The 3D TV experience: Now being discussed in 2D!!

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Heck, when characters faced sort-of toward the camera, it was clear that their nose was closer than their chin, which was closer than their ears, which was closer than their neck and shoulders (etc.).

I was really noticing this in Dial M for Murder, it's the biggest difference between stuff shot with 2 cameras vs. stuff shot in 2D and converted.  In Dial M they had Grace Kelly in some dresses with very textured fabrics, so not only did she look 3D so did the fabrics.

You need to get Hugo, I put the 3D in that equal to Avatar, and the story is so much better that overall it's now my favorite 3D movie.

[LucasM]

You need to get Hugo, I put the 3D in that equal to Avatar, and the story is so much better that overall it's now my favorite 3D movie.

Today I paged through 177 pages of region-free blu-rays on Amazon.co.uk to see what was available there that wasn't here and what might be cheaper there than here.   The 3D version of Hugo is only £6.99 on Amazon.co.uk - but double-checking, it is only region 2, so not playable here.  I don't think I'd watch it enough for the $20 domestic cost.

Last night I watched the 3D 'Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs' which I'd just bought Wednesday (through a combination of price matching and promotions, costing only $16).  VERY well done (real) 3D, and lots of opportunities for the 3D to shine in this very fun, and occasionally quite funny, film.  (I knew there would be great 3D effects when I saw it in 2D.)  Of all the 3D I've seen thus far, this - by FAR - had the least video crosstalk between the R/L images.  I couldn't see a single instance of it in the whole film, in fact.  So: highly recommended.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

The 3D version of Hugo is only £6.99 on Amazon.co.uk - but double-checking, it is only region 2, so not playable here.  I don't think I'd watch it enough for the $20 domestic cost.

Have you seen Hugo and not liked it?  I think it's a great movie, I've watched it probably 4 times since getting it.

Last night I watched the 3D 'Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs' which I'd just bought Wednesday (through a combination of price matching and promotions, costing only $16).  VERY well done (real) 3D, and lots of opportunities for the 3D to shine in this very fun, and occasionally quite funny, film.  (I knew there would be great 3D effects when I saw it in 2D.)  Of all the 3D I've seen thus far, this - by FAR - had the least video crosstalk between the R/L images.  I couldn't see a single instance of it in the whole film, in fact.  So: highly recommended.

I rented that in 2D when it came out and thought it was OK, but keep forgetting that it's out in 3D.  Have to think about getting it.

[LucasM]

The 3D version of Hugo is only £6.99 on Amazon.co.uk - but double-checking, it is only region 2, so not playable here.  I don't think I'd watch it enough for the $20 domestic cost.

Have you seen Hugo and not liked it?  I think it's a great movie, I've watched it probably 4 times since getting it.

I saw it and liked it.  I just don't think I'd watch it enough times to make the cost worthwhile to me.

[LucasM]

Un-be-lievable!!! 

3D Restoration of PHANTOM OF THE OPERA Now Online Through November  [title is link to article]

The 1925 Lon Chaney one.

NOT "transformation" "restoration".

It has recently been discovered that the original 1925 Phantom of the Opera starring Lon Chaney appears to have been filmed in true, actual 3D, with two cameras close together, in what was apparently Hollywood's earliest attempt to produce a 3D film!  The 'right eye' and 'left eye' pieces have been split up and circulated in the projected prints since day 1 apparently.  Someone just recently figured out that many different prints actually had the two halves of a 3D image shuffled between them.  Since they are not consistent as to which pieces are in what print, it is taking a while to collect enough prints to find both eye's worth of each scene, and they may never have all of them.

What has been assembled thus far is online to view (with red/cyan glasses) for free for the time being, HERE.  But it is also going to be put into production (when 'finished', including film repair) for televised and current 3D display (i.e. for blu-ray 3D).

This had me so stunned that my jaw was literally dropped open for about a minute, with only brief closings to keep from drooling.

This is THE start of the classic horror/'monster' film.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

 Tried to watch it but the registration needs so much more work I had to stop.  Some scenes the 3D looked good, others the right and left images were too far apart or misaligned.  I'll be interested in the final product. 

I've got Brave on the way, should get it today or tomorrow, I'm sure the 3D will be good in that.  I haven't seen any Pixar movies in 3D yet, this will be my first one.

[LucasM]

Tried to watch it but the registration needs so much more work I had to stop.  Some scenes the 3D looked good, others the right and left images were too far apart or misaligned.  I'll be interested in the final product. 

I've got Brave on the way, should get it today or tomorrow, I'm sure the 3D will be good in that.  I haven't seen any Pixar movies in 3D yet, this will be my first one.

Yeah, the vertical displacement of some shots in Phantom is really hard on the eyes.  But it should be incredible when they are done.  It's funny, I had about 20 minutes of it on Super8 film that I watched repeatedly in my mid-to-late teens, and there were SO many scenes that I thought, basically, "this has such depth to the picture," that I'm not all that surprised it was possibly intended for 3D, just shocked that they were actually able to find most of the two-camera shots.  Hopefully when it is released they will, if not finding all of the scenes in the original, actual 3D, put two copies of the film on the release.  One with all the original footage found (so: alternating between 2D and 3D when the companion eye film hasn't been found), and one in which they have 'fake' 3D for the other shots where only the one eye's film was found, so that there is a full 3D version available, but an 'authentic-only' copy available for purists.  I'd likely watch the authentic more, but would want the option of the full-3D... likely the general public would be the opposite, if they watched the 3D/2D version at all.

I was too indifferent to Brave when I saw it (rented, in 2D) to buy it in 3D.  With Pixar, I did find out that, apparently to coincide with "Monsters University", they are re-doing "Monsters, Inc." in 3D.  Of course, that's Disney/Pixar, rather than straight-up Pixar, but still.  Hopefully, since it is all computer generated, it will be real 3D instead of fake 3D.  Since http://realorfake3d.com/ doesn't have it listed at all, I don't know (the first page or so of a Google search only turns up the YouTube trailer dozens of times).  The film has so many 3D-appropriate scenes (e.g. the 'door chase') it should be exceptional in 3D.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

I was too indifferent to Brave when I saw it (rented, in 2D) to buy it in 3D.  With Pixar, I did find out that, apparently to coincide with "Monsters University", they are re-doing "Monsters, Inc." in 3D.  Of course, that's Disney/Pixar, rather than straight-up Pixar, but still.  Hopefully, since it is all computer generated, it will be real 3D instead of fake 3D.  Since http://realorfake3d.com/ doesn't have it listed at all, I don't know (the first page or so of a Google search only turns up the YouTube trailer dozens of times).  The film has so many 3D-appropriate scenes (e.g. the 'door chase') it should be exceptional in 3D.

I've seen it listed as re-rendered for 3D, nut not from official sources.  Pixar has re-rendered others to make them 3D, no reason to think they wouldn't do it for Monsters Inc.  That one should be pretty awesome if they get the proper depth to it.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

 Just watched Brave in 3D, pretty good, seems like they could have added more depth to the forest scenes.  There were also a lot of scenes in the dark with fast action, those are generally not good for 3D.

I liked the movie more than I was expecting to.  I'll probably watch it in 2D from now on.

There was preview for Monsters University on the disc, the 3D looked great and it looks like it's going to be an awesome movie.  The preview for Finding Nemo redone in 3D was OK, but I was seeing a lot of ghosting in that so can't be sure, I'll have to watch it again with the contrast turned down, that usually fixes it on my setup.

[mattwnelson]

okay, been thinking about making the jump to 3d stuff... for a person who is only a very casual cinephile, what would be a good 'starter set'? TV and blu-ray device recommendations, I mean. I can pick my own movies. :-)

[Space version 2.0]

PS3

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Id say only do it if you are in the market for a new TV.   There just isn't enough quality content out there to spend a lot upgrading everything just to get into 3D.

If you are looking to upgrade your TV then pick all the other qualities you want in the TV first (size, contrast ratios, LED lighting, etc.), then look for a 3D set that has those.  Adding 3D will typically add $100 to $200 to the cost of the set. 

Other option is if you have a good desktop computer and monitor that has a blu-ray drive, you can get the video hardware to upgrade a computer to 3D cheaper than getting a good size HDTV and stand alone Blu-Ray 3D player.

[mattwnelson]

Other option is if you have a good desktop computer and monitor that has a blu-ray drive, you can get the video hardware to upgrade a computer to 3D cheaper than getting a good size HDTV and stand alone Blu-Ray 3D player.

Hmmm... So if I could hook my computer up to my TV (using it as a monitor) I could use it to play 3D even if the TV isn't 3D?

I'm not exactly in the market for a new TV, but I'm thinking about it.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Other option is if you have a good desktop computer and monitor that has a blu-ray drive, you can get the video hardware to upgrade a computer to 3D cheaper than getting a good size HDTV and stand alone Blu-Ray 3D player.

Hmmm... So if I could hook my computer up to my TV (using it as a monitor) I could use it to play 3D even if the TV isn't 3D?

Probably not, unless it is a "3D ready" TV that can do 120Hz.  But a lot of computer monitors used for gaming have very high refresh rates and can display 3D, so if you have a good setup it might be possible to convert it to 3D with a new video card and watch 3D on the monitor.

I'm not exactly in the market for a new TV, but I'm thinking about it.

I was like that for about a year before upgrading, when the LOTR extended edition movies came out on Blu-Ray that's when I really wanted a larger TV, and then decided to spend the extra few hundred to go 3D.

[MartyS (Gromit)]

Target had Finding Nemo 3D on sale so I picked it up since I didn't have it on Blu-Ray.  I think it was a buck cheaper than Amazon.

The 3D is fantastic, hopefully the re-rendered Monsters Inc will look this good.

Oh, and they redid the "aquariums" special features in 3D on the disc.  I remember those from the DVD release and they were kind of meh, but in 3D they are kind of mesmerizing.