3D DVDs

jp_bl_68 · 26 Sep 2009 at 18:21

Are 3D movies on DVD any good? I'm curious to see what they're like but I'm a bit sceptical. (Don't know if this makes much of a difference but the largest screen I have is only 26")

Chimerical · 26 Sep 2009 at 20:55

You get those horrible coloured glasses with them afaik. Did not see the point at all when I tried watching one recently.

Dutchman · 26 Sep 2009 at 21:52

Friend had space chimps ( i think it was that ) and 3d glasses, we all tried and came to the conclusion it was rubbish, but maybe it was just this title ?

jp_bl_68 · 26 Sep 2009 at 22:12

Am I right in thinking that the glasses have one red lens, one green lens and the 3D effect is created by drawing a red and green outline around the film's images?

manic_man · 26 Sep 2009 at 23:49

A true 3D picture (film is just lots of pictures dont forget) is created using a stereo-camera, that is two identical cameras mounted an exact distance away from each other, each recording a slightly different angle.

The images are then split into two colour bands, I think currently red and cyan are the bands of choice, but I know blue and green used to be popular, and overlaid into each other. The user then wears a pair of filtering glasses, which filter out one image for one eye and one image for the other (the split in the image should be equidistant to the users eye seperation and is a function of their distance from the screen and the size of the screen, this is where it becomes a very imprecise science).

The brain, when given two sligtly different viewpoints and colour seperations, inteprets image depth, which is what gives the 3D effect.

My guess would be, many cheap 3D DVD releases will in fact be a non stereo source film from which two images are interpolated and coloured accordingly.

On a standard TV, with simple filtering glasses and a pseudo-stero source video, the effect will be... minimal at best (except for those few people who happen to have exactly the right eye seperation / distance from their tv / size of TV, for whom it might be ok).

With proper stereo equipment and a good full stereo recorded source (or proper stereo rendering) the effect can actuall be very compelling!

Pestilence · 27 Sep 2009 at 01:03

The only ones I've watched at home have been the DVD of Friday the 13th Part 3, and Blu-Ray of My Bloody Valentine 3D.

Less than impressed with F13th, but the MBV 3D Blu-Ray is absolutely brilliant. Really loved watching it. Obviously it's nowhere near the Real-D processed viewing at the cinema, but it's the single best old Red 'n' Green 3D viewing you're likely to get.

rancid-a · 27 Sep 2009 at 01:09

I tried watching Scar 3D and gave it 10 minutes before stopping and trying the 2D version instead. At first I thought it was just down to bad film making (3D must have been an after thought - like after they finished filming) A few weeks later, I tried to watch My Bloody Valentine in 3D and despite being a better made movie, the 3D still sucked.

Anyone for Piranha 3D?

Chimerical · 27 Sep 2009 at 01:10

Pestilence said:
The only ones I've watched at home have been the DVD of Friday the 13th Part 3, and Blu-Ray of My Bloody Valentine 3D.

Less than impressed with F13th, but the MBV 3D Blu-Ray is absolutely brilliant. Really loved watching it. Obviously it's nowhere near the Real-D processed viewing at the cinema, but it's the single best old Red 'n' Green 3D viewing you're likely to get.

How can you tolerate watching the film in two-tone though? (Or is that not how it works, my experience with "Journey to the Center of the Earth" was brief).