# "... and 2D in select theaters." Bite me. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 18, 2010, 1:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580 "2010-12-18T01:30:20Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Peeta\_Mellark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/bc8723/32.png) [@Peeta\_Mellark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peeta_Mellark)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/101 "2010-12-28T16:16:58Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > Should we have waited on TV until color or HD was possible? > [@EllisDee](#): > > This makes no sense to me. Are you saying Hollywood waited on movies until 3D? Because I’m pretty sure Hollywood started making movies a while ago. Did you read the sentence before the part you quoted? > [@Bosstone](#): > > I think in time the tech will evolve to where people who have trouble seeing 3D won’t any more (other than the obvious debilitating problems like blindness), but **what we have now is Good Enough To Sell.** Bosstone is acknowledging that 3D movies are not perfect, but pointing out that when it comes to entertainment technology people don’t sit on their hands until utter perfection comes along. They go with whatever is good enough to make money off of. ---
**Author:** ![saoirse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/5daacb/32.png) [@saoirse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saoirse)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/102 "2010-12-28T16:19:02Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > And I’m surprised there are so many 3-D bashers on this board. In real life, no one has ever told me that this current version of 3-D was just a gimmick or a fad. Some people complain that they don’t get anything out of it or that they experience discomfort, and I can empathize with them, but no one who is able to and has seen a 3-D movie in the past few years has been so dismissive. I’m not a “basher,” I just don’t see the point in paying an extra $3 for something my occipital lobe will do for free. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2010, 4:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/103 "2010-12-28T16:53:44Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > This makes no sense to me. Are you saying Hollywood waited on movies until 3D? Because I’m pretty sure Hollywood started making movies a while ago. **Peeta** answered it already, but to clarify, I’m not analogizing TV to movies, I’m analogizing TV – specifically, the technology that allows us to display moving images on a 2D screen – to 3D. The tech became mainstream when it hit a point that the populace found acceptable and worth paying for, and from there it continued to improve. Right now 3D tech is at a point where people are willing to pay for it. It’ll continue to improve, and possibly quite quickly now that there’s actual money in it. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/104 "2010-12-29T15:01:48Z")
> [@Bosstone](#): > > **Peeta** answered it already, but to clarify, I’m not analogizing TV to movies, I’m analogizing TV – specifically, the technology that allows us to display moving images on a 2D screen – to 3D. The tech became mainstream when it hit a point that the populace found acceptable and worth paying for, and from there it continued to improve. Right now 3D tech is at a point where people are willing to pay for it. It’ll continue to improve, and possibly quite quickly now that there’s actual money in it. I understood **Peeta** ’s clarification, but now I’m confused again. TV didn’t become popular because of improved picture or sound quality, it became popular as soon as manufacturing could churn them out. TV was introduced at the 1939 World’s Fair, but manufacturing was delayed by the war effort. Not by people waiting for the picture to get acceptable. ---
**Author:** ![Bosstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/22d042/32.png) [@Bosstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosstone)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/105 "2010-12-29T16:19:56Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > I understood **Peeta** ’s clarification, but now I’m confused again. TV didn’t become popular because of improved picture or sound quality, it became popular as soon as manufacturing could churn them out. TV was introduced at the 1939 World’s Fair, but manufacturing was delayed by the war effort. Not by people waiting for the picture to get acceptable. Meh. I suppose I could go digging and turn up examples of early attempts at moving pictures that were only useful as curiosities but not popularly accepted, but that would be going too far off track. Regardless of the validity of the analogy, the point remains that the 3D tech that exists now is selling, which means it’s worthwhile for companies to pursue even better tech, both as an upgrade to sell to people who are already buying into the tech and to reach areas of the market that still aren’t buying. Maybe it really is a fad and people will just stop buying 3D altogether, but if not, it will continue to evolve and refine. ---
**Author:** ![LurkMeister](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/3da27b/32.png) [@LurkMeister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LurkMeister)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/106 "2010-12-29T16:31:03Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > Why? It is. > > Most of the movies I’ve seen trailers for lately are “Coming in 3D”, with the exception of things like _The King’s Speech_ which is obviously a “Worthy” period drama and not really the sort of thing you’d make in 3D at the moment. Give it a few years and I think about the only “released in theatres” films still being made in 2D will be either “Worthy” or “Arthouse” films (and that includes “Foreign” movies), or “Independent” movies. > > Cinemas, as has been said, need to change with the times to keep getting bums on seats. Affordable home theatre systems and Plasma/LCD/LED TVs and Blu-Ray players mean that increasingly people think 'You know what, I’ll wait till it comes out on video and rent it then", so the movie theatres need something new to get people to come and see films there- and that’s 3D, which isn’t available for home theatres at anything like an affordable price (yet), and gives viewers (except SDMB members, it seems( a Big, Awe-Inspiring, Escapist Show- which is exactly why people go to the pictures in the first place in many, many cases. > > Edited highlights: 3D’s not going anywhere. As I’ve mentioned twice already, too many people have too much money and time invested in it for it to simply “go away”. And if they ever start releasing general movies only in 3D, and continue charging more to see them because they’re in 3d, then I will stop going to see them in the theaters entirely, and wait until they come out on DVD. I don’t think that 3D enhances the value of most movies enough to justify the higher cost. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/107 "2010-12-29T17:40:50Z")
> [@LurkMeister](#): > > And if they ever start releasing general movies only in 3D, and continue charging more to see them because they’re in 3d, then I will stop going to see them in the theaters entirely, and wait until they come out on DVD. I don’t think that 3D enhances the value of most movies enough to justify the higher cost. I will be very surprised if they even try to push 3D for anything apart from “spectacle” (heh) movies and animated features. I doubt anyone sitting in the audience for Mike Leigh’s [_Another Year_](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/another_year_2010/) is going to be thinking “It’s too bad this isn’t in 3D.” After the initial investment, the only thing keeping admission prices up (apart from “All the market will bear”) is the extra expense of providing the glasses. I think more and more people may opt to buy their own glasses. There are some [very nice options](http://www.avrev.com/home-theater-news/general-news/gunnar-brings-out-three-pairs-of-premium-3d-glasses.html) coming out, though the cost is still a bit bleeding edge. When it’s less than $50, I will splash out for some less-dorky/more comfortable/slightly brighter glasses, for sure. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/108 "2010-12-29T18:14:03Z")
That seems to be exactly what the 3D proponents in this thread are arguing. They say 3D is the future just like color tv replaced B&W tv for _every_ show, not just the spectacles. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/109 "2010-12-29T21:01:38Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > That seems to be exactly what the 3D proponents in this thread are arguing. They say 3D is the future just like color tv replaced B&W tv for _every_ show, not just the spectacles. I don’t see anything that might reasonably interpreted that way. To say that it will be a persisting technology and that its implementation will improve doesn’t mean that we expect total ubiquity; you can make an analogy with an earlier technology without insisting on it being absolutely isomorphic. For sure, colour films were “HEY LOOK! COLOUR!” at first, and it’s natural that after the novelty wore off and the process became more economical we would see a more naturalistic use of colour. And yes, the costs/benefits eventually became such that shooting in black and white became the “gimmicky” approach, and colour is taken for granted. I don’t think this means that eventually \*all \*films will be in some flavour of circularly-polarized stereovision. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/110 "2010-12-29T21:51:44Z")
Works for me. As long as 3D is relegated to mindless summer blockbusters and cartoons, I’m aces. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/111 "2010-12-29T22:00:40Z")
> [@Kiyoshi](#): > > I’m surprised by the number of people who are defending 3D and think that it is “the future”. > > In real life, no-one has ever told me that they were impressed by a 3D movie. And I’m (not really) surprised that all the people who have trouble seeing 3D seem to post on the Straight Dope. In real life, I’ve never heard anyone say they either can’t see 3D images or that it gives them headaches. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 10:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/112 "2010-12-29T22:16:58Z")
Fred Norris on the Howard Stern show has complained that he can’t perceive 3D technology because of a condition in one of his eyes, so at least one real person does. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2010, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/113 "2010-12-29T23:00:52Z")
> [@EllisDee](#): > > Fred Norris on the Howard Stern show has complained that he can’t perceive 3D technology because of a condition in one of his eyes, so at least one real person does. Yes, for sure- but ~99% of the population has stereoacuity fine enough to resolve variations of 40 seconds of arc, so it isn’t surprising that it doesn’t come up much, day-to-day. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/114 "2010-12-30T19:37:43Z")
[3D Games Can Ruin Children’s Eyes, Nintendo Warns](http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/29/games-ruin-childrens-eyes-nintendo-warns/) > [@](#): > > In anticipation of the impending Nintendo World 2011 and the launch of its upcoming portable console, the Nintendo 3DS, the influential video game company has posted a cautionary note on its Japanese website. > > “Vision of children under the age of six has been said [to be in the] developmental stage,” Nintendo warned. The company fears that 3D content “delivers 3D images with different left and right images, [which] has a potential impact on the growth of children’s eyes.” > > But users of all ages can succumb to the perils of 3D experience. Since the 3DS creates the illusion of 3D without the need for glasses, it can add extra eye strain, causing users to feel sick or nauseous after extended use. In July, Sony warned of similar issues with its PlayStation 3, amending its terms of service to offer a stark warning for users. > > Some people may experience discomfort (such as eye strain, eye fatigue or nausea) while watching 3D video images or playing stereoscopic 3D games on 3D televisions," read Sony Online’s amended terms. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2010, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/115 "2010-12-30T21:26:09Z")
Wow, that article contains dangerous levels of wrong. It’s true that stereopsis is still developing in toddlers, and they are vulnerable to permanent developmental damage below the age of 5 or 6 if they are exposed to the wrong sort of stimulus for extended periods - but the wrong sort of stimuli are those from which you _can’t_ extrapolate anything from parallax differential. (eg; Johnny wears his Captain Feathersword Pirate Eye-patch all through playschool, and John the accountant has no depth perception. Little Suzy has no correction for being wall-eyed, and Susan the beautician has to rely on touch cues to make sure her nail lacquer ends up just so.) Also, nobody is going to feel sick from using a 3DS - this phenomenon occurs when your brain can’t reconcile visual information with what your inner-ear is telling you. A little hand-held device is not going to take up enough of your visual field to trigger this sort of effect, and 3D has little to do with it, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 9:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/116 "2010-12-31T09:24:12Z")
> [@Lightnin](#): > > Both of which actually add to the movie experience. 3D? Not so much, other than, “Hey, look at this 3D scene!!!” You can always spot the scenes they shot to showcase the 3D effect. Concur. They always seem to include at least one poke in the eye shot in a 3D movie. And I agree. This is a development in cinema technology that, unlike colour, or surround-sound, etc, is not accessible to, or comfortable for, such an overwhelming majority of the audience. ---
**Author:** ![Martini\_Enfield](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/martini_enfield/32/11123_2.png) [@Martini\_Enfield](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martini_Enfield)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2010, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/117 "2010-12-31T22:59:15Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > And I agree. This is a development in cinema technology that, unlike colour, or surround-sound, etc, is not accessible to, or comfortable for, such an overwhelming majority of the audience. The only place I’ve heard any widespread complaining about 3D is on the boards, FWIW, so I really don’t think it’s “An overwhelming majority of the audience”. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 1, 2011, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/118 "2011-01-01T01:13:18Z")
> [@Martini\_Enfield](#): > > The only place I’ve heard any widespread complaining about 3D is on the boards, FWIW, so I really don’t think it’s “An overwhelming majority of the audience”. Indeed, I don’t have a high opinion of marketing geniuses, but they’re not _that_ stupid. There certainly isn’t enough over-enthusiasm for 3D on the part of its (one would be forced to believe) vanishingly small aficionados to make up for the supposedly vast majority of the public who purportedly actively dislikes it. We’d be seeing 3D movies with somewhat fewer than half the viewers of 2D movies. And thus leading to less total revenues even when you take into account the increased ticket price, and all for a more expensive movie to produce. Again, movie execs might not be the sharpest bulb in the shed but they’re not _stupid_. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/119 "2011-01-03T19:49:47Z")
> [@njtt](#): > > [3D Games Can Ruin Children’s Eyes, Nintendo Warns](http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/12/29/games-ruin-childrens-eyes-nintendo-warns/) Regular 2D games can cause seizures. They just put those warnings on there to cover their asses. ---
**Author:** ![Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eyebrows_0f_doom/32/3119_2.png) [@Eyebrows\_0f\_Doom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eyebrows_0f_Doom)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580/120 "2011-01-03T23:10:52Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This is a development in cinema technology that, unlike colour, or surround-sound, etc, is not accessible to, or comfortable for, such an overwhelming majority of the audience. Other than hanging out on the Straight Dope, where is this mysterious “overwhelming majority” of people who can’t see 3D? Doing a brief Google search brings up many articles saying that the percentage of people who can’t properly see 3D images is between 2-10%. (For comparison’s sake, 7-8% of men and .4% of women are color blind.) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/and-2d-in-select-theaters-bite-me/564580.md?page=7)