Attracting sellout crowds around the world, James Cameron's Sci-Fi spectacle Avatar is fast approaching the all-time record for a domestic movie release, thanks to the countless revolutionary breakthroughs in 3D technology that allowed the Oscar-winning director to create an immersive world that blends computer-generated imagery and "the real world" seamlessly.
No surprise, Avatar's box-office success (now speeding past the $1 billion mark) has spurred companies whose incomes are driven by the need to feed fresh entertainment constantly to the masses -- from digital TV makers to satellite network providers to ESPN -- to bring that NEXT BIG THING, the 3D world, to the small screen, with the new wave cresting at the most recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
Watching Cameron's world of Pandora -- with visions of upside-down mountains straight out of 70s album covers painted by Roger Dean -- on a 3D, high-def TV in your living room certainly sounds appealing. That is, however, if you can enjoy it without hurting your eyes or head...
Headaches and nausea were among the chief reasons films like House of Wax that used older 3D technology -- two film projectors projecting left- and right-eye images -- never took off in the 50s. Tech experts believe newer digital technologies using a single digital projector that switches between left- and right-eye images overcome some of these past problems.
But for a good many folks who have problems with depth perception, even newer 3D technologies may not help a lot. As much as 8 percent of the population is stereoblind (some have an inability to perceive stereoscopic depth by comparing images seen by both eyes), so 3D is useless to them. Additionally, up to 30 percent more suffer from a lesser degree of stereoblindness, that diminishes a patient's ability to see 3D images or makes these images very uncomfortable to view.
That's why some experts recommend folks get their eyes checked first before diving head-first into the world of Pandora and 3D TVs.
|
To get more health tips, exclusive savings offers and more,
sign up for our e-Newsletter here.
|
Reuters January 11, 2010
Physorg.com January 6, 2010
Slate April 2, 2009
Psychology Today: Eyes on the Brain January 18, 2009