because I've worked with it before. Before my current job, I worked with the CAVE at my university. A CAVE is basically a roomscale VR setup for wealthy university computer science programs.

      As for my computer - it wasn't just for that. it also serves as my workstation away from work - my job involves working with very very large 3D building models, point clouds, etc. In my spare time, I do some creative modeling, rendering, and programming.

      But back to VR... it isn't just good for games, it's also good for business. The company I work for is procuring another Oculus headset just for me to use, which will allow for prospective clients to fly about and interact with their building before it's built, hopefully increasing the chance they will select us to build it. Before you say that's crazy - it's a genuine application. I know it because I've done it. It's why I have this job to begin with.

      As for your last comment, Mr Anonymous, 3D is kind of my jam... without which, I'd truly be joyless. Not much can be done about the anti-social bit though... you've got me there. I can put on a good face and interact like a normal human being - but at the end of the day, I like being alone. You can look down on me if you want. Just know that while you're out there being a social flower and spending all your money, I'm probably working.

    18. Re:But VR's still cool, right? RIGHT???? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Wake me when I can see my chest, hands, legs and feet.

      You left out "dick" (or pussy, depending on what sort of AC you are).

      Were there any pr0n products in 3d? No. QED.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  2. 3D TV is dead? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Was it ever really alive?

    1. Re:3D TV is dead? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 2

      Was it ever really alive?

      No. The cinemas started showing lots of blockbuster 3D screens and the occasional 2D. They quickly switched to the other way around when all the customers thought "screw wearing stupid glasses" and went for the 2D.

      That was before 3D TV got going. So it was dead before it started.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
    2. Re:3D TV is dead? by QuietLagoon · · Score: 3, Insightful

      So... in other words... 3D was a solution to a problem that no one seemed to have had. An answer without a question. The typical marketing-oriented wet dream to increase sales by addressing a problem that does not exist.

    3. Re:3D TV is dead? by gravewax · · Score: 2

      I wonder how many people on here will come out and apologise for being wrong when they claimed people like myself were morons and dinosaurs for predicting it would pass as fad within a few years as too would 3D movies in cinemas

    4. Re:3D TV is dead? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      The typical marketing-oriented wet dream

      Wet dream + electronics = short-circuit nightmare

    5. Re:3D TV is dead? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 2

      3D TV is dead

      Hmm mine is still working.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    6. Re:3D TV is dead? by ZorinLynx · · Score: 3, Insightful

      It's funny because it was a fad for a bit in the 1950s, but similarly died when the novelty wore off.

      History has an amusing way of repeating itself. Nobody liked having to wear glasses to watch a movie in the 1950s, and the same is true today.

    7. Re:3D TV is dead? by aliquis · · Score: 1

      3D TV is dead

      Hmm mine is still working.

      https://searchdns.netcraft.com...

      Results for 3d.tv
      Found 0 site

      Even Netcraft confirms it :/. I assumed it wouldn't!
      No-one have even bothered with the domain? Maybe it's too short?

      Results for 3dtv.com
      Found 0 site

      Oh... last chance:

      Results for 3dporn
      Found 18 sites
      Site Site Report First seen Netblock OS
      1. 3dporncomic.net Site Report august 2012 advanced hosters b.v. unknown
      2. www.3dporncomics.net Site Report june 2006 serverel linux
      3. monsterattack3dporn.com Site Report april 2012 hostiserver ltd unknown
      4. comics3dporn.com Site Report april 2009 serverel unknown
      5. 3dpornxx.com Site Report december 2009 advanced hosters b.v. unknown
      6. www.3dpornxx.com Site Report december 2009 advanced hosters b.v. unknown
      7. www.3dpornpic.net Site Report july 2014 serverel linux
      8. www.3dporncartoon.net Site Report december 2010 advanced hosters b.v. unknown
      9. www.juicy3dporn.com Site Report june 2013 advanced hosters b.v. linux
      10. super3dporn.com Site Report september 2010 hostiserver ltd. unknown
      11. www.3dpornlinks.com Site Report june 2006 serverel linux
      12. thefree3dporn.com Site Report january 2012 serverel unknown
      13. 3dporncartoon.net Site Report december 2010 advanced hosters b.v. unknown
      14. www.3dporncomic.net Site Report august 2012 advanced hosters b.v. unknown
      15. amanda3dporn.biz Site Report may 2009 webazilla unknown
      16. 3dpornreviews.com Site Report december 2015 cloudflare, inc. unknown
      17. bestfree3dporn.com Site Report january 2012 serverel unknown
      18. 3dpornbeast.com Site Report july 2013 serverel unknown

      Puhh...
      3DTV dead, 3D porn alive.

    8. Re:3D TV is dead? by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      Hmm mine is still working.

      So is ours.

      Well, I should qualify that... I have no idea if the 3-D functionality is working. I don't really know if it ever worked. We bought an LG 3-D television several years ago because they were artificially trying to force 3-D adoption by restricting which features/functionality they'd include in non-3-D sets. So their best 2-D television was a 3-D television, and the price difference was only $50 - so that's what we got.

      We even received four pairs of 3-D glasses for free. I can see the dust-covered, unopened boxes sitting on the shelf right now, actually.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
    9. Re:3D TV is dead? by hcs_$reboot · · Score: 1

      You can find a few 3D blu-ray movies, like Avatar and some "anime". The 3D works surprisingly well (a bit of eye strain though). Offer is tiny, that's the real problem.

      --
      Slashdot, fix the reply notifications... You won't get away with it...
    10. Re:3D TV is dead? by Threni · · Score: 1

      No-one's apologizing to anyone. There's just a disagreement about 3d. Presumably they still like it - whether you're a moron or not. I don't give a shit about tv - i don't watch very much 2d tv - but i'm sure some of the problems of 3d aren't just that it's 3d, but that you generally have to wear glasses (i've only seen awful glasses-less 3d tv); sometimes expensive ones; you'll likely not have enough for more than a couple of people to watch at once; the brightness is affected, or the frame rate etc. Given 3d was largely a way of selling tvs/more expensive tickets in cinemas, who's to say there won't be either a tech breakthrough in the future or that marketing people believe there's money in it and we'll relive these fascinating little discussions all over again.

    11. Re:3D TV is dead? by CCarrot · · Score: 1

      So... in other words... 3D was a solution to a problem that no one seemed to have had.

      That's it in a nutshell....no one really wanted it in the first place. It was a 'solution' in search of a problem.

      So...exactly like curved screens then?

      Wonder when those will officially die off. At least for 3D TV's you could purchase one that had 3D (plus a bunch of actually useful features) and just not use the 3D...

      Oh, looks like that's already on it's way out too.

      --
      "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
    12. Re:3D TV is dead? by TigerTime · · Score: 1

      I didn't really mind wearing glasses, but the kicker was paying an extra $2-$3 for the "3D" part of the movie. Screw THAT part of the deal.

    13. Re:3D TV is dead? by myrdos2 · · Score: 1

      I wonder how many people on here will come out and apologise for being wrong

      None, but I'll apologize if I'm wrong. :)

      (No I won't)

    14. Re:3D TV is dead? by gravewax · · Score: 1

      no there is no disagreement, they claimed it was not a passing fad and it has proven to be a passing fad. whether they still like it/love it is completely irrelevant to that definition. I am certain just like the last 3 or 4 times 3D will come again, maybe next time it won't just be a fad.

    15. Re:3D TV is dead? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      And yet we have systemd, IoT and Windows 10.

      Yes, and most people hate at least two of those things if not all three.

      Just because it exists doesn't mean it's a good thing.

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    16. Re:3D TV is dead? by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      So...exactly like curved screens then?

      That would be my guess. I don't see a huge demand for them and most of the video sites and magazines aren't raving about how awesome they are...it's more of a "meh" kind of thing as far as I can tell. I look at them in the stores and I can't really see what the draw is.

      There's no real downside to them I suppose (aside from cost) and if there's enough demand for them to support the production, who am I to say 'no'?

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    17. Re:3D TV is dead? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      My point exactly: despite the proverb, it clearly *is* possible to fool enough of the people enough of the time or turds like those would never make it off the drawing board.

      You may ask why this is a problem. They can do their thing and I can do mine, right? Wrong. Once 51% make the idiotic choice it's only a matter of time before some beancounter decides that the 49% isn't making enough contribution to the bottom line because Henry Ford or something.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    18. Re:3D TV is dead? by flux · · Score: 1

      > So...exactly like curved screens then?

      It's funny though how my multi-screen setup has the displays placed on a curve instead of a plane.. As if there was some point in having the normal of the surface to be targeted towards the viewer..

      For applications involving multiple viewers I certainly agree.

    19. Re:3D TV is dead? by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      And yet, whenever there is a blockbuster shown at the local multiplex,
      it is always the 3D version that sells out first.
      IMAX 3D in particular is the preferred format for all new blockbusters.

    20. Re:3D TV is dead? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      And yet, whenever there is a blockbuster shown at the local multiplex, it is always the 3D version that sells out first.

      How would you know that without either (1) reading and believing the lies from the marketing department (movie, or local theatre) or (2) going to the cinema sufficiently often to compile your own statistics. One is going to cost you your mind, and the other your wallet and your mind.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    21. Re:3D TV is dead? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Nobody liked having to wear glasses to watch a movie in the 1950s, and the same is true today.

      Nobody who doesn't wear glasses normally. Not everyone over the age of 40 wants to wear TWO pairs of glasses. Or have a stinking headache. Or both.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    22. Re:3D TV is dead? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Which might be relevant if you have spent (wasted) money on a Blue Ray drive. It's not as if they provide anything that DVDs don't.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    23. Re:3D TV is dead? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      Only in the wet dreams of marketing shitheads.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
    24. Re:3D TV is dead? by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

      So... in other words... 3D was a solution to a problem that no one seemed to have had. An answer without a question. The typical marketing-oriented wet dream to increase sales by addressing a problem that does not exist.

      The whole way back to "Bwana Devil", 3D is trotted out every so often, and then abandoned after people get bored with it. Probably the most successful 3D product ever was the still image Viewmaster system, and before that, the ancient 3D still photo viewers of Victorian times. But for motion? Maybe after we can go full immersive, and I suspect that the market will be mainly pr0n. Otherwise, what would be the point of going full immersive in say, one of the neverending Star Wars reboots?

      --
      The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
    25. Re:3D TV is dead? by TechyImmigrant · · Score: 1

      Not in my experience. There is 1 3D screen and 1 or more normal screens based on the popularity of the movie and the proximity to release date.
      If it's only 1 screen, it's 2D.

      I don't go to see a movie close to release day so maybe it's different and the world is full of breathless blockbuster fans who love being in large crowds and want to see the 3D version, while the rest of us hang back for short lines, empty theaters and the 2D experience. I simply don't know.

      --
      I should use this sig to advertise my book ISBN-13 : 978-1501515132.
  3. Hooray! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I only have one eye, You Insensitive Clod!

    1. Re:Hooray! by 93+Escort+Wagon · · Score: 1

      No problem... you just need to move side to side very rapidly.

      --
      #DeleteChrome
  4. 3D TV is DEAD!!! by freeze128 · · Score: 1

    ...And it's all because of Tron: Legacy.

  5. 3D was a thing? by Snotnose · · Score: 5, Interesting

    As for whether or not 3D TVs will ever become popular again

    From where I sit 3D was a nonstarter. Why? The glasses. I paid something like $2500 to get my eyeballs lasered so I didn't have to wear glasses anymore. So a new TV standard comes along that requires me to wear glasses? Non-fucking-starter.

    1. Re:3D was a thing? by thegarbz · · Score: 2

      I paid something like $2500 to get my eyeballs lasered so I didn't have to wear glasses anymore.

      I'm going to take a guess that you paid that money due to either a) you didn't like the look of glasses on your face, or b) you got sick of wearing them all the time.
      Neither of which really come into play when we're talking about a movie.

      Heck your entire comment: "I got corrective surgery so I don't need to wear corrective lenses, therefore I never want to wear something that adds a feature" is truly a bizarre train of thought.

      I bought a car so I could drive to work, why should I go ice skating!

    2. Re: 3D was a thing? by I'm+New+Around+Here · · Score: 1

      They stopped getting off their arses once they had kids anyway.

      "Tommy, go put it on channel 9. Gunsmoke is coming on."

      --
      If you think I voted for Trump because of this post, you're wrong. I voted for Dr. Jill Stein of the Green Party. Again.
    3. Re:3D was a thing? by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      Or maybe he finds glasses uncomfortable? I know I do.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    4. Re:3D was a thing? by DarkOx · · Score: 1

      I am going to throw in with the parent here. When I watch TV I want to be comfortable and relax. Glasses don't maximize comfort, and in fact kinda suck a lot if you decide to stretch out on the sofa and need to lay on your side to face the TV. Pillows and glasses are basically incompatible.

      If I have to wear glasses to watch something, I am going to watch something else

      --
      Repeal the 17th Amendment TODAY! Also Please Read http://www.gnu.org/philosophy/right-to-read.html
    5. Re:3D was a thing? by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      I still wear glasses. You can only get the laser operation once, so I'm waiting until I need it.

      Sorry it's so easy to dissuade you from using a technology. The glasses for my current TV are lighter than my prescription glasses.

      Nothing is further from my mind when I'm watching something in my own home than "oh no. I look silly"

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    6. Re:3D was a thing? by RockDoctor · · Score: 1

      I still wear glasses. You can only get the laser operation once, so I'm waiting until I need it.

      Which is why the idea of laser eye surgery is a non-starter. Almost everyone whose vision needs correction will find that it continues to drift - generally further away from "perfection" - through their life beyond the mid-30s. So, if you get your eyes lasered at 30, by the time you're 40 you'll be needing to wear glasses again. Repeat every 5 to 10 years.

      --
      Birds are not dinosaur descendants;birds are dinosaurs, for all useful meanings of "birds", "are" and "dinosaurs"
  6. Re:Next up dead by freeze128 · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I'm hoping "Smart TV's" are the next to go.

  7. 3DTV is dying by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Informative

    It is now official. Netcraft has confirmed: 3DTV is dying

    One more crippling bombshell hit the already beleaguered 3DTV community when IDC confirmed that 3DTV market share has dropped yet again, now down to less than a fraction of 1 percent of all servers. Coming on the heels of a recent Netcraft survey which plainly states that 3DTV has lost more market share, this news serves to reinforce what we've known all along. 3DTV is collapsing in complete disarray, as fittingly exemplified by failing dead last [samag.com] in the recent Sys Admin comprehensive networking test.

    You don't need to be the Amazing Kreskin [amazingkreskin.com] to predict 3DTV's future. The hand writing is on the wall: 3DTV faces a bleak future. In fact there won't be any future at all for 3DTV because 3DTV is dying. Things are looking very bad for 3DTV. As many of us are already aware, 3DTV continues to lose market share. Red ink flows like a river of blood.

    Free3DTV is the most endangered of them all, having lost 93% of its core developers. The sudden and unpleasant departures of long time Free3DTV developers Jordan Hubbard and Mike Smith only serve to underscore the point more clearly. There can no longer be any doubt: Free3DTV is dying.

    Let's keep to the facts and look at the numbers.

    Open3DTV leader Theo states that there are 7000 users of Open3DTV. How many users of Net3DTV are there? Let's see. The number of Open3DTV versus Net3DTV posts on Usenet is roughly in ratio of 5 to 1. Therefore there are about 7000/5 = 1400 Net3DTV users. 3DTV/OS posts on Usenet are about half of the volume of Net3DTV posts. Therefore there are about 700 users of 3DTV/OS. A recent article put Free3DTV at about 80 percent of the 3DTV market. Therefore there are (7000+1400+700)*4 = 36400 Free3DTV users. This is consistent with the number of Free3DTV Usenet posts.

    Due to the troubles of Walnut Creek, abysmal sales and so on, Free3DTV went out of business and was taken over by 3DTVI who sell another troubled OS. Now 3DTVI is also dead, its corpse turned over to yet another charnel house.

    All major surveys show that 3DTV has steadily declined in market share. 3DTV is very sick and its long term survival prospects are very dim. If 3DTV is to survive at all it will be among OS dilettante dabblers. 3DTV continues to decay. Nothing short of a miracle could save it at this point in time. For all practical purposes, 3DTV is dead.

    Fact: 3DTV is dying.

  8. Hurray, 3D is still for nerds by uCallHimDrJ0NES · · Score: 2

    3D is for nerds. I've always loved it, since my first cyan/magenta poster from a cereal box when I was a little kid. If you can't take the glasses, you don't get to watch. I've enjoyed the 3D Blurays and I'm sure I'm far from alone in my intention to continue to use the format as it turns retro. Seeya, everyone who thought this was going to bring football holograms into your living room.

    --
    Cloudiot: A person who does not see offsite storage as a way to lose control over access to his or her own data.
    1. Re:Hurray, 3D is still for nerds by Imrik · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Funny you mention football, I always thought sports was about the only genre where depth perception from a fixed perspective might actually improve the experience.

    2. Re:Hurray, 3D is still for nerds by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      You're no fucking nerd.
      If you were a genuine nerd, you would have pointed out that it's NOT "3D TV" at all, it's fucking stereoscopy, dipshit!

      And the reason that home stereoscopy failed, is because the studios are too fucking cheap to do it properly.
      Avatar was a one-off pioneer, Peter spent MILLIONS of hie OWN money developing and perfecting the technology.
      And working out HOW and WHERE to do it best for the audience.
      The major studios don't give a flying fuck.

    3. Re:Hurray, 3D is still for nerds by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      NOT "3D TV" at all, it's fucking stereoscopy, dipshit

      So is "3D" vision, dipshit.

      Peter spent MILLIONS of hie OWN money developing and perfecting the technology.

      Peter who? James Cameron made Avatar, which was not only 3D but the highest-grossing movie of all time.

    4. Re:Hurray, 3D is still for nerds by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      Avatar, which was not only 3D but the highest-grossing movie of all time.

      Only the second-highest, I'm afraid, in constant currency, which is the only meaningful way to measure it.

      Even that's not a terribly useful metric, since cinema ticket prices have risen faster than inflation. You can argue that tickets are priced to the market, so inflation-adjusted gross is still some sort of indicator of popularity; but that's debatable. And then there's the problem that film availability has increased, so there's a larger market; on the other hand, there are also more alternatives competing for consumers' entertainment budget. And so on.

      In short, the box-office gross of Avatar or any other film really doesn't tell us much except what the gross profits for theater distribution were. It's a dick-waving contest. What it most assuredly does not demonstrate is that there's any great demand for 3D films. In Avatar's case, it also doesn't prove that developing 3D technology was a good investment, since it doesn't show any causal link between 3D and ticket sales. Maybe Avatar would have done just as well without 3D. (Not having seen it myself, I couldn't hazard a guess. Certainly the plot summaries I've seen describe a trite and cliched story, but that's never been an impediment to success.)

  9. 3D movies by neoRUR · · Score: 1

    So how will this affect 3D movies? The main selling point for going to the theater was that you can watch it in 3D, at a higher ticket price. But now that the after market will be going away, will they still continue to make 3D movies? When I watch a 3D movie, I see it there, but after the movie is over, it's not like I remember the 3D effect.

    1. Re:3D movies by deek · · Score: 1

      VR is your salvation here. You can already watch 3D blurays with the Vive or Rift. Not yet on the PSVR, but it's expected that software will eventually be updated to support it.

  10. Sorry by jwymanm · · Score: 1

    I know I am a minority here but I love 3D on my 2015 4K LG OLED. Movies are far more entertaining in 3D _WHEN_DONE_RIGHT_. I understand the hate for the glasses but I think its also a technical and content issue too. People are ok streaming shitty DVD quality let alone HD or 4k streams. They charged extra for 3D options or only provided them in a lower quality resolution even. Plus people had to push a button when starting to play the content which is a non starter for some people.

    1. Re:Sorry by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 1

      In my opinion 3d done right kills the movie because the are shown shrinks and focuses on 3d stuff, so much so that watching Ant-Man in 2d was sub par to the other marvel movies.

      Also, I value my eyes, when my brother handed me the goggles and started a blu-ray 3d movie, I felt the muscles in my eyes twitch and I took them off.

      3D has a place in entertainment - when holography is the medium.

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
    2. Re:Sorry by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

      Plus people had to push a button when starting to play the content which is a non starter for some people.

      Push a button? Holy crap, as if my day isn't complicated and difficult enough already!!

      --
      Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
    3. Re:Sorry by jwymanm · · Score: 1

      Hehe, it actually is more confusing than just pushing it. It delves into the technical area which freaks people out. You have to pick SBS (Side By Side) or OU or some other ones. Which option is best depends on resolution factors, etc. http://www.spirton.com/why-you...

    4. Re:Sorry by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      Movies are far more entertaining in 3D _WHEN_DONE_RIGHT_.

      Why do people have such difficulty understanding that their subjective experiences do not apply to everyone?

    5. Re:Sorry by jwymanm · · Score: 1

      I agree with you but I started the sentence with admitting I am in the minority. Most comments are considered opinion from the start.. hence the word comment. If I were an article on Wikipedia you would be right in slamming that statement. Ease up a bit.

  11. No great surprise. by inflex · · Score: 2

    It's no great surprise 3D TV died, while it was arguably better than the older red/blue system it still was a long shot at best; still at least it probably helped push along other developments during the cash splurge.

    What however is looking to stick around and become more popular is the '360 degree' vision videos.

    Perhaps if 3D rises again, they might just go straight for the neural implant - we'll see in another 25~30 years I suppose.

  12. Re:Next up dead by Applehu+Akbar · · Score: 5, Insightful

    The preferred alternative of pure monitor plus streaming box could be marketed as 'modular TV'.

  13. But but... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    2017 was the year of 3D on the desktop!

  14. Re:What we really need by Imrik · · Score: 1

    Something like this?

  15. Same could be said for color TV by raymorris · · Score: 2, Insightful

    > I think it's because it doesn't help to tell stories.
    > But if you are tempted to use it to "make the image more realistic" then maybe you just don't have a good story to tell in the first place.

    Color TV is to "make the image more realistic". Color isn't needed to tell the story. Yet nobody wants to buy black and white. Color is all anyone makes, nobody shoots TV or movies in black-and-white. The problem with 3D is the glasses - without the glasses, 3D would be a nice enhancement, much like color.

    1. Re:Same could be said for color TV by demon+driver · · Score: 1

      I don't think so. While color indeed does make the image more realistic, 3D video doesn't. Yes, it gives the image some depth which would otherwise be flat, but a depth that's more like a special effect than reality. The 3D video I've seen so far (which I admit isn't much) never looked natural, it looked gimmicky. My major reason beside having to wear 3D glasses to choose 2D wherever I have the option.

      That said, I don't agree with the parent, either.

    2. Re:Same could be said for color TV by Kjella · · Score: 3, Interesting

      The problem with 3D is the glasses - without the glasses, 3D would be a nice enhancement, much like color.

      Well maybe... but if I'm watching a GoT episode do I really want to feel like I'm flipping from being 1m away from a combat scene to suddenly being 50 meters up in the air overlooking the battlefield and back down to 1m again in a matter of seconds? Just saying that maybe we want some kind of grounding that we're really watching a screen and not teleporting around.

      --
      Live today, because you never know what tomorrow brings
    3. Re:Same could be said for color TV by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      I don't think so. While color indeed does make the image more realistic, 3D video doesn't.

      Correction: 3D video projected from a small source with an extremely limited FoV doesn't make the image more realistic. The problem is all about the tiny field of view and imperfect crosstalk, etc.

      3D video using a high end VR system makes the image MUCH more realistic. Yes, they glasses (headset, really) is even more intrusive, but the effect can be (for some people almost literally) shit your pants realistic...

    4. Re:Same could be said for color TV by AmiMoJo · · Score: 1

      Great point. Avatar was so successful as a 3D movie because the director resisted going over the top with it. Rarely did anything fly out of the screen into your face or give you sudden vertigo. Even the scenes high up in the air were carefully designed to avoid being uncomfortable.

      --
      const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
      SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
    5. Re:Same could be said for color TV by brix · · Score: 1

      Right - 3D was/is at its best when adding depth to scenes, rather than the more-gimmicky "pop into the audience" effects that so many movies tried.

      Most Disney and Pixar animations also look great in 3D, adding depth and avoiding gimmicks.

    6. Re:Same could be said for color TV by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      "Get used to it" is the WORST advertising tagline one could imagine for VR (or any product).

      It will always be a niche until the casual masses can use it without "getting used to it". If you actually want the field to advance more than the 90's VR crap and Nintendo Power Glove, moving beyond hard core gaming is the only path.

    7. Re: Same could be said for color TV by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      On the other hand, it would be a giant messy puke-fest for Jason Bourne (or any Paul Greengrass film, it seems), where apparently people were fleeing the 3D screenings asking for their money back even without a full-on VR experience...

    8. Re:Same could be said for color TV by michael_wojcik · · Score: 1

      Just saying that maybe we want some kind of grounding that we're really watching a screen and not teleporting around.

      Indeed, some of us don't want 3D at all, ever. Color is OK, though I could live without it. I'm just as happy without stereo / multichannel sound (and particularly audio that encodes the information I want on the center channel I don't have connected to anything). I'm not interested in ever watching 3D video again.

      Ditto AR and VR. I tried VR at SIGGRAPH '89. I wasn't impressed then, and I'm not impressed now. I've yet to see a non-industry AR application that I thought might be useful, and I don't work in an industry where AR would be helpful.

  16. Despite enthusiasm at the box office by green1 · · Score: 3, Informative

    What enthusiasm? The fact that when all your showings are in 3D people reluctantly choose it over the 2D showing that you aren't even offering? Sure, that's enthusiasm....

    3D is failing because nobody wanted it in the first place. They never wanted it at home, and they still don't want it in theatres. The only reason 3D sells is the lack of alternatives. For several years you almost couldn't buy a TV without it. That wasn't proof that people wanted it, it was proof that people were still buying TVs. My local theatre takes big name releases and does one 2D showing on a weekday at 2pm and 5 3D showings a night, people aren't "choosing 3D" they're trying to watch the movie.

    I have in the past, and will continue to in the future, drive across town to find a 2D showing of a movie instead of being forced to watch in 3D.

    1. Re:Despite enthusiasm at the box office by pla · · Score: 1

      What enthusiasm? The fact that when all your showings are in 3D people reluctantly choose it over the 2D showing that you aren't even offering?

      This. Citing the success of Avatar? Avatar succeeded despite being in 3d, not because of it.

      During the whole thankfully-short boxoffice 3d craze of the early 2010's, I can count the number of people who told me they liked it on zero hands; meanwhile, virtually every conversation about seeing a recent movie started with something like "at least the 3d wasn't too distracting".

    2. Re:Despite enthusiasm at the box office by green1 · · Score: 1

      Interestingly enough, people chose colour over black and white when given the option. People chose 2D over 3D when given the option.
      So your comparison falls down right there.

      "3D" isn't in any way "better" than 2D, it isn't even really 3 dimensional. whereas adding colour, or sound, added a noticeable improvement. Sure for someone who is fully colour blind the addition of colour may not have helped them, but it never was an actual disadvantage for anyone. "3D" is a major disadvantage for many people as it requires glasses that nobody wants to wear, requires specific viewing angles, forces odd focus demands on our eyes, and gives many people headaches.

    3. Re:Despite enthusiasm at the box office by green1 · · Score: 1

      "nobody" is a reasonable proxy for "not enough people to be a viable market"

      I never truly believed there wasn't a single person on the planet who wanted it. But I do know from experience that they are very much in the minority.

    4. Re:Despite enthusiasm at the box office by green1 · · Score: 1

      During the whole thankfully-short boxoffice 3d craze of the early 2010's

      I'm happy that it was short lived in your location, but it hasn't been in mine. To this day it is near impossible to find a 2D showing of any big name movie where I live. I'm sick of it. I regularly hunt around all the theatres to find the one in town that is playing in 2D, of course that usually means that I'm in a very crowded theatre indeed as everyone else is trying for the same thing.

    5. Re:Despite enthusiasm at the box office by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      They never wanted it at home, and they still don't want it in theatres.

      My local mutliplex always shows a 2D version in addition to the 3D version, and it is always the 3D version that sells out first.

      I have in the past, and will continue to in the future, drive across town to find a 2D showing of a movie instead of being forced to watch in 3D.

      Well, unlike you, most of the rest of us have two eyes.

    6. Re:Despite enthusiasm at the box office by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      During the whole thankfully-short boxoffice 3d craze of the early 2010's, I can count the number of people who told me they liked it on zero hands

      Too bad you don't have any hands. How do you jerk off?

  17. Re:Next up dead by fabioalcor · · Score: 4, Informative

    I'm hoping 3D cinema are next to go.
    Yes, it was fun in Avatar and all, but nowadays it only makes everything fuzzy and dark.
    The last movie I watched in 3D was "Star Wars Rogue One", and I had no option for 2D (movie theaters here in Brazil are doing this dirty practice). In some scenes it was so dark I could barely see anything... I liked the movie, but 3D almost ruined it for me.

  18. 3D movies and television would be good if.... by mark-t · · Score: 2

    ... one, there was no requirement to wear glasses, and two, no matter where you are viewing it from, you would see it as it would naturally be seen from that angle if the things depicted in the scene were real and solid objects in the space that they seem to be in. Each of your eyes, by virtue of seeing the image from a slightly different angle, would cause your brain to perceive a 3 dimensional image automatically, exactly as you perceive the real physical world around you.

    The only way to do this that I know of is with holograms, but seeing a full color holographic display at any time in the near future seems unlikely.

  19. Sad by markdavis · · Score: 4, Insightful

    >"But some viewers will be sad to see the feature go."

    That would be me. I am glad my Samsung TV supports 3D (I had to jump to a higher end/significantly more expensive 7100 series model to get it in August of 2015 because the feature was disappearing on most models). I enjoy watching the occasional 3D Bluray movie. In fact, the only Blurays I own are 3D and I would buy more if more were made (and were decently mastered).

    3D shot/rendered correctly does add to the enjoyment of a film for many people. But, sadly, too much poorly shot 3D was released and helped to ruin the market.

    1. Re:Sad by Phernost · · Score: 2

      Dido. I'm dreading the day my family's 3D TVs die. We also only buy movies when they're 3D, everything else is Netflix. My mother enjoyed my 3D TV so much, I set her up with a 3D TV and surround sound in her bedroom so she could have her own private theater like experience. She loves it.

      3D is like any other aspect of media, having it done right enhances the experience. No-one wants color, if everything is over saturated, or off hue. Surround sound is pointless, if it's used incorrectly. Etc. etc. Poor media is poor, but 3D done right is brilliant. As much as they gotten better at post processing to not make everything look like a child's pop-up book, nothing beats filming in 3D. You need equipment and director who knows what they're doing, if you want a decent product.

      Active 3D glasses pretty much killed 3D TV right out of the gate. Here's something that'll jack up the price by $100-$200 for everyone who wants to watch. Oh and I hope you aren't one of those people who used to get migraines from that fun combination of florescent lights and CRT monitors, because these flickering glasses will make you want to stab your own eyes out. But don't worry, they only go out of sync sometimes, or when the batteries are getting low. Yeah batteries, just what I want, one more thing to fiddle with before I watch. Passive 3D, while not the most ideal, was the way to go. If you can put up with 1080i TV broadcast, this won't bother you either. Passive 3D on a 4k TV, solves almost all problems, and makes all those extra pixels useful. Because, unless your TV is 100 inches or your siting 2 feet away, 4k is pointless.

      I know most people will say that they don't care about 3D TV, and useless features just jack up the price (Die smart TVs, DIE!!). But we're getting 4k rammed down our throats like that's something everyone asked for. 3D TV is dead because they want it to be. They priced it out of the market by moving it to the high end only, and instead put that smart bull-crap everywhere. 3D one of those things that could be in every TV with near minimal cost, polarized plastic is cheap. Put a polarized sheet on your TV, and put some cheap polarized glasses in the box.

      In the end 3D TV was intentionally over hyped and unintentionally under utilized. I can't want to see how VR plays out...

    2. Re:Sad by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Dido

      Butt pug.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    3. Re:Sad by swillden · · Score: 1

      3D shot/rendered correctly does add to the enjoyment of a film for many people.

      Not me. I've seen a fair number of 3D movies in theaters, but I really prefer 2D. 3D doesn't add anything for me. I can appreciate the work and effort it takes to do it well, and to make it "natural", and on good equipment that outputs enough light it doesn't do any harm to the visuals... but it doesn't add to the story, and doesn't really improve the visuals. Beautiful cinematography is good either way, and nearly a century of practice has taught cinematographers (and photographers) how to depict great depth on a flat screen. Not that the human eye has any parallax-derived depth perception beyond a few dozen feet anyway.

      So, what does 3D do? It requires me to wear glasses over my glasses, and it costs more. I suppose some people must like it or theaters wouldn't be able to charge a premium for it, but I pick the 2D showing unless there isn't one available at a convenient time.

      --
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    4. Re:Sad by swillden · · Score: 1

      Dido

      FYI, the word is "ditto".

      --
      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    5. Re:Sad by omnichad · · Score: 1

      I bought my TV in 2010/2011. My TV is still working, so I haven't bought a 3D TV yet. I even own 3D Blu-Rays and a 3D Blu-Ray player. Hugo is an amazing piece of stereoscopic cinematography, even if you might call it a "kid's" movie. I bought it and may never get to watch it at home.

      I thought 4K would finally be the savior for passive 3D (still have 1080p for each eye), because I hate active shutter flicker. Active 3D doesn't require much in the way of hardware, though, so I'm surprised to see it go.

      They thought they could jumpstart a trend of selling new TVs to EVERYONE every 3-5 years the way HD made people want to upgrade. Problem is that they didn't realize most of the people were upgrading to get rid of CRTs and not even for HD. Every few years, a new driver for sales - HD, 3D, 120Hz+ motion interpolation, 4k, HDR, and combinations of the same. It didn't work. But that does not mean the new features are a "failure" (except motion interpolation).

    6. Re:Sad by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Maybe they're hoping for a 3D upconversion of Roswell, featuring a theme song by Dido.

    7. Re:Sad by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Active 3D glasses pretty much killed 3D TV right out of the gate.

      The flickering was awful in the store demos I saw. I was waiting for passive 3D on 4K. And for my TV to be old enough to not feel stupid about replacing (the real reason new features "fail"). I even own some 3D Blu-Rays AND a player.

      Not only were the glasses cheap, but you could just take home glasses from the theater instead of recycling. My wife's aunt/uncle have a passive 3D TV, and I made some "2D" glasses for her aunt who can't handle the 3D effect by popping and swapping lenses.

    8. Re:Sad by omnichad · · Score: 1

      It requires me to wear glasses over my glasses

      Or just get clip-ons - https://www.amazon.com/3D-Glas...

      It really depends on if the cinematography was done well (same as with wide aspect ratio, color instead of B&W, etc). A lot of action movie garbage is just an upconversion anyway. The movie Hugo was excellent and most Pixar films are done well without being overdone.

    9. Re:Sad by Phernost · · Score: 1

      um... http://www.urbandictionary.com...

      Thanks for your hard work Grammar Nazi. Without your tireless efforts mass chaos would reign (dog and cats living together, and all that jazz).

    10. Re:Sad by swillden · · Score: 1

      A grammar Nazi (or, more accurately, spelling Nazi) would have been critical. I merely provided information.

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      Note to ACs: I usually delete AC replies without reading them. If you want to talk to me, log in.
    11. Re:Sad by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >" But that does not mean the new features are a "failure" (except motion interpolation)."

      See, that is a perfect example of how people are different. I absolutely HATE motion interpolation. I hated watching the "high framerate" Hobbit in the theaters, and I hate what interpolation does on my TV (and it is turned off). It makes everything look like it was shot on a handheld camcorder :)

      When I was at a friend's house and they were showing a 24P movie with that frame interpolation turned on, I actually asked if he would turn it off because it ruined the experience for me.

      Probably a lifetime of watching 24P means I am ruined and can't adjust very well. Actually, I can tolerate a very mild amount of interpolation, probably up to a virtual 30p or so. Seems the younger people can adjust to it easier. And many people can't even tell the difference, which is amazing to me.... speaking of which...

      4K is generally a scam. I would love to do a study of people at normal viewing distance, just to prove to the nay-sayers that 99.9+% of people would not be able to tell if it was 2K or 4K.

    12. Re:Sad by omnichad · · Score: 1

      If it wasn't clear, I was saying motion interpolation is a failure. You can't add good data if it isn't there. The only place it might be useful is enhancing sports. Cinematography requires a certain amount of motion blur to work and the motion estimation actually removes it.

      I also saw The Hobbit in HFR. The sweeping pans and helicopter shots were near-perfect - and they look terrible at 24fps in a lot of the LOTR movies. In the close-cropped conversation shots, it looked like it was in fast-forward. I think they used too wide of a lens. The other problem is that the shots were way too sharp. It's hard to get motion blur when you're shooting at half the shutter speed but you need it for realism. The CGI popped out for the same reason. Motion blur helps with realism. Most prime-time TV shows are 24p with pulldown to 60i or 30p. Soaps on the other hand are still shot in a true 60i, and that's what The Hobbit also reminded me of.

      Saying that 4K is a scam is only partly true. In the theater, it makes a huge difference. My living room has no TV, but I have a home theater setup in the basement. In a home theater, you need either a monster TV or seats very close to the screen. I have the latter right now (two couches in series starting about 3-ft from the TV, but at 1080p (42"). At that distance, a 52" TV at 4K would make a noticeable difference.

      Curved TVs are more of a scam than 4K. Unless you have an 80+ inch TV at close range, you're not getting peripheral vision with that and there's no point.

    13. Re:Sad by markdavis · · Score: 1

      >"If it wasn't clear, I was saying motion interpolation is a failure. "

      Ah, I thought you mean the opposite. Sorry. And yes, I was referring to 4K in the living room. Sounds like we are a lot alike as far as tastes in TV tech...

      And yes, curved TV's was/is, hands-down, the biggest scam of all. All it does is create a crapload of MOVING reflections (yep, they move dramatically with even the slightest head motion). It is really horrible! It would only serve a use for something like a computer monitor, where you are sitting much closer to it.

    14. Re:Sad by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      3D one of those things that could be in every TV with near minimal cost, polarized plastic is cheap.

      Polarized plastic 3D glasses never worked that well because there is no way to flip the polarization of the video image fast enough.
      Theatrical 3D uses two projectors with a fixed filter over each lens, so no need to flip.

    15. Re:Sad by Phernost · · Score: 1

      I meant every TV could have "passive" 3D for the cheap. Cheap passive polarized glasses and a single sheet of interlaced polarized plastic on the screen is all you need hardware wise to support 3D signals. Especially considering most 2D TVs can already decode 3D signals into 2D by tossing either the left or right image. Use that pointless smart TV garbage to interlace the left and right image and you have passive 3D support. Not exactly something that causes a large strain on manufacturing, unlike say the tolerances required to support HDR and 4k with a decent refresh rate.

      My other half and I actually find that the passive 3D TV causes less eye strain than the 3D projectors they use in the theaters (not sure of the cause).

      I bought 2 55" passive 3D TVs from LG, one for the living-room and one for the bedroom. The next year I wanted a 42" for my game-room, and those suckers had more than doubled in price (damn first world problems). So it's pretty obvious to me why people stopped buying them.

  20. Here's a secret... by Dan+East · · Score: 1

    I'll let you in on a secret... people (as in the vast majority) don't want 3D in theaters either. The reason it's there is because it's an excuse for even higher ticket prices. Raise your hand if you actually believe people would not see a movie because it wasn't showing in 3D. Anyone? Would you? Would you walk into a theater, and find out that the movie was not playing in 3D, and turn around and leave? Checking my local cinema's showings for tomorrow (it has 8 screens), there is only one movie being shown in 3D tomorrow: XXX: The Return of Xander Cage (PG-13). And that's with a 2D showing mixed in with the two 3D showings.

    So when the article says "Despite enthusiasm at the box office", I think that should really say "Despite not utterly failing at the box office".

    --
    Better known as 318230.
    1. Re:Here's a secret... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      There is a positive note to all the 3D movie bullshit....it makes second run theaters like my local lovingly restored early 1930s movie house VERY popular as they only show movies in 2D. You go by my local Cinema 8 and there is just a trickle of cars for any of the "popcorn flcks" and family movies but the second they hit the old theater? Its fricking packed with lines going around the building to get in.

      I can't say as I blame 'em as I decided to run my own little experiment and watch Iron Man 3 in both 3D at the Cinema 8 and 2D at the old movie house and the 3D gave me a skull thumper about halfway into the movie which lasted for about an hour afterwards while enjoying the 2D version in those classic opera house style seats with a big tub of popcorn? It was just a damned nice movie experience. Now I won't bother, if it doesn't come to the old movie house? Meh I'll either Redbox or pick up the Blu Ray, I don't want anymore 3D movies, thanks anyway.

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    2. Re:Here's a secret... by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

      3d only hurts lower life forms, never hurts my brain.

      im a more advanced model.

      i prefer the 3d version, 2d sucks ass

      --
      Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
    3. Re:Here's a secret... by hairyfeet · · Score: 1

      For 3D to hurt you have to have a brain, you are obviously exempt from that particular stipulation ,

      --
      ACs don't waste your time replying, your posts are never seen by me.
    4. Re:Here's a secret... by david_thornley · · Score: 1

      I was wondering about that, and I watched the Avengers movie in 2D and 3D. After doing that, I couldn't remember any differences between the experiences.

      --
      "When you have eliminated the unacceptable, whatever is left, however improbable, must be the truthiness" - Holmes
    5. Re:Here's a secret... by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      Would you walk into a theater, and find out that the movie was not playing in 3D, and turn around and leave?

      Irrelevant, as in any multiplex that shows a blockbuster in 3D will also show it in 2D.
      Guess which sells out first? Yes, the 3D version even with a higher price.

    6. Re:Here's a secret... by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      For 3D to hurt you have to have lousy vision

      FTFY.

  21. 3D TV screens were too small for some images by iliketrash · · Score: 5, Informative

    I think one reason 3D TV never caught on is that the screens generally were not large enough. There is a problem with a finite screen when objects appear near the left or right edges and relatively close to the viewer: the required binocular disparity is such that the image in one eye goes black (blank), leaving the image in only one eye. This is very uncomfortable, even if it happens for a brief instant. The screen needs to be large enough for the left and right edges to be nearly out of ones peripheral vision so that then one eye goes blank it is less noticeable. Most movie theater screens are large enough. But still, the director needs to be aware of this problem and be careful not to place up-close images near the edges of the screen. I think James Cameron knew this in making Avatar. I'm sure that Martin Scorsese did not know this when he made Hugo, as this happens many times during that movie. With TV, especially live action sports, I suspect that this might be hard to control.

    Of course, the other problem is the disparate needs for the viewer to focus at one distance (the screen) and cross the eyes at another distance (the object). Most people adapt to this nearly instantly but I suppose even they find it a little fatiguing.

    1. Re: 3D TV screens were too small for some images by protoporos · · Score: 2

      I disagree, the problem with 3D is that you are not allowed to focus your eyes anywhere you want in the 3D landscape presented to you. If the depth of field in a scene is substantial, the director will have decided for you what is in focus and what is out of focus. This is not how our eyes are used to work; they appreciate their autonomy in focusing. But I assume that technology-wise, it would be much more difficult to implement such a thing. You would need Lytro-type cameras, sensors on screen to track your retina to understand where you are focusing your attention, and... good luck adjusting the focus individually for each viewer, on the same screen.

    2. Re: 3D TV screens were too small for some images by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Movie cameras have been able to switch focus between two planes once per frame for many decades. IIRC Hitchcock was a pioneer (in that and many other things that are common today).

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
    3. Re:3D TV screens were too small for some images by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

      Why are you buying Sony products? Scumbags still belong in jail for shipping virus infected DVDs and CDs.

      Rift and Vive both do what you are asking for.

      --
      John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  22. 3D photography by Zobeid · · Score: 2

    The only time I use the 3D feature of my LG TV is when viewing photos I shot with my Fujifilm FinePix REAL 3D W3. (Fuji, you are great at making cameras, not so hot at naming them!), or looking at other people's 3D shots with the Phereo app. These 3D sets are absolutely the best way to view 3D photos.

    The W3 is maybe the best consumer 3D camera ever made (and it's pocketable!), but it didn't exactly set the world on fire either, and is now becoming a collector's item. So, yeah. . . I'm sad that this technology never seems to catch on with a wider audience, but that seems to be the reality of it.

  23. Just to make sure 3D is completely dead by Air-conditioned+cowh · · Score: 1

    I will now poke out one eye. That should fix it! I don't know why anyone thought it was so useful in the first place.

  24. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    My "smart TV" is a standard TV with Remix Mini connected to it.

    As for 3D TVs, I think the only way they would catch on is if they were autostereoscopic with wide viewing angles and affordable prices.

  25. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    I would very much prefer a moniter and a roku! "Smart" TVs need to DIE along with all of the IoT crap! Its all a very bad idea!

  26. 240hz by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    There are plenty of televisions that operate at 240hz. Using one of these, it would be trivial to have a separate box that uses glasses to display 3d... or make a system like what made Duck Hunt work, easier. The methods used by the more modern consoles just don't work as well.

    1. Re:240hz by sir-gold · · Score: 1

      I think you just described the already existing active-shutter 3d system.

    2. Re:240hz by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      Except if I understand correctly the shutters are driven by the television itself. My version uses an external device to drive the shutters. The point is that there is little that needs to be done to make a 3d capable extened system with televisions that are still on sale.

    3. Re:240hz by Yaztromo · · Score: 1

      Except if I understand correctly the shutters are driven by the television itself. My version uses an external device to drive the shutters. The point is that there is little that needs to be done to make a 3d capable extened system with televisions that are still on sale.

      I think the big problem would be properly synchronizing the shutter control to the screen. 240Hz is roughly only about 4ms per frame. Modern digital TVs impart a small delay between when a frame and received and when it shows up on screen. The box you propose would have to emit the signal to keep the glasses synchronized in time, however there is no guarantee that the glasses would then be in sync with the TV. You'd need either some sort of configuration system whereby the user could control the synchronization delay (which would be somewhat of a pain for end-users to setup), or you'd have to do something truly ingenious like somehow encode the sync signal into the frames themselves (current active shutter TVs generally use an IR out to sync the glasses to the screen).

      I'm not saying it would be impossible, but there would be technical challenges that don't really exist when you're doing frame sync int he same physical unit that is handling the display as active 3D TVs currently function.

      Yaz

    4. Re:240hz by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

      DLP® Linkâ - The 3D glasses use flashes of white light between frames to send the 3D signal to the glasses, this is invisible to the naked eye.

      --
      Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  27. it is a cycle by kiviQr · · Score: 1

    No worries it will come back in 8 years. It is a marketing (aka hype) cycle: VR, increase resolution, improve sound, increase color depth, try 3D.

  28. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Smart TV's while many of them are horribly painful to use actually have some legitimate ongoing use cases, the problem their is that they suck rather than not addressing a legitimate issue. I have no smart TV's in my house as I didn't see the need since I can do it all with media center machnes that are faster, better featured and more customisable than a smart TV ever will be,

  29. Re:What we really need by rworne · · Score: 1

    More like this:

    Kentucky Fried Movie predicted this in 1977:
    FeelAround

    --
    I tried every decent and legal way I could think of to resolve the issue w/the business before I rented the chicken suit
  30. 3D for scientific data display is also over-rated by seyfarth · · Score: 4, Informative

    I have worked with a couple of 3D displays for scientific visualization. The university I worked for had a fairly expensive system with an 8 foot by 10 foot 3D display "wall". It was great for demos, but after a year or so of mostly demos, it was largely abandoned. I also got a set of 3D glasses for a 20 inch CRT system and added 3D support to a program I wrote for a physicist friend to display movies of particle simulations. Most of the benefit of seeing the 3D structure could be obtained by simply rotating the scene or movie. Another friend said that chemical display software frequently uses a "wobble" option to add some 3D-like effect to molecule displays. I added a wobble option to my program and it worked pretty well. My experience was that people didn't care enough to walk down the hall to use the big 3D wall and even with 3D glasses in his office, my physicist friend didn't bother. It's not much of a surprise to me that 3D TV is largely a bust. It is cool for a demo, but it seems destined to be used only for demos. Maybe with 3D systems not using goggles or perhaps with lightweight glasses there will be a future for 3D displays. I hope so, even after seeing no one really using it.

    --
    Ray Seyfarth, ray.seyfarth@gmail.com, http://rayseyfarth.blogspot.com
  31. Re:Next up dead by TWX · · Score: 4, Interesting

    To my view, much of IoT is a solution looking for a problem, and is compounded by ignorance on all levels. Corporations that are seeking it thinking it's the future don't understand Information Technology or Information Security. Developers have proven time and again that they're terrible at policing their own code for exploitation (and tech companies already have a hard enough time with this, non-IT firms won't have a chance) and consumers don't have any idea how it works by and large either.

    Most of the "IoT" market that's actually relevant is already addressed through SCADA and other building management or energy management systems, and these systems usually don't require connections outside of the building or outside of the organization in order to work, and there's a better chance that the organization using them has staff responsible to maintain them, and that staff usually understands the ramifications of not maintaining them. Most of the new buzzword bingo stuff is fluff and will probably cause a lot of long-term problems when appliance manufacturers don't want to spend the money to patch security vulnerabilities in software for durable goods.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  32. Yet another BeauHD monolithic block of text by QuietLagoon · · Score: 1

    Does this /. editor not understand the use of paragraphs in English? Has /. stooped so low that its editors no longer care about basic readability concepts?

  33. You felt your eyes twitch... by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    You felt your eyes twitch and felt that meant something was about to get worse with your eyes as a result. I wonder how many people experience what I experence when I say I have a true depth-perception experience. There are certain conditions required for me to experience true depth. There are actually two different sets of stimuli that can trigger it to varying degrees. Proper shading of a scene can trigger it after a fashion in 2d scenes. Games from the Playstation 2 era can trigger it, but I have yet to see a Playstation 1 game that does. This is actually a newish experience, as my brain didn't use to give me that sense with this stimuli.

    Then there is the depth perception in the real world which has been touch and go. I have discovered it has to do with the properties of the lenses in the glasses that I wear and seems to have to do more specificially with measurements that are done for things like pupil distance and not focal power. They have refined in recent years their understanding of the optics system that result in prescriptions for eye glasses and contact lenses, but their understanding is still very incomplete. They have added a red green test to tell if further refinement triggers other issues. They have told me that depth perception remains in the realm of the unprescribable, though those are not the exact words that they use. I believe that such a time will come however, as I currently have lenses that provide me with very good depth perception, though it has other interesting sensations besides the depth perception effect that are physical in the same way as twitching is physical but not really a component of visual perception. So who knows if your eyes would get better or worse as a result of whatever causes them to twitch. So, I guess not risking it may be the right decision for you, but it isn't the whole story.

    1. Re:You felt your eyes twitch... by the_Bionic_lemming · · Score: 2

      I hear you, but the twitch and bend was not painful, but significant enough to realize that there was something going on.

      My pop has maculer degeneration, my mom had cataract surgery.

      I program for a living and need my eyes, so 15 seconds of 3d goggles causing a spasm is more than I need to worry about.

      --
      _ _ _ Go for the eyes Boo! GO FOR THE EYES!
  34. 3D TV was fun for games by HalAtWork · · Score: 1

    It added a lot to the immersion IMHO, and is also the best way to experience Virtual Boy and Master System 3D emulation. On the desktop PC, 3D LCD glasses came with many 3D accelerator cards since the 90s and it always blew me away to play games that way.

  35. Not dead, just a zombie by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 5, Interesting

    3D comes back every couple of decades. They had 3D movies as long ago as 1922. Since then, the popularity of 3D has come and gone several times. Each time, people get tired of the format when it loses its novelty. Then a couple of decades later, manufacturers come up with a "new" angle in hopes of selling new hardware.

    Don't worry, 3D will come back. And then it will go away again.

    1. Re:Not dead, just a zombie by CODiNE · · Score: 1

      3D will always cycle back now and then as long as it requires the glasses.

      I wonder if VR and AR will stick around on this current rise or if the headsets again limit use to a small subset of people.

      It's like video phones. They seem obvious and the tech keeps improving, but fundamentally I hate having to change my clothes, fix my hair, shave, etc... before making a call; so it never really catches on.

      --
      Cwm, fjord-bank glyphs vext quiz
    2. Re:Not dead, just a zombie by StormReaver · · Score: 1

      Don't worry, 3D will come back. And then it will go away again.

      You hit the nail on the head. Of course 3D TV will return, because a new generation of ignorant executives will rise through the ranks of media companies, and a new generation of ignorant consumers will have disposable income. Neither of those groups will have any grasp on history, and will repeat the cycle over and over again (failing each time) until someone creates an ACTUAL 3D experience.

      That said, my entire previous paragraph will be moot if VR/AR becomes mainstream. That has a far, far better chance of providing a 3D experience than any type of TV.

    3. Re:Not dead, just a zombie by Tony+Isaac · · Score: 1

      Yes, VR could be the next big 3D thing, and has much greater potential than 3D TVs. For most people, it will require less obtrusive headgear. But VR has great potential in specialized applications like medicine. Imagine a surgeon being able to place himself virtually inside the end of the laparoscope, able to look around and see clearly what he is doing! There are similar applications for virtual space travel, or undersea exploration, the list goes on. For general entertainment though, it will probably continue to be a novelty experience, not something we do every day.

    4. Re:Not dead, just a zombie by fredzouille · · Score: 1

      1915 actually, with shorts and extracts from the "Jim, the Penman" movie (Edwin S. Porter/William E. Waddell). In 1922 it was the first public demonstration of a full feature movie, "The Power of Love" (Harry K. Fairall/Robert F. Elder). There had already been showing of the 3D version of "L'Arrivée du Train" by the brothers Lumiere in 1903 but it was for only one person at a time, not an audience.

  36. And nothing of value... by corychristison · · Score: 1

    And nothing of value was lost...

  37. Re:What we really need by Z00L00K · · Score: 1

    You don't really want that, especially not in some movies like Pr0n, splatter, Willie Wonka and the Chocolate factory or in newscasts from war zones.

    I actually have one of the Samsung 3D TVs and I did look at it once - Men In Black 3, but the 3D revealed with ease all the CGI because it was flat while the actors were in 3D. Another disadvantage is that the glasses aren't that comfortable.

    So 3D is a cool feature for special applications like Virtual Reality where you simulate an environment where people will work but it's not really anything more than a fun thing in movies - and after about 10 to 20 minutes you will get bored and mentally overloaded by the 3D effects.

    --
    If builders built buildings the way programmers wrote programs, then the first woodpecker would destroy civilization.
  38. Why? by camperdave · · Score: 1

    Okay, I understand that folks are uncomfortable with the 3D glasses, and the 3D effect is frequently a distraction to the story, and all that, but isn't it just some software on the TV that is producing the image? Is there really much in the line of special hardware on the TV itself needed to produce the 3D effect? Lots of TVs have headphone jacks, but only a vanishingly small number of people use the jack. So, if 3D doesn't involve an excessive amount of special hardware on the TV, why not leave it in as an available, but unmarketed feature.

    Alternatively, can a third party settop box do the 3D processing?

    --
    When our name is on the back of your car, we're behind you all the way!
  39. VR is next.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    And this is exactly the future of VR.
    Another non-problem trying to sell itself as a solution..
    The public will soon catch on that today's VR is still crap,if people think 3d glasses are a pain,what do you think most are going to make of VR sets ?
    And I'm just waiting for the first lawsuit for personal injury case in the USA from some div hurting themselves while using a VR system.
    If the military are not really interested in a technology,then you can bet its going to fail with the public,mainly because they are the only ones with bottomless pockets to bring tech on to a usable state,where as corps just want/need to make money..
    Where as VR/AR will take off in industry and fingers crossed for education as well..
    VR as it is being sold to the public now and for the foreseeable future is a con/fraud.
    VR is dead before it even gets going,no-one has a decent system anywhere near ready,we don't have the compute power yet or display tech that can make a good system..
    Invest at the risk of watching yer money vanish..

  40. Gone again? Duh. by garyoa1 · · Score: 1

    Went over like a lead balloon back in the 50's. (without a special tv) No clue why they thought it would go today.

    --
    Wuddooeyeno? IITYWYBMAD? Like nuts? eclecticallyincorrect.com
  41. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

    I'm more surprised that people pay money to see trash like Star Wars.

  42. Terrible implementation on my TV by EkriirkE · · Score: 1

    I have Samsung stereoscopic TV, and I only tried the feature once and not even all the way through whatever we were watching... The image didn't just alternate perspectives between eyes, but it alternated perspective AND frames so your eyes were never seeing the same moment in time and is the first time I've ever gotten a splitting headache from viewing anything! I didn't mind a lower frame rate at the expense of stereo, and I probably could have enjoyed it then.

    --
    from 09 F9 11 02 9D 74 E3 5B D8 41 56 C5 63 56 88 C0
    to 45 2F 6E 40 3C DF 10 71 4E 41 DF AA 25 7D 31 3F
    1. Re:Terrible implementation on my TV by windwalkr · · Score: 1

      Unless you're extremely (and unusually) sensitive, this sounds like bad source media, or perhaps an unusually poor hardware implementation. Not something that most users will experience. I also have a Samsung TV with 3D capability. As others here have said, there are reasons why the 3D capability isn't used much in practice. But on the few occasions that we've used it, it worked well and caused no headaches, flickering, or other problems.

      If you have other light sources active in addition to the TV, you may notice a flicker/strobe effect from that, in your peripheral vision - but not from the TV itself.

  43. I've seen gimmicky, gratuitous, and good by raymorris · · Score: 1

    > I've seen so far (which I admit isn't much) never looked natural, it looked gimmicky.

    I've seen some really gimmicky, some a bit forced, some good, and just a couple of good gimmicks.

    Some stuff isn't a movie, shot in 3D, it is a bunch of "oh cool, 3D" scenes stitched together and they call it a movie. I've seen some that wasn't as gimmicky, but just as they insert sex and cleavage into movies for no apparent reason, they randomly stick in a couple of 3D "effects". Then I've seen a couple that were decent movies, shot in 3D, without "featuring" 3D. Just as filmmakers no longer exaggerate color just because they can, a few don't do exaggerated 3D shots just because they can.

    A separate genre are the short ones where you're flying through the Grand Canyon or you're on a roller coaster or something often seen at Imax. It's all about the 3D, Surround Sound, Imax experience, no pretense of a story. I enjoy some of those. I guess it's similar to how I don't care for random sex scenes interrupting a movie, but I don't mind a good porn every so often, for a few minutes. ;)

    1. Re:I've seen gimmicky, gratuitous, and good by omnichad · · Score: 1

      The movie Hugo is an amazing movie in 3D - based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret. It's a "kid's" movie, but it's really a well done work of cinematography. There is almost no instance of 3D as a gimmick - just great stereoscopic cinematography.

      It was so good that I went out of my way to buy the 3D Blu-Ray and I got a cheap 3D Blu-Ray player at a yard sale. But my 2D TV was in fine condition and I didn't want to upgrade just because of a new feature. Then, manufacturer's dropped passive 3D in favor of active 3D (when 4K would solve the limitations of passive 3D).

      If my TV failed today, I would settle for active 3D if I could find a refurb. Most TVs still have high refresh rates of 120Hz or more. This means that active 3D is merely a software problem and requires almost no hardware aside from clock sync and glasses.

  44. Ps: Best is the Spiderman ride by raymorris · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The best use of 3D "effects" I've seen is one of the Spiderman rides. You're in a roller coaster like car traveling through a building. It blends actual motion, live action, and 3D film all together in ways where you don't know for sure what's real and what's projected. At one point you fall, you're dropping down 100 feet or so. I haven't been able to figure out how far you actually fall, if at all. I *think* it's a real roller coaster drop, a significant distance, enhanced by 3D video of scenery going past to make it feel like you fell twice as far. Or maybe you don't actually fall at all. I can't tell if it's real or just effects, and that's pretty cool.

    1. Re:Ps: Best is the Spiderman ride by brix · · Score: 1

      Agreed, Spider-Man (Universal Studios Islands of adventure in Orlando, and Universal Studios in Osaka, Japan) is an absolutely amazing ride which is able to fool the senses even after riding it many, many times. Although it's been around (in Orlando at least) and winning "best ride" awards year-after-year in 3D since the park's opening in 1999, it wasn't until 2012 that it was even upgraded to HD, leaving you to wonder which is really more important :-).

      And no, you aren't falling at all, or even barely moving. I'm pretty sure the effect is due to (1) the fact that the camera angle, of course, is straight down and shows you falling off a tall building, (2) there is a slight incline (but nowhere near 90 degrees) to the ride car to throw your senses into confusion about your true orientation, (3) wind machines make it feel like you are moving much faster than you are (although you are still running around 5 mph), and (4) the screen completely takes up your entire 3D field of view, leaving you with no other frame of reference.

  45. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    The SCADA market is exactly where IoT hits its stride. The home automation market is hot garbage waiting to be exploited.

    Now also having worked with SCADA systems for a long time. Most are rather poorly done. The software is usually bubblegum and duct tape with a shiny coat of gloss to make it look nice.

    I supported several of these devices for about 10 years. Guess how many are supported now? None. They sit out there waiting for someone to exploit them. They will never see another patch. Ever.

  46. Re:Next up dead by monkeyzoo · · Score: 3, Funny

    3D TV's always seemed stupid as hell to me. I can't say I'm surprised they're gone. I never got the point, even before you factor in the need to wear special glasses and their tendency to induce eyestrain/headaches.

    Good riddance!

  47. Re:Next up dead by thegarbz · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I'm hoping 3D cinema are next to go.

    Why hope for the death of something people enjoy? I was given the option of a 2D Rogue One screening. I chose the 3D one because I actually like it when done properly. What we really need is more choice rather than a battle of what people like.

  48. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2

    To my view, much of IoT is a solution looking for a problem, and is compounded by ignorance on all levels. Corporations that are seeking it thinking it's the future don't understand Information Technology or Information Security.

    If we must have smart tvs, then just making a slot for something like this:
    Intel compute card(I'd also prefer to get rid of hdmi in favour of display port, but that is not happening.)

    Basically this would be my ideal tv.
    1) A few hdmi (or display port)
    2) dot for dot displays in at least 24bpp color at at least 60Hz non interlaced, or better yet supporting that variable sync rate stuff graphics cards are supporting now to prevent tearing.
    3) A single optical digital audio output, because do we really need to run speakers wirelessly and introduce those security issues?
    4) A spot for a single replaceable compute card or similar. The card may connect to a lan port on the tv, but that just just wire routing. Basically you could swap the cards out in the mail if newer security was required. The card would also be used to help decode any video standards, and may actually be what decodes all compressed video.
    5) A TV should not have a microphone, unless it goes to a closed system that can only be used to do trivial tv functions that clearly can never be routed to the internet. If you want to give up your privacy then you can add an additional microphone to the compute stick.
    6) Similarly a tv should not have a camera. If a game absolutely needs one, it can add it on later
    7) For add ons the compute stick may route wires to usb ports, but again these are just wires and have no security implications. Examples for USB would be game controllers, wired or wireless keyboards, direct connections to tv tuners, connects to portable blu-ray players, etc.

    Over the air broadcasts, if used should be provided over the local network, wireless or wired. There is no point in dragging coax everywhere

  49. Porn needs to save 3D TV by stooo · · Score: 1

    Porn is needed to save 3D TV

    --
    aaaaaaa
  50. Essentially Free by nick_davison · · Score: 1

    When you have a display that can handle the frame rate necessary to alternate the picture anyway... what's the cost?

    By all means, stop packing 3D glasses in. Make them a separate purchase for those who want them.

    But why not offer the feature for those who want it when the hardware already does everything you need and it costs essentially nothing more?

    If anything, the moment for glasses is finally here. Yeah, they still suck to wear. But the next major complaint was that they darkened the picture. Yet Samsung's doubled picture brightness this year. You can have each eye blacked out half of the time and still have as bright a picture as last year's glassesless version.

    So, sure, most people don't use it much. But when it's essentially free, why not check that box for the 1% who do want it?

  51. Re:Next up dead by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    I have no smart TV's in my house as I didn't see the need

    That by definition means you don't have a 4K TV, or any non projection TV larger than probably about 40-50" less than 3 years old. It's pretty much impossible not to buy a "Smart TV" these days unless it's basically a computer monitor.

    Not saying you can't get a better experience with a big monitor + STB/etc, just that you can't actually buy a high end 4K monitor that isn't also Smart TV (whether you use the software or not).

  52. Re:What we really need by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    I still have a T-shirt from the 2001 CGDC from this company: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    It was a horrible idea, and equally horrible implementation. And I will cherish the T-shirt forever...

  53. Not worth the hassle at home by quantaman · · Score: 2

    The problem is that 3D, when it's done well, is an enhancement to the experience, but not an essential part of it.

    In the theatre they hand you a pair of 3D glasses when you come in, you sit down silently facing straight forward to watch the movie, and then you drop the glasses in the box on your way out. The 3D is worth while because it's really convenient to do.

    But at home? You need to find the glasses when you want to watch 3D, then you need to move around to make sure the viewing angle is right, then you need to take the glasses on or off when you wander around to do something else, then at the end you need to find a place to store the glasses again.

    The enhanced experience just isn't worth the hassle.

    --
    I stole this Sig
  54. Same thing is going to happen to VR. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Until they make a Holodeck, like in Star Trek, these are all a waste of time and money.

  55. Re:Modern tv is dead by Chrisq · · Score: 1

    In the future we will all go back to black and white crt wooden tvs.

    With people listening to vinyl and cassettes nothing would surprise me anymore

  56. Not hard to see why by DrXym · · Score: 1
    The problem with 3D TVs is they sucked. The ones that used active glasses were the worst - ghosting, expensive glasses etc. The ones with passive glasses were MUCH better but used polarising bands on the screen to deliver a left/right eye picture so the resolution suffered and they were more expensive to produce. Either way they compromised the effect. On top of that glasses of either kind are uncomfortable and make the picture look dim - bad enough in a darkened movie theatre but worse in a home.

    Some day someone will produce a 3D TV that doesn't require glasses and supports multiple angles and multiple viewers. At that point it might experience a resurgence.

    1. Re:Not hard to see why by Gojira+Shipi-Taro · · Score: 1

      No the ones with active glasses got MUCH better. mine has a 240 hz refresh and there is no ghosting and no perceivable dimming. The passive glasses suck because of the half-height resolution.

      as far as not needing glasses... you do know how binocular vision works, right? The only FMV non-glasses technology that I'm aware of is on the 3DS, and that requires an eye tracking camera. There's no way a tech like that can work for multiple people.

      --
      "Oh my God. This is terrible. This is the end of my Presidency. I'm fucked."; ~ Donald J. Trump
    2. Re:Not hard to see why by sh00z · · Score: 1

      The passive glasses suck because of the half-height resolution.

      Which is a complete non-issue on a 4K tv.

    3. Re:Not hard to see why by DrXym · · Score: 1
      I'm totally aware how binocular vision works. And no the 3DS doesn't use eye tracking. Instead there is a lenticular lens as a layer about the display where a mask basically prevents the left and right eye from seeing the same pixels below.

      As for "no way", that depends on how it might be done. If a TV did track faces and could affect the lenticular effect then it could project a display in a manner unique to each viewer. There might be an upper limit since horizonal resolution / number of eyeballs = actual resolution but it could be done.

      It's not the only way of course. Holograms have been around for a very long time. Display techonology might be close to catching up with the effect.

    4. Re:Not hard to see why by DrXym · · Score: 1

      Yes it's an issue for 4K tv too. If you play a UHD 3D movie you lose half the horizontal resolution thanks to L+R and you lose half the vertical resolution because of the TV. IIRC, the passive sets didn't alternate every line either but groups of them and then post processed them in some way so stuff like text on screen looked weird, like very coarse interlacing. I doubt 4K would fix that either unless every other line alternated instead of groups of them.

  57. Re:Next up dead by beuges · · Score: 1

    Star Wars Rogue One was also the movie which made me realise how much the 3D glasses affect the colour of the picture. There were lots of scenes that looked very dull and dark - taking the glasses off for a moment, the colours were much brighter and "normal". I've now started noticing that in other 3D movies as well... surely the studios should master the 3D videos with brighter/lighter colours to compensate for the darkening of the glasses?

    I wouldn't call for 3D cinema to go though, I enjoy watching movies in 3D at the cinema... but as the summary/article states, despite having a 3D capable TV at home for 2.5 years, I think we've watched a total of 4 movies in 3D on it, despite havingÂthe option to watch many more in 3D.

  58. Re:Next up dead by Alioth · · Score: 1

    My Panasonic 50-something in TV is *not* a smart TV, and it's about 2 years old. I specifically shopped for a "dumb" TV. The features of smart TVs will quickly become outdated and cumbersome, and I hope to keep a TV for a good 10+ years. It was cheaper than the smart versions.

  59. playing grand tourismo in 3d had it's advantages.. by unami · · Score: 1

    and the occasional 3d-movie was fun too, as long as the 3d was halfway decent. with vr/ar/mr glasses approaching the mass market, i don't think that we'll have to forgo 3d for long.

  60. Large 4K TVs without Smart by hackwrench · · Score: 2

    https://www.walmart.com/browse...
    Check the JVC and Sceptre out. https://www.walmart.com/browse...
    Probably the same Sceptre again and an Avera... a Changhong. Not top name brands but they do exist.

    1. Re:Large 4K TVs without Smart by Dahamma · · Score: 1

      Sorry, but that's idiotic. Seriously, you are using a "Sceptre" TV to disprove my point? Obviously completely shitty TVs technically exist but the people buying them are suckers. Read my fucking comment, "high end 4K monitor ". What you listed is so much worse than a medium range 1080p TV that it's a joke.

  61. Re: Next up dead by unami · · Score: 2

    that's what they do - when you put on the glasses, you see the colors as intended, otherwise you get oversaturated colors (like the crappy look some TVs produce out of the box, or your typical oled-phone screen). rogue one had a very muted/washed out palette because it was supposed to be a war-film.

  62. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Too many films aren't really shot in 3D, which (in my and many others' opinions) results in shitty 3D which makes people think 3D is shitty. Rogue One was fake 3D.

    Films shot (or rendered) *natively* in 3D are still worth seeing, IMO.

    http://www.realorfake3d.com/

  63. Some Playstation VR titles... by hackwrench · · Score: 1

    Some Playstation VR titles use the regular PS? controller and some use the Move controllers. The Move camera is required in either case apparently, but all the Move accessories appear to be the same ones from the PS3 era.

    1. Re:Some Playstation VR titles... by hackwrench · · Score: 1
      He said,

      But the only way to do stuff is with this weird new controller that uses 3D gestures

      With the Playstation VR system, at the very least that is not the case. Why is it so difficult for you to understand the connection?

    2. Re:Some Playstation VR titles... by hackwrench · · Score: 1

      You can't delete comments on Slashdot no matter what. Also #notallvr

    3. Re:Some Playstation VR titles... by Howitzer86 · · Score: 1

      VR controllers have buttons too, some software can recognize gestures, but using them is entirely up to the developer (and by extension, the consumer). You don't even really need the special controllers to enjoy many VR games, even complicated games like Elite Dangerous work just fine with a simple Xbox 360/1 controller.

      Since you mentioned Mario, look up Lucky's Tale. It is a 3rd person VR platforming game with the same play mechanics of Mario 64. It's really something to actually be in that kind of environment. I would definitely put a genuine VR experience several notches over something like 3D TV. Not even Google Cardboard comes close.

      Go to your local Best Buy if you have them. They are running Oculus demos these days. Give it a shot and see for yourself.

  64. Re:Next up dead by The+Grassy+Knoll · · Score: 3, Funny

    I watched the golf on a friend's 3D TV and the experience was pretty awful.
    I don't know what I expected, but with the glasses on it just seemed to be layers of 2D, rather similar to an episode of Captain Pugwash...

    .

    --
    They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
  65. Count me as one of the few 3D fans. by Yaztromo · · Score: 1

    Count me in as one of 3D TV's few fans.

    We bought our current TV a few years back (2012 or 2013 IIRC). We weren't specifically aiming to get a 3D (or even Smart) TV, however we lucked into a Cyber Monday deal that had a Sony KDL-46EX720 TV with a Sony 3D BluRay player for $750 (CDN) -- only one of three being offered in all of Western Canada. We scooped it up -- and for the most part it has been an excellent TV.

    A year or so later we were able to pickup two pairs of 3D glasses while in the US (where they were half the price we could buy them in Canada for). I dove into as much 3D content as I could. Sony had at the time a great Internet "channel" in its Internet Video section which features all 3D videos, most of which were of UNESCO World Heritage sites. They were short, but those were great to watch. I'd watch 3D YouTube as well from time to time, and of course I own a bunch of 3D BluRay movies.

    Unfortunately, first they shut down their 3D online channel, and then they decided not to update the set when YouTube changed its API (as I had predicted when we bought the TV, the "Smart" features wouldn't last all that long. As I said, I wasn't looking for a Smart TV. We don't use the Smart features at all anymore in favour of using our PS4 or Apple TV instead). There was never any regular 3D TV content available here in Western Canada (i.e.: no 3D broadcasts on cable or antenna), so the choice was between short Internet clips, or full blown movies.

    I unfortunately missed the PS3 era; 3D doesn't work over PS Now, and there have been only a handful of 3D TV enabled games on the PS4. That was one area where 3D TV would have really shined; I regret never having had the opportunity to play ICO and Shadow of the Colossus in 3D.

    My wife never got into the 3D viewing, so I'm the only one in the house who ever uses it. About the only time I get to use it is when I'm home alone, or after everyone else has gone to bed. Still, I did get Star Wars VII on 3D BluRay when it was released back in November, and have been enjoying watching it again in glorious 3D. I'll probably still buy our movies in 3D BluRay packs while I can (the 3D packs generally also come with the 2D BluRay, a 2D DVD, and a digital download copy, so they can be a really good deal), and will probably have to keep our current TV somewhere in the house for as long as it continues to function to watch them. Ultimately what did 3D TV in was the lack of content (particularly TV shows in the 30 mins - 1 hr range), the cost of the glasses (the TVs should have come with two pairs each, and not sold them as $100 each add-ons!), and general apathy towards wearing the glasses. Oh well -- it was fun while it lasted.

    Yaz

    1. Re:Count me as one of the few 3D fans. by omnichad · · Score: 1

      Yeah...and I didn't want to buy a new TV yet. I own the movies and a player but no TV to watch on. So count me as someone who wasn't on their preferred 2-3 year upgrade cycle but still looked forward to the new features.

  66. Re:What we really need by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    As a non american, always looking at american bitches, you complain too much, enjoy it.

    If you cant hack it, suck it up. They are NOT uncomfortable.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  67. Re:Next up dead by Bearhouse · · Score: 1

    A bit offtopic, but that's not quite true.
    A neighbour - utterly non-technical - brought back a cheap cam from the hardware store the other day; she plugged it in, followed the instructions and a few minutes later was round my place showing me live streams of her kids playing in the garden on her iPhone.
    Probably unbelievably insecure, but for her, very convenient.
    As long as people can get this "instant convenience" they'll uptake IoT.

  68. you are stupid by cheekyboy · · Score: 2

    we sit watching movies many times a week in the dark, 2d and 3d, and netflix.

    heaps of stuff on youtube and torrents.

    TV is in the middle not corner like a 80s 17"

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  69. 3d costs zero $ by cheekyboy · · Score: 2

    implementing 3d is virtually free.

    off/even frames synced to glasses, thats $1 tech.

    I am sure you could retro fit a PC HDMI output with software on non-3d tvs at 100hz, and if synced to glasses by the PC would work fine as 3d, on NON 3D tvs.

    The other format is polarized glasses, which just requires a thin $5 filter on top + software to filter frames to odd/even lines.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
    1. Re:3d costs zero $ by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

      Not what the guy was talking about sparky.

    2. Re:3d costs zero $ by green1 · · Score: 1

      Which is exactly why they pushed it so hard, it's virtually free to build, and they thought they could make a fortune selling it.

      The part they missed was that people didn't want it.

  70. Jack: In fact by DrYak · · Score: 1

    Lots of TVs have headphone jacks, but only a vanishingly small number of people use the jack.

    And in fact, you could output 3D image purely with a software upgrade by outputing the "alternate frame" pulse signal over the audio-out jack.
    So 3D can be 100% software solution, no hardware required.

    (Most of the headphone users are probably anyway getting their audio over bluetooth for the convenience of avoiding cable accross the living room.
    And for the last 2 geeks that are interested in 0ms audio latency provided by analog AND want to use 3D, we will probably get entirely fine using one of the other outputs of the TV - cinch, scart, etc.)

    Now I come to think about it, I'm sure that during the last craze around VR glasses on PC (late 90s, early 2000s - when glasses started to use standard connectors) there should be at least 1 geek who attempted to hack such a contraption to get around lacking VESA DDC pin support with soundcard output instead.
    (I personally went for parallel port hacks and later auto-flipping + interlaced output abuses).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  71. Re:Next up dead by TheDarkMaster · · Score: 1

    I doubt most "3D theaters" here in Brazil are really capable of displaying 3D properly. You need a much more expensive projector

    --
    Religion: The greatest weapon of mass destruction of all time
  72. Petition link by aidanjpadden · · Score: 1

    If anyone would like to sign the petition mentioned here's the link:
    https://www.change.org/p/lg-pl...

  73. 3D is not what anyone was ever looking for... by MMC+Monster · · Score: 1

    3D is not a feature. It's an attempted implementation of a feature.

    The feature that people want is 'lifelike' video or immersive video.

    To get that at home, I do see two potential technologist that are making headway. 4K TVs (for the color gamut, not the screen resolution) and virtual reality glasses.

    --
    Help! I'm a slashdot refugee.
    1. Re:3D is not what anyone was ever looking for... by squiggleslash · · Score: 1

      To be specific, it's what some movie directors, including James Cameron and even Martin Scorcese wanted, but as you say, that's not really what people watching their creations wanted.

      --
      You are not alone. This is not normal. None of this is normal.
    2. Re:3D is not what anyone was ever looking for... by omnichad · · Score: 1

      The resolution of 4K is much more important than HDR for immersion - you just need MUCH bigger screens or video walls.

  74. Connector by DrYak · · Score: 1

    When you have a display that can handle the frame rate necessary to alternate the picture anyway... what's the cost?

    - The weird proprietary connector, that goes to the weird proprietary array of infra-red emitters that needs to send the signal to sync the eyes.

    or

    - The integrated IR emitter in the TV that emits the sync signal to the 3D googles.

    or, for TV that don't use active glasses

    - A weird structure in the pannel that makes sure that every pixels emits light in a different polarity than it's neighbours
    (either alternating horizontaly in scanlines, or vertically in column, or in a checkered pattern... whatever, as long a "left image" and "right image" pixels emits different light polarities that will subsequently get filtered by the passive 3D glasses)
    (BONUS point : this setup gives dual-viewer capabilities (viewer A and B get to watch 2 different channels thanks to the glasses) which might be popular in some market with cramped living rooms ? Japan ?)

    or, for display that do not use glasses at all (e.g.: Nintendo 3DS)

    - an even more complex lenticular filter that makes sure that 2 different images are sent in 2 different directions (a little bit like a privacy screen, but viewable from 2 different angles, each showing only half of the horizontal resolution).
    and starting from New 3DS, an even more elaborate viewer's face tracking technology to make sure that each of the view eyes get the correct image at the correct perspective.

    So, in short : only the most clusmy 3D glasses are those that require the less hardware.
    Out of them, only the first variant (proprietary connector) is the easiest to remove (say that the 3D pulse can be sent of the almost-never-used analog headphones jack),
    and will still require a clunky setup (an IR emitter bar and active glasses) that will be quite off putting.
    Meaning that even less people are likely to try the 3D, except to the 2 geeks at the back over there.

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
    1. Re:Connector by PCM2 · · Score: 1

      (BONUS point : this setup gives dual-viewer capabilities (viewer A and B get to watch 2 different channels thanks to the glasses) which might be popular in some market with cramped living rooms ? Japan ?)

      My understanding is that it's for videogames, where two players can sit on the same couch and each will see the game from their own perspective. I don't know how many games actually support it, though.

      --
      Breakfast served all day!
  75. And batteries by DrYak · · Score: 1

    You need to find the glasses when you want to watch 3D

    and make sure their button batteries didn't die since the last time you used them,
    if your 3D googles are of the more popular active variety.

    (as opposed to passive glasses with polarized lens [like the cinema theater ones] and the TV screen itself is a polarized emitter).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  76. Re: Next up dead by DThorne · · Score: 1

    Nope. VR, before it even gets started. Smart TVs are too easy to embed, and end users use them or not. Unlike 3D or VR, Smart TVs aren't the reason you buy the device, it's a nice extra. Well, not nice, of course. VR as a mass market device will be gone before Smart TVs.

  77. yeah well i love 3d, dick shit by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    Have I you to blame for not making menus in 3d too ?

    3d is good and should always be an option, just like MFR or DNR is, or 200hz options.

    No options = cheap shit.

    Just wait, China will add it and make cheaper sets. Just like how they are pushing android with 6gb ram, where stupid everyone else for years was 1-2gb max, which makes them unable to run the next gen OS. If you have more ram than you need, you can upgrade to the next gen OS, who cares if its $4 extra cost.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  78. Re:Next up dead by houghi · · Score: 2

    I have bought a 55" TV just to watch movies and the like. I however do not have cable. I just use it as a big monitor as they are way cheaper than a monitor of the same size and for the quality I need.
    No, I do not use ANY of the features from the TV. Not the channels. Not the Internet. Not the apps.

    So I already have a 'modular TV'.

    To be more specific. I have 3 monitors. One monitor goes through a splitter and that goes to 3 other screens. One on my desk as monitor 3 (24"). One to the kitchen to a 22" and one to the 55" TV. Those have thus the same image and as I run XFCE with separate screens, I can keep what I watch on those monitors.

    Disadvantage of a TV to a monitor is that a monitor will turn itself off completely and the TVs I have need to be turned off and on, so I have to press the button on the remote.

    --
    Don't fight for your country, if your country does not fight for you.
  79. I died laughing when I saw the petition by tannhaus · · Score: 1

    Here is the petition.

    Here is the part that made me laugh:

    There are hundreds (if not thousands) of us across the world with large 3D Blu-ray collections who have paid literally thousands of dollars / pounds / euros for these disks which we paid a premium for over 2D Blu-ray do not want to lose access to these when our 2016 OLEDs bite the dust.

    Yes...I'm sure the manufacturers are going to jump right in and support those HUNDREDS (if not thousands) of people AROUND THE WORLD who want this feature.

  80. I miss CRTs by Gabest · · Score: 1

    Only for old console gaming. I am a bit sad that I never bought one of those 120Hz slim CRTs at the end of their life. There is a huge and heave Sony still at home, but cannot watch its flickering.

  81. I almost bit for one reason, gaming. by RatPh!nk · · Score: 1

    But not for the reason you might think. I'm really not that into 3D games, however full screen co-op, "dual play" or something, is a really great idea. I just don't like split-screen gaming and I wouldn't mind wearing glasses to achieve it, if needed. The drawback of course is frame rate, it should be (game_rate/2). Anyway never did and I'm not sad because of it.

    --
    Argh. The laws of science be a harsh mistress.
  82. Re:Next up dead by jasonwalls · · Score: 1

    A pure monitor and multiple streaming boxes. A master media player, and all other media player/cable boxes able to operate as a slave to the master. Any box can assume the role of master, but the master controls which channels I watch, not the the slaves. I want one remote control that lets me flick between all the channels and adjust the volume on the audio system, also a slave. And I can have many of them connected also. If there is one thing I can't stand about the entertainment systems of today is the need to have 4 (my brother has 7) bloody remote controls. And having to set the TV to one input and watch a channel over there. Then switch to another channel on another entertainment device. Oh, and I want to be able to listen to a "CD" off an MP3 player while I watch the football on the monitor.

  83. I love my 3D TV's by 0ryn · · Score: 1

    We have 2 x 3D TV's in the house, both get used in 3D mode at least 10% of the time for watching Bluray content.
    I was planning an upgrade later this year. I'm disappointed :(

    1. Re:I love my 3D TV's by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      I love it too.

  84. Re:3D for scientific data display is also over-rat by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    sorry, but some scientists are very monpolic in view and dont see the big picture, else they would be rich.

    There are many applications of 3d views for science, hell it gives a better view than boring 2d, or do scientists brains cant compute dual 3d displays, and only monochrome math scribbles.

    Did they also wear brown patch pants, and use old school slide rules?

    3D isnt easy, but its damn useful, and hell, even russia used it for rovers in the moon but they still screwed up, in one second I could have designed better, but they limited FOV and vertical angles. tsk tsk, so smart, but also so bloody stupid.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  85. Re:Next up dead by Eravnrekaree · · Score: 1

    The overproliferation of black box special purpose devices is concerning. The technology controls us rather than we control it. I would much prefer to watch an record programs using open source software on Linux rather than a smart TV. Ever try to find DVR tuner hardware for Linux, especially when you want 5 tuners? It is difficult and damn near impossible. Open source desperately needs to go mainstream in everything so that we dont become slaves to machines and that people can control the devices that they purchase.

  86. Re:Next up dead by jeremyp · · Score: 1

    I saw Rogue One in 2D. The colour palette is very dark, intentionally so.

    3D reduces the amount of light that reaches your eyes by about 30% IIRC, It would be obvious, therefore, for the studio to deliberately make the image brighter, and it sounds to me, from your description that they have done exactly that in this case.

    --
    All I want is a secure system where it's easy to do anything I want. Is that too much to ask ~~ Randall Munroe
  87. dip shit retard mr anon by cheekyboy · · Score: 1

    ps4 valkyrie , awesome in VR.

    Even Driveclub is very good, I dont know why people dont like it, its awesome.

    You wankers especially americans have too high expectations, no wonder you take so much drugs and need therapy.

    Go back to your substandard Starbucks.

    --
    Liberty freedom are no1, not dicks in suits.
  88. Re:Next up dead by stealth_finger · · Score: 1

    The preferred alternative of pure monitor plus streaming box could be marketed as 'modular TV'.

    Better yet they could just make the screen with a whole load of different inputs and a built in tuner and call it a TV

    --
    Wanna buy a shirt?
    https://www.redbubble.com/people/stealthfinger/shop?asc=u
  89. Cost and Availablilty by jjhues7676 · · Score: 1

    I love 3D in my home. My issues are the cost of a disc is $40 if you want 3D. The second is availability at movie rental level. RedBox don't carry them and the local Family Video brings in very few.

    1. Re:Cost and Availablilty by PortHaven · · Score: 1

      Exactly. When most Blu-ray's are $10-$25. The 3D blu-rays are being sold for $29-$55. It's insane. The 3D should be no more than $5 more. The other problem, is that most Blu-rays are put on sale. 3D blu-rays rarely are.

  90. Schadenfreude by Shasarak · · Score: 1

    I'm a little depressed by the level of pleasure in others' misfortune that's being exhibited in some of these comments. Can someone explain the logic of saying "I personally am not interested in feature X, therefore I am going to celebrate when it is taken away from people who do care about it?" That's not only selfish, it's rather short-sighted: it sends the TV industry a clear message that it's okay for them to ignore what an appreciable subset of customers want, and there will be no negative consequences when they do. So, what's going to happen when they decide to abolish a feature that you *do* care about?

  91. There's a petition to revive 3D by Shasarak · · Score: 1

    Link: https://www.change.org/p/lg-pl... It's asking LG to include just one 3D-enabled TV in their 2018 OLED line-up. (LG is singled out because their 2016 OLED range was easily the best implementation of home 3D there has ever been).

  92. Re:Next up dead by Zeromous · · Score: 1

    DR3DD. The 3D was great, and the set was perfectly setup u for 3D action, which added to the film.

    --
    ---Up Up Down Down Left Right Left Right B A START
  93. Cost of media by PortHaven · · Score: 1

    $45 for a 3D version, $15 for regular Blu-ray.

  94. Sad to see 3D TV go. by kurkosdr · · Score: 1

    So sad... I actually liked 3D TV. Glad I managed to grab a 2015 Bravia a while ago before they become extinct. At the very least, I can use it to watch the superb 3D photos I take with the LG Optimus 3D (which btw is evolving into a collective piece, can't find one on the internet below 200 dollars in good condition despite being an ultra-low-end Android device).

  95. Re:Next up dead by sh00z · · Score: 1

    It has never been done properly.

    Then you've never seen "Coraline."

  96. LMOL by oh_my_080980980 · · Score: 1

    It was a fad. Everyone knew it. It wasn't a matter of if but when 3D would die. Good riddance. 3D debacle delayed work on OLED and better picture technology.

    1. Re:LMOL by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      3D debacle delayed work on OLED and better picture technology.

      Paying off the enormous investment in all those old LCD plants delayed OLED and better picture technology. Those production lines couldn't do anything but what they've been doing since 2002, so we've been fucking stuck waiting for the amortization schedule to run out.

  97. Re:Next up dead by Baleet · · Score: 1

    +1 Google "dumb TV". We are not the only ones who just want a big screen to display content captured by hardware of our own choosing that can be swapped out, mixed, matched, and replaced at our whim.

  98. Re:another dick head, where do they come from by The+Grassy+Knoll · · Score: 1

    Sheesh. Have a lovely weekend, yourself!
    I don't think there's any need to call me a dick head - have we met?

    --
    They will never know the simple pleasure of a monkey knife fight
  99. Re:3D for scientific data display is also over-rat by rockmuelle · · Score: 1

    There's an old saying in the visualization community: "3D is just bad 2D"

    -Chris

  100. Re:Next up dead by ctilsie242 · · Score: 1

    Too much money to be made by telemetry and data sucked back for it to go away. That, and the ability to have another method to throw ads at people.

  101. Re:hey dick head, BEER DOES THE SAME by TWX · · Score: 1

    Or are you a one eyed monster

    No, that was in the porn...

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  102. Re:Next up dead by TWX · · Score: 1

    That's exactly what I mean by not understanding it. It's relatively easy to follow checklists to get something to operate. It's another matter entirely to get something into a secured network segment with only limited access to the rest of the internal network and basically no access to or from the outside network except where relevant.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  103. Called it by Jawnn · · Score: 1

    Not that that's saying much. This was an entirely predictable happening.

  104. Re:Chineese dont care, they will buy it by doggo · · Score: 1

    "WANKERS, call your self, high tech and mighty, nahhh, just a bunch of loosers who cant code for shit."

    Of course, writing in English is a type of coding. Tell us again about the losers who can't code?

  105. Re:you are a lazy fat sack of shit by Chris+Mattern · · Score: 1

    Wow, you're really bitter that this has failed, aren't you?

  106. Re:Next up dead by TWX · · Score: 1

    Now also having worked with SCADA systems for a long time. Most are rather poorly done. The software is usually bubblegum and duct tape with a shiny coat of gloss to make it look nice.

    I supported several of these devices for about 10 years. Guess how many are supported now? None. They sit out there waiting for someone to exploit them. They will never see another patch. Ever.

    But those older SCADA devices were not dependent on being cloud-connected, were they? There are probably a thousand SCADA devices on the network I deal with and they're all internal-only. They don't reach out to the Internet nor can the Internet reach into them. There's no need, so they don't get the option. Even if they are vulnerable to exploitation, the vectors that would allow for exploit are far fewer.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  107. Re:Next up dead by TWX · · Score: 2

    I watched Avatar on a friend's system. It admittedly was pretty badass, but as I understand it, Avatar is possibly one of the best 3D movies ever made, where 3D wasn't cobbled-in for just a few effects scenes (thinking of the snake in one of the Harry Potter films sort of thing) or where as you state, looking like cardboard cutouts placed at various intervals.

    If they could get 3D TV to work without requiring glasses then perhaps they'd really have something. Until then it's just too cumbersome to be more than an interesting toy.

    --
    Do not look into laser with remaining eye.
  108. Rumors of 3D TV's death are false, as usual by Not-a-Neg · · Score: 1

    Everyone forgets projectors, which any real movie enthusiast uses anyways, continue to support 3D and will continue to do so long into the future.

    --
    -==- Buy a Mac and leave me alone!
    1. Re:Rumors of 3D TV's death are false, as usual by RespekMyAthorati · · Score: 1

      Exactly.
      A 120" 3D image in a darkened room is delightful. The glasses still suck, though.

  109. Re:Next up dead by BKDotCom · · Score: 1

    "Smart TVs" are dumb.
    Crappy interface that will receive updates for 6-mo if you're lucky.

    I love my Insignia ROKU TV though.

  110. Re:Next up dead by Trailer+Trash · · Score: 1

    The preferred alternative of pure monitor plus streaming box could be marketed as 'modular TV'.

    My monitor is probably close. It's a vizio 42" UHD TV, but has no tuner. So it's not really a "TV". It does have "smart" stuff built in - hulu and such, but I can also go on my phone and open netflix, choose a movie, and then tell it I want to watch it in 4K glory on the monitor. It rocks.

    It doesn't have a microphone or camera, but it does directly connect to the internet. But it actually does what I want a TV to do, which is to allow me to watch netflix and amazon content at high resolutions.

    As a comparison, comcast just added netflix to the cable box that they insist I use in order to get 300mb internet, but they only show in 720p. Bastards.

  111. Re:Next up dead by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Shut up, hipster. Go back to Starbucks and type on your MacBook so you can show everyone how creative you are.

  112. A fool and his money... by damn_registrars · · Score: 1

    Early adopters paid the costs of being early adopters on this one. I was starting to ponder the idea of purchasing a 3D TV for my next set but I couldn't really justify buying a new TV of any sort recently. Not everyone has that kind of disposable cash lying around. It wasn't so much that 3D costs that much extra (it generally didn't, especially if you didn't need extra glasses), it was that I just wasn't interested in a new TV beyond my 42" plasma.

    This is much the same as when I find myself discussing consumer electronics purchases in general; while some people say they buy a lot more stuff online than in physical stores, I find I'm just not buying that much stuff in general. I used to average $1,000 or so a year at best buy, now I spend closer to $200-300 a year and the difference goes to pay for things that are not consumer electronics at all. In other words, in my case best buy isn't losing my money to amazon they are losing it to nobody.

    --
    Damn_registrars has no butt-hole. Damn_registrars has no use for a butt-hole.
  113. Red Blue by macdaddy357 · · Score: 1

    If the industry wanted to still offer 3D, the red blue kind can be done on any screen. Too bad it is the most notorious kind for causing headaches.

    --
    How ya like dat?
  114. Greed by iamacat · · Score: 1

    3D is a great feature for appropriate content, like kids movies, horror movies and console video game. But it's not so great if there is no content. Pretty much every major movie was released in 3D in theaters, but very few got to streaming and then for exorbitant prices. Now the same thing is happening with 4K. MPAA will never learn.

  115. It's the blades... errr... glasses, stupid! by zarmanto · · Score: 1

    The problem as I see it with home-based 3D technologies was quite simple: the hardware vendors attempted to implement a rather clumsy variation on the classic Razor Blade business model, by attempting to turn those required 3D glasses into a cash cow. (The clumsy bit being that their 3D TVs were by no means cheap.)

    The thing is, people go to the theater and they get to use cheap passive glasses to watch a 3D movie, and after the movie they are encouraged to "recycle" the glasses... but nobody really bothers to police this because, well, they're cheap and everybody knows it. Then these same consumers go out to buy a fancy new 3D TV, only to be told that they also have to spend anywhere from $30 to $100 per pair for decent quality active glasses... which are virtually guaranteed to wind up broken in short order, resulting in unreasonably high ongoing replacement costs. Thus, many consumers never even bother to buy the glasses to go with their new 3D setup, much less the overpriced 3D versions of their favorite movies. (I certainly haven't.)

    Or to put it more simply: Most people don't like to feel like they're being gouged.

    1. Re:It's the blades... errr... glasses, stupid! by omnichad · · Score: 1

      It also makes it cheap and easy to make "2D glasses" out of a couple pairs of used 3D glasses from the theater, for the people in the room who get motion sickness or headaches.

  116. why was this ever needed. by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 1

    If I wanted to where classes to watch a 3D movie, we have been able to do that on normal TV's since the 1980's. I remember doing it on normal , over the air systems. I forget if you had to ajust the contrast or something. Given that, why did we ever need special hardware and standards for this?

    If there was demand for it and content that was useful it might be warranted , but there has never compellingly been either.

    --
    âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
  117. Missed opportunity by Solandri · · Score: 1

    1080p 3D TV needs at least a 120 Hz screen refresh rate. 60 frames each second are used to show the left image, 60 frames each second to show the right image, 120 frames per second total. (If the set is designed to eliminate judder when displaying 24 fps movies, it needs a 240 Hz refresh rate to do it in 3D movies shot at 24 fps (48 fps for both views).

    The problem is, every 120 Hz or 240 Hz TV I've seen has made this refresh rate internal-only. They only accept a 60 Hz input signal (which is 120 Hz for 3D-only). Probably because HDMI only supports a maximum of 60 Hz (120 Hz for 3D-only). A few times a week, I run across a gamer asking if they can hook up their 120 Hz TV to their PC and play games at 120 fps. And I have to tell them it's not possible - the TV isn't designed to accept a 120 Hz non-3D input signal.

    If they had designed the 3D TVs to accept 120 Hz non-3D input, you'd have gamers tripping over themselves to buy 3D TVs to use as 120 Hz monitors, with the 3D stuff being a "free" added capability. A few of them would then probably experiment with playing their games in 3D (where the depth perception can actually be advantageous), and that might have been enough to make 3D displays catch on.

  118. Re:another dick head, where do they come from by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    F1? How many green passes for the leed last year?

    Golf and racing are kind of lame to watch, go out and play. SCCA/Autocross/NHRA isn't THAT expensive. Neither is golf, unless you _need_ to play pebble beach. How much, per month, can you afford for this round of golf?

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  119. Re:Killed by the WRONG broadcast standard by omnichad · · Score: 1

    The codec can still be decoded as a SBS frame. In fact, the base stream is for one eye and the second stream essentially "adjusts" this to the right-eye view with a difference encoding. Far less than double the bandwidth required, too.

  120. Re:Next up dead by HornWumpus · · Score: 1

    I'd like to see Basskitball in 3d, in a theater. Just to watch the audience duck during the locker room scene. Bet someone would hurt themselves.

    --
    John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
  121. 3d tv is not 3d by A+Pressbutton · · Score: 1

    Wake me up when I can walk to the other side of my display and see the back of the actors heads.

    When you can do that it is real 3d.

  122. What you really mean is... by erp_consultant · · Score: 1

    3D TV is dead...again. There have been numerous attempts to foist 3D upon the public and each attempt has failed. Maybe if someone can up with a way to do it without the goofy glasses it has a chance. Other than that...it joins Betamax on the trash heap of tech.

  123. Re:Next up dead by Victor_0x53h · · Score: 1

    I enjoyed Tron in 3d. Properly, in my opinion, is subtle and doesn't stand out as 'was made for 3d with stuff constantly flying at the audience' when watching it in 2d.

    With the death of 3d television sets, i can't see why the cinema wouldn't follow. It probably doesn't make sense from a business perspective to film a 3d movie just for the cinematic release. Cinemas won't install the hardware when so few movies are coming out in 3d.

  124. humbug.. by SuperDre · · Score: 1

    that's crap, as I really like 3D, I won't buy a TV which doesn't have 3D capabilities (passive or active). I'd rather have 3D than HDR or even 4K (although 4K is excellent for FullHD passive 3D).

  125. Re:Next up dead by labnet · · Score: 1

    I'm hoping 3D cinema are next to go.
    Yes, it was fun in Avatar and all, but nowadays it only makes everything fuzzy and dark.
    The last movie I watched in 3D was "Star Wars Rogue One", and I had no option for 2D (movie theaters here in Brazil are doing this dirty practice). In some scenes it was so dark I could barely see anything... I liked the movie, but 3D almost ruined it for me.

    Yep. Had exactly the same experience in Australia. Dim, fuzzy.would have been better in 2D.

    --
    46137
  126. Don't care. Never did. by WillAffleckUW · · Score: 1

    The future is not 3D TV.

    The future is not Virtual Reality.

    The future is near field power devices.

    (caveat: I was one of the IPO participants in startups for both 3D TV and Virtual Reality companies in Hong Kong)

    --
    -- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
  127. 3DTV is the wrong 3D by wasteoid · · Score: 1

    3DTV used the wrong 3D, the "fake your eyes into thinking you're there" kind of 3D. What would be far more useful and likely adopted quicker is the free viewpoint 3D, where the user can choose their own camera perspective, not being locked into what the director chose.

  128. Re:2d sucks, you yanks are wankers by JustAnotherOldGuy · · Score: 1

    I love 3d.

    You appear to be the exception that proves the rule.

    The fact is that 3D TV manufacturers are scrapping all their 3D offerings, and it's not because they're wildly popular and are selling like hotcakes.

    --
    Just cruising through this digital world at 33 1/3 rpm...
  129. Good. by antdude · · Score: 1

    When will movie theaters, digital rides, etc. drop their 3D?

    --
    Ant(Dude) @ Quality Foraged Links (AQFL.net) & The Ant Farm (antfarm.ma.cx / antfarm.home.dhs.org).
  130. Re:Next up dead by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    Is it 4K? If not, irrelevant to my post.

    And while I agree with the general principal of "buy the best monitor" and plug in good sources, you obviously didn't, since I bought the best Panasonic from 2 years ago and it had (really crappy) smart features.

    In general good luck keeping *any* TV for 10 years. I really hope yours lasts that long, but there is a reason the warranties are 1 year.

  131. Re:Next up dead by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    I agree with you completely. If you don't want it, don't buy it.

    Though "4K" is not really the real advantage of the new TVs coming out, the main benefit will be HDR. I guarantee you could be blind as a bat and if the TV can push 1000 nits you will notice it.

  132. Re: Next up dead by Dahamma · · Score: 1

    And I have heard this strategy totally failed in terms of sales... let's see what they do in 2017...

  133. It's a Pity 3D TV's are Dying by BBF_BBF · · Score: 1
    Now that 4K TV's are mainstream, a 3D UltraHD standard would have kicked ass even if it were interleaved. The extra resolution of 4K would allow each 1/2 resolution frame to be an acceptable resolution of 3180x1080 whereas 1080i 3D at 1920x540 wasn't.

    3D was just something that was shoved down people's throats too soon. 1080p screens with active glasses were flickery messes that were also clunky and expensive. 1080p screens with passive 1080i 3D were simpler, but had poor quality. Combine that with the emergence of acceptable VR (3D with head tracking) goggles, a new 4K 3D format had no chance.

    Now don't even get me started with "curved" screens... something that had no advantages for a TV, a display with multiple viewers sitting at relatively close distances to the screen, that was rammed down consumers' collective throats right after 3D.

  134. 3D Cinema by loufoque · · Score: 1

    Please 3D cinema be next.

  135. *** BREAKING NEWS!!!! *** by DiEx-15 · · Score: 1

    Water is wet.

    It is also comprised of two Hydrogen atoms and one Oxygen atom.

    It also has a Ph of 7 and is considered a Universal Solvent.

    It Also has a MSDS for it. That's right. There is a Safety Data sheet on WATER because the government felt a need to inform people that you can't breath in it.

    In other news: 3D TV, a commercial gimmick for people to buy expensive shit, has finally kicked the bucket. Reports are also coming in that the Virtual Reality fad is also following suit. VR, as you know, has been a fad that both the Game Console and Electronics companies have been trying to shove up people's ass like 3D TV, but has failed every time.

    Captain Obvious reporting.

  136. I Prefer 3D by LinuxLuver · · Score: 1

    I totally understand most people don't like watching a 3D movie on TV. But I'm not one of them. I love it.

    --
    Only boring people are ever bored.
  137. Re:china will save it, coz they do by Shirley+Marquez · · Score: 1

    It's not 100% software. LG had been doing passive 3D, which requires polarizers to be built into the TV.

    Supporting active 3D also requires additional hardware, the IR emitter that triggers the glasses. That's a smaller added cost, so I'm surprised that companies that were using active 3D are dropping it.

  138. Re:2d sucks, you yanks are wankers by Ol+Olsoc · · Score: 1

    I love 3d.

    A lot of shit in 2d is a blur, 3d rocks.

    Go enjoy your over sugarated crap food, fake cheese, 2d, shitty 4g, crap NTSC, shit coffee.

    Typical consumers, like subpar shit, coz they are cheap scum who want $3 movies.

    You talk reaaaal purdy there.

    --
    The shepherds did so well protecting the flock that the sheep no longer believed that wolves existed.
  139. Setup dependent. by DrYak · · Score: 1

    My understanding is that it's for videogames, where two players can sit on the same couch and each will see the game from their own perspective. I don't know how many games actually support it, though.

    It boils down to "Hey, I can display to HDMI inputs, who can I play a game with 2 HDMI outputs) ?"

    If you just plug two gaming consoles each into a different input :
    - absolutely any game with networked multi-player will support it.

    If you use a PC with 2 HDMI outputs, that you hook respectively to 2 HDMI inputs, you need a game that :
    - either let you play 2 player seats on 2 different screens (some games, not all)
    - or let you play 2 concurrent sessions, each maximized to a different screen, and each using different inputs (some games, not all)
    - or have horizontal (or vertical) split-screen, and you can coerce the driver to consider the 2 outputs as one huge virtual screen across which you'll maximize the game (and so each half of the split-screen end up on a different HDMI output)
    (any random split-screen game, combined with the majority of graphics card drivers. BONUS point if the game can adapt its image ratio to the extra-wide horizontal resolution).

    --
    "Sufficiently advanced satire is indistinguishable from reality." - [Tips: 1DrYakQDKCQ6y52z6QbnkxHXAocMZJE61o ]
  140. I disagree that it's the glasses. by PJ6 · · Score: 1

    Sure lots of people don't want to wear them, but I don't think that's really the issue - I think it's that the quality of the viewing experience is, well... crap. It's nothing like seeing things in real life.

    We have a long way to go before 3D is good enough where people will actually prefer it, glasses or not.

    That tech will probably be lightfeild, which will only incidentally not require glasses.

  141. Sure it will by sentiblue · · Score: 1

    It WILL rise again... ONLY if it does NOT require goggles

  142. Some things just aren't wanted. by IGnatius+T+Foobar · · Score: 1

    In the 1960's, the "obvious" future was "picture phones." In the 1980's the "obvious" future was "picture phones." Now everyone has a video-capable telephone, but do we use them? Sometimes, yes, but we never got to the "obvious" future where every single phone call was a video call. 3D Television is the same way. The technology exists, anyone who wants it can have it, but it's just not something the mainstream market has any interest in.

    --
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