All of the latest media hype would have you believe that the latest rounds of 3D movies that are being constantly rolled out by the big motion picture companies are in fact something that brand new. They would have you think that three dimensional film making is something that has only been made possible by today's high tech computer software and the newest cameras on the market. While they might be comfortable in trying to make you believe this, you are being carefully misled.
The first attempts at creating
3D movies were patented in the late 19th century by well-known British filmmaker William Friese- Greene. While these early attempts were hardly close to what we have access to today, they certainly laid down the foundations for what was to come. In the following one hundred years film makers have tried numerous times to find a formula that would not only work, but would actually catch on with their viewing audience.
For the most part every attempt made failed to catch sufficiently well enough to make it financially viable. In most cases 3D movies were relegated to the realms of amusement parks such as Disney where carefully crafted features and featurettes could be seen in specially constructed theaters. As far as main stream movie viewers were concerned, none of these attempts ever managed to come close to living up the promises that were made.
Part of this failure could be seen as the fact that despite the movie companies best efforts, large percentages of their audiences simply could not see the three dimensional effects that they had worked so hard to create. The other part of the problem is that not only were these movies solely the domain of the movie theater, but it took a movie theater that was set up with the right cameras and screen to reproduce the effects. For decades there were very few of these as owners did not see the possibility of earning a good return on their investment.
In the last few years the movie industry has once again taken on the challenge of producing movies in 3D. This time, using the very latest in computer hardware, software and purpose built cameras; the results have been nothing short of spectacular. This technology has made it possible for most people to go into a theater and see all of the special effects that are being added to the latest round of movies. These effects have become so realistic that in movies such as the Avatar, you almost feel the rushing air as the characters fly through the air.
Getting people to first accept and then to expect 3D movies in the theater has only been the first step in the process of making this type of movie acceptable. Never content to rest on their laurels, the movie companies have been working hand in hand with major electronics companies such as Sony, LG and Samsung to create 3D televisions and DVD players that are capable of bringing the full movie theater experience into people's homes.
Finally the one thing that both the movie companies and the movie watcher have been waiting for has become not work of science fiction, but rather one of science fact. After years of trial and error, several of these major companies are now producing 3D TVs and Blue Ray DVD players that faithfully reproduce the effects that until now have only been seen in the movie theaters.
These companies have been investing millions of dollars in the latest 3D technologies in the hopes that they would not only catch on, but would become a mainstream item that people would stream to the stores to invest in. While it is true that these newest 3D LED television sets do definitely provide an amazing image in your living room, they do come at premium price.
Is the investment worth it? The jury is still very much out on whether or not 3D televisions for home use are going to catch on well enough to remain. In general overall public response to these televisions has been warm with initial sales showing good numbers, however with the current economy, retailers are finding it hard to convince buyers to spend upwards of $5,000 for a complete 3D television package with Blue Ray DVD player and sound.
At
3DTV.com we are the 3D Community Magazine where you can stay abreast of the latest developments in the world of 3D and the movies that are coming. We show you what where things are at now and what we have to look forward to in the future.
