3D Needs Games And At Least A 60-in Screen

I'll be at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas next week and there will be a host of new HDTVs on display. Most of these will have support for 3D. I will be spending most of my time behind the scenes talking technology instead of looking at consumer products so I won't be checking out these new offerings.

On the other hand, 3D is something I don't have to check out in Las Vegas since I already have a 67-in Samsung DLP HDTV that supports 3D already and I have been playing with 3D since PC days when configuring 3Dfx Voodoo boards was the only way to get 3D games. The DLP display is the first and last LED DLP system Samsung sold and it requires an adapter to mate the new 3D standard to its older encoding scheme. Still, the operation and results from my set up are equivalent the 3D LCD HDTVs that now dominate the market. It uses the same 3D shutter glasses with infrared sync sensors.

First off, I will agree with those that hate the 3D glasses. They are expensive, heavy and bulky although they are getting cheaper, lighter and less invasive. There are 3D glasses that use RF4CE wireless connections coming so the you don't have to worry about where the LED synch source is placed.

Second, brightness is an issue that really needs to be addressed. The LCD glasses and half frame rate (because each eye sees only every other frame) mean the image needs to be brighter. I usually wind up using 3D with the lights off or very dim to make up the difference.

In any case, I think gaming is the only real option for 3D at this point. More on movies later. There are a couple of reasons for this. First, 3D provides depth cues important for first- and third-person shooters I like to play on Sony's Playstation 3 (PS3). I just finished up Killzone 3 and need to work on Resistance 3. They both have co-op games and my son has the same set up I have.

I played Killzone 3 with the Move controller plugged into the Sharp Shooter gun. I'll rant on this some other time but I will say that 3D made a pleasent difference when using the gun.

The 3D effect is pronounced and more easily created and adjusted with games versus movies. As noted, the effect is also useful especially when moving. 3D is more of a novelty for other types of games. It is not really necessary to have 3D for card games but very handy for golf games.

One thing you need to consider with 3D is viewing distance. I think that you need to be closer to the screen for 3D viewing than 2D viewing. That is less of an issue with a 67-in screen but I will say that the difference between watching a football game close up on my screen versus something like a 32-in HDTV is radical. One is a small picture. The other is like being there.

The PS3/DLP gaming combination is not perfect but I think this is more of a PS3 3D issue. Artifacts are common and it takes some adjustment to get the best results. This is the same kind of issue I had when using a PC ages ago. It is also something where better software and faster hardware makes a difference.

Another observation of 3D game play with the Move controller is that is is more physically demanding. That can be good or bad depending upon your perspective but I will say I plan on looking for 3D support in future games.