This morning, among all its other self-promotional Super Bowl nonsense, NBC's Today show was promoting the 3D experience that fans will see during the game on Sunday. Sobe and the animated movie Monsters vs. Aliens will both have ads in 3D, and then fans can use the same glasses to watch Monday night's episode of Chuck, which is shot with the same Intel Tru3D technology as the ads. DreamWorks' co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg appeared on Today with Zachary Levi from Chuck to promote the technology and explain how different it was from the old red-and-green 3D that gave people headaches in the days of yore.According to Levy and Katzenberg, this version of 3D is supposed to work, no matter what the delivery method. Well, NBC was kind enough to send me a preview copy of Monday's Chuck (which I sent on to Allison for her episode review), complete with glasses. I've got to tell you... it doesn't work. At least not on TV. At least not for me.
I put on the glasses right at the beginning of the episode, eagerly anticipating seeing the usual assortment of gimmicks 3D shows have used in the past to make people extremely aware that the show's in 3D: graphics that pop out, knives, fists, and feet flying towards my face, and low, table-length perspectives. The show had all of them. The only problem was that I couldn't see any of the 3D effect at all. In fact, it was so hard to focus between the blue and clear lenses that were in front of me that all I saw were blue fringes coming off all the characters.
Now, there are some caveats to my story: I wear glasses, so I had to wear the 3D specs in front of those. But in the 3D movies I've seen, that was never something that seemed to be a problem. My astigmatism has gotten worse over the years, and the lenses that I use to correct them have gotten pretty strong; my guess is that the Tru3D system doesn't work very well for people in my situation, though a quick Google search didn't yield any info on that.
Again, it might just be the smaller scale. 3D works well when you're staring at a screen that's 20 feet high and fills your field of vision. Looking at even a large plasma or LCD screen might not have the same effect. But that's been the main problem with 3D on television in the past, and something that current producers may not overcome until everyone projects TV on their walls.
Has anyone else -- especially any of my fellow four-eyes out there -- tried Tru3D? Did I do something wrong? Or will my vision problems doom me to a world of 2D entertainment? Let me know in the comments.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
1-30-2009 @ 12:38PM
colby said...
Probably doesn't work on a traditional TV (CRT, plasma, lcd, or otherwise).
But the new 3D sets that debuted at CES this year were supposedly phenomenal.
http://ces.cnet.com/8301-19167_1-10142957-100.html?tag=mncol
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1-30-2009 @ 1:18PM
Franklin said...
That's a completely different technology (which works well; I saw these 3D monitors for sale at Fry's).
The technology being used for the Chuck episode is not as sophisticated.
1-30-2009 @ 1:35PM
Shaun said...
That would also be a total waste of money on NBC's part to only focus a program on the ~0.001% of the audience that has a 3D set (not an actual figure....)
I'm guessing it it is a combination with Joel's astigmatism and of the technology not being that great.
1-30-2009 @ 1:21PM
Anthony said...
It worked for me when I watched the preview Jerome Bettis showed on Leno. But it really wasn't very good, it just seemed to give the show depth instead of actually popping off the screen. I also did experience the blue/red fringe around the characters which did look pretty bad. And also after watching the short 40 second clip my eyes were already hurting me and seeing colors after it was over. So yeah don't know if I'll be watching the whole thing in 3D now...
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1-30-2009 @ 2:39PM
Ivy said...
I'm just hoping for the best. Fans have been waiting for this episode for a good month and a half and I think our excitement will overpower the few technical 3D glitches that may/may not occur.
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1-30-2009 @ 3:11PM
Modwild said...
So it's the traditional red/blue glasses? Bummer. I had My Bloody Valentine glasses left over and I was hoping they would work with them. Oh well!
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1-30-2009 @ 3:28PM
Joel Keller said...
Modwild, one lens is blue, the other is clear. I mentioned that in the post.
1-30-2009 @ 3:26PM
Pingles said...
My wife picked up our set of glasses at the grocery store (she had to ask for them...not on display) and I was VERY disappointed to see that they are just colored lenses.
I think maybe the producers should have said "These are not those red/green glasses that gave everyone headaches, they are red and BLUE glasses that will give everyone headaches."
Still, we will watch both presentations.
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1-30-2009 @ 3:55PM
Joshua said...
It's not the Red/Blue glasses, though similar.
The glasses at 3D movies would defiantly not work, because they have better technology. Something to do with the plane of the light waves being perpendicular for each eye.
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1-30-2009 @ 3:53PM
LutherMac said...
I'm just wondering how this is going to look to us without the 3D glasses. I haven't had any luck whatsoever in aquiring them, so I'll most likely have to go without.
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1-30-2009 @ 3:55PM
Joel Keller said...
It doesn't look too bad (I watched most of Chuck with the glasses off, since they weren't working for me). A little fuzzy with some color fringing, but nothing nearly as bad as the old days of 3D on television.
1-30-2009 @ 4:13PM
Tony said...
Here's an idea to give your article some credibility... let someone else try it before you jump to conclusions. The title "3D on TV still doesn't work" sounds pretty conclusive even though you admit that your eyesight isn't exactly 20/20.
Sorry if I don't take your word on NBC's 3D failure as gospel. They probably did a fair bit of testing before they gave this the go-ahead. I'd believe NBC before I believe an astigmatic blogger.
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1-30-2009 @ 4:16PM
Joel Keller said...
If you read beyond the headline (which, I admit, is supposed to be a grabber), I said "it doesn't work. At least not on TV. At least not for me." So basically, you're being as cursory as you say I'm being.
Also, others can tell me whether it works or not, but I can't see through their eyes in order to verify it, right?
1-30-2009 @ 6:04PM
robert said...
I dont know what glasses you got but the ones i picked up (and that zach levi showed on tv today) are blue/amber not blue/clear. maybe you got a bum pair.
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1-30-2009 @ 9:39PM
Bryan said...
The pair I got were blue and red. That would normally mean that one eye gets a picture with the blue filtered out and the other eye gets a picture with the red filtered out. Since the blue and red images are slightly offset, the two eyes see slightly different images which tricks the brain into believing that the images have depth.
If you got blue and clear, and it was meant for blue and red, then you won't see get the same effect.
For anyone having problems finding the glasses, we were told that they would be near where pepsi and sobe drinks are sold and found them at a local grocery.
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1-31-2009 @ 10:24AM
jake said...
everyone should go see My bloody valentine in 3D -- it's great traditional (not like the saw films) and actually has a story and great performances from Supernatural star Jensen Ackles and also actors kerr smith and jaime king.
reminds me of Scream but in 3D!
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1-31-2009 @ 2:17AM
Jenn said...
Should have tried watching it without your eyepatch on.
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2-02-2009 @ 11:25PM
Greg said...
Chuck 3D was not worth the cardboard cutting into my nose. I had same problem with glasses, astigmatism, but that has not been a problem before with 3D. Glasses were purple-blue and amber. 3D worked best on opening Buy-More scene, and when the lady assasins threw a knife at Chuck that came at the screen. Nothing coming out of the screen though. Like all guys, I was hoping to see a certain lady spy crawling out of the screen towards me... The superbowl 3D ad with the dancing players was best so far. It reminded me of those 3D vision graphics you had to stare at until you go crosseyed.
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2-03-2009 @ 9:05AM
Gerald said...
Yeah Joel, I'm with you. I was extremely disappointed. I do not wear glasses. Watching my 51" HDTV, I kept trying to flip the glasses up, then back down again to see the "difference"....nothing. WTF! What a bunch of hype. The only way I've seen real 3D is at my local IMAX theater where you'll see kids reaching out trying to catch stuff flying off the screen.
This was bogus as far as I'm concerned. Nice try NBC.
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2-03-2009 @ 4:49PM
Guimar said...
the 3D on TV was a complete bust, the glasses work If watch the videos on You tube with my glasses, but the TV signal processing interpreted the fringe as a signal problem and just smeared the image.
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