3D Blu-ray Disc QUESTIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS and GENERAL DISCUSSION Thread

[42041]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

I love how Avatar is being used to push this forward. I didn't think Avatar was that great a movie!

BTW it looks like 3-D tellies will be 50 inch and above. At least from Panasonic.

Obviously the people who pay the studio bills disagree with you

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by 42041

Obviously the people who pay the studio bills disagree with you

Obviously.

Nope, Avatar is doing well because of the spectacle of it. The plot is as old as the hills, the acting is average and the script is pants. It is, by definition, a bad film!

It's the spectacle that will sell 3-D. Not substance.

When all else fails: fool the audience into THINKING that they're seeing something new!

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

Well like everything else: if it was originally released in 3-D then I can justify watching it in 3-D. If it wasn't originally released in 3-D then I don't want it in 3-D. Just like black and white vs. colour.

Agreed.

My only exceptions would be for CGI films that can literally be re-rendered in true-3D (ie, not face processed pseudo 3d) under the supervision of the original artists... like they are doing with Toy Story 1 and 2.

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

Obviously.

Nope, Avatar is doing well because of the spectacle of it. The plot is as old as the hills, the acting is average and the script is pants. It is, by definition, a bad film!

It's the spectacle that will sell 3-D. Not substance.

When all else fails: fool the audience into THINKING that they're seeing something new!

Can we please not judge an element of image presentation by one film that makes use of it which you may happen to like or dislike? It's makes just as much sense for 1939 audiences to say something as vapid as "The Wizard of Oz looked great in color, but obviously technicolor only applies to children's fantasy films with stories that don't follow a rational framework."

It turned out that color worked just as well for Gone With the Wind as it did for Oz, despite the two very different film genres.

UP was in 3D and was spectacular. So was Coraline. Were either of those movies that you would consider to be good films?

3D isn't just for action and it's not just for cartoons... 3D could be used by any artist for any film if they used it in a way to advance the movie experience. I can imagine how the suspense factor of a film like The Sixth Sense could be really enhanced with the added involvement factor of depth perception.

[jamal2]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

Nope, Avatar is doing well because of the spectacle of it. The plot is as old as the hills, the acting is average and the script is pants. It is, by definition, a bad film!

This is, by definition, an opinion. And a minority one at that.

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

UP was in 3D and was spectacular. So was Coraline. Were either of those movies that you would consider to be good films?

I haven't seen Coraline so can't comment.

I saw Up on BD (in boring old 2-D, how yawny of me!) and liked it just fine. I didn't sit there wishing I'd seen it in 3-D. My life would not radically change by doing so. It was a good movie, not one of Pixar's best IMHO.

Avatar I was unimpressed with, perhaps because I expected more from James Cameron. It was on a par with The Abyss I suppose, but without the interesting characters. In fact The Abyss had more of an "ooh" factor than Avatar for me!

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by jamal2

This is, by definition, an opinion. And a minority one at that.

You're telling me that Avatar is an original and well-written movie?

[Hale-Bopp]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

Am I correct in assuming, though, that the only difference between a 3-D TV and a regular TV is the increased refresh rate? This surely would benefit regular material too. So it's all good.

There are likely other differences on some, but not all sets, such as HDMI 1.4 compatibility, built-in 3-D decoding/displaying and anything else I can't think of at the moment.

[jamal2]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

You're telling me that Avatar is an original and well-written movie?

No, what I'm telling you is that trying to designate a wildly popular, successful, and acclaimed film as somehow being objectively bad makes you foolish.

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

I can imagine how the suspense factor of a film like The Sixth Sense could be really enhanced with the added involvement factor of depth perception.

I don't think I could feel truly engrossed because I'd be constantly aware of the bloody glasses. They irritated my eyes (and nose come to think of it) at least 3 times during Avatar and I had to lift them up for a few seconds.

No, in many ways 3-D is less engrossing.

Because of the glasses.

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by jamal2

No, what I'm telling you is that trying to designate a wildly popular, successful, and acclaimed film as somehow being objectively bad makes you foolish.

No it doesn't.

It's entirely possible for a movie to be popular, successful and acclaimed and still be rubbish! (I'm not saying Avatar is rubbish, just very "been there done that" if not for the 3-D).

Titanic is the most successful movie of all time and won 11 Oscars. But is it REALLY all that good?

[jamal2]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

No it doesn't.

It's entirely possible for a movie to be popular, successful and acclaimed and still be rubbish!

Titanic is the most successful movie of all time and won 11 Oscars. But is it REALLY all that good?

There's that whole "opinion" thing again

[Hale-Bopp]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

I don't think I could feel truly engrossed because I'd be constantly aware of the bloody glasses. They irritated my eyes (and nose come to think of it) at least 3 times during Avatar and I had to lift them up for a few seconds.

No, in many ways 3-D is less engrossing.

Because of the glasses.

I wouldn't be too concerned with that. 3-D glasses for at home will be MUCH more comfortable and you'll have many more styles to choose from. They'll also be more lightweight compared to theater glasses. 3-D at home, in general, is going to be a much more pleasant experience from the look of things. Do the research and you'll see some new designs being posted all over the net due to the CES show taking place.

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by Hale-Bopp

Do the research and you'll see some new designs being posted all over the net due to the CES show taking place.

Oh I've seen them. No thanks!

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Spymaster

You're telling me that Avatar is an original and well-written movie?

Avatar is extreemly enjoyable for me, and I'm one of those picky movie guys who hates the mindless blockbusters and typically goes for dramas and think-pieces. Avatar is what it is, and it's good at what it aims to do, and it can still be enjoyable (I've seen it twice) despite not being ground-breaking in terms of plot originality or scripting. I'd consider it on par with Return of the Jedi in terms of "a good movie"... not the best, but not the worst, and well worth watching.

I saw Up on BD (in boring old 2-D, how yawny of me!) and liked it just fine. I didn't sit there wishing I'd seen it in 3-D

How does you not having seen a film in 3D validate your opinion of how well the film worked in 3D?



I'm sure had I only seen UP in 2D I would have liked it just fine as well. However, having seen it in 3D I was amazed at how encrossing the visuals were and how the depth of many scenes impacted the cinematic emotion of the film. Of course, this is coming from somone who was able to wear the glasses without needing physical thereapy afterwards. Perhaps we could get you polarized contacts? I'm sure with circular polarization it would be easy. Hmm. That's actually a real possibility for viewers who don't want to wear the glasses. Hmmm...

[Chaka]

Most new tech when first introduced is always for a niche market due to cost and availability of product and media but I don't see how 3D at home will ever break out to the mainstream ever. Too many problems and concerns that have nothing to do with quality of picture IMO.

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by Chaka

Most new tech when first introduced is always for a niche market due to cost and availability of product and media but I don't see how 3D at home will ever break out to the mainstream ever. Too many problems and concerns that have nothing to do with quality of picture IMO.

You don't see how this year's 3D 1080p superbowl has the chance to go mainstream when many 2010 3D HDTVs will cost the same or even less than last year's 2D-only 120 Hz HDTVs, and the same broadcast will play seamlessly in 2D for 2D viewers at the same time? That seems to illustrate the opposite of "too many problems and concerns".

[mredman]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Golly Gee. Have you been reading anything about the new 3D spec? All 3D devices, including the 3D blu-ray Discs themselves, area fully backwards compatible with 2D. You can buy a 3D Blu-ray Disc of Avatar, put it in your currrent 2D Blu-ray player, and watch the standard 2D image. No problem at all!

i get what you are saying that the current bluray players plays 2D of course. But when the new blu ray players arrive that is 3D compatible. Will we then could watch 2D content on those aswell.

[DaViD Boulet]

Originally Posted by mredman

i get what you are saying that the current bluray players plays 2D of course. But when the new blu ray players arrive that is 3D compatible. Will we then could watch 2D content on those aswell.

Uh, yeah. Just like you can play DVDs on your 2D player, and listen to your DTS-HD MA Blu-ray using the legacy DTS core track if you so desire.

[Spymaster]

Originally Posted by DaViD Boulet

Avatar is extreemly enjoyable for me, and I'm one of those picky movie guys who hates the mindless blockbusters and typically goes for dramas and think-pieces.

To be honest, about half-way through I started wishing I was watching ALIENS instead. And then Sigourney put on her spacesuit and the proximity sensors started beeping and I felt strangely comforted. But then it went back to being Star Trek: Insurrection with blue people and I got bored! LOL