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Samsung, the manufacturer whose model we are testing, is providing two free pairs with its £2,000 television. But others have said consumers will need to pay for the spectacles separately, which seems a bit of a swizz if you are already forking out for the equivalent of a few months' mortgage on a new set.
We soon find out that the glasses are slightly too sophisticated for their own good. They work using so-called shutter technology, transforming the blurry picture on the television into amazing crisp images that appear to leap out of the screen.
Or at least that's the theory. And when I have tested out the glasses at electronics trade shows over the last two years, they have worked very well.
The glasses operate by tricking your brain, allowing you to take in two separate images – one for the left eye and one for the right eye. The glasses do this by rapidly alternating between lenses, shutting off one eye at a time. You don't notice it doing this, except for when you first put them on and there is a strange flickering sensation as they warm up.
The problem comes when you get up to make a cup of tea, or stop an argument between a two-year-old and her older brother – a frequent occurrence in our house when Angelina Ballerina is up against Total Wipeout. The glasses are clever enough to know when you are no longer watching the screen and switch to normal dark glasses mode. Turn back to the screen, and it takes another few seconds for the glasses to kick into 3D mode. This soon becomes annoying.
Some medics in America have warned you could get headaches while wearing the glasses. None of us suffered from this, though the children did endlessly fidget to stop them slipping off and the instruction manual includes an impressive warning list to cover the manufacturer from any pregnant Avatar fan in a litigious mood. My favourite caveat is: "Some 3D videos many surprise and overexcite viewers."
This was certainly our first reaction, once we had sussed out the glasses. The images are astonishing. What's impressive is not so much the bullets that come flying out of the screen, as the depth of field that 3D gives. You really feel you are having to peer over the heads of the first row of the Twickenham crowd to watch the rugby; when the ballerinas do their jetés, one leg is clearly in front of the other. That sounds unremarkable, but if you have spent a lifetime watching 2D television programmes, it is hard to stop yourself wanting to reach into the screen.
But the wow factor wears off after a while, and the quality is just not as good as the 3D you get in the cinema. Sometimes, the blurry double image appears even when you are wearing the glasses.
Undoubtedly these snags will be ironed out over time, and maybe even before they hit the shelves in May. But the most enthusiastic reaction I could muster from Felix was, “it’s good”. Alexander, his older brother, was a bit more positive with: “yeah, it’s fun”. Celia, the two year old, had a tantrum when she couldn’t get the glasses to fit.
The industry – not just the manufacturers in Asia but also the studios in Hollywood – of course think 3D will be more than just “fun”. Millions ride on it being more than that. "It's quite simply the entertainment revolution of our time," said DreamWorks' chief executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg. "It's as important as the introduction of sound or colour."
Hmm. Katzenberg may be a genius film producer, but I’m not sure he’s got three young children who would break the glasses within weeks, if not days, and who have the ability to flick through twenty channels in the time it takes to boil a kettle.
And that is the other stumbling block for 3D. While Samsung, Panasonic, Sony and LG will all have 3D sets and 3D Blu-ray players on the shelf by May, there is precious little to watch in 3D.
The only content we could view on our set was a disc of Monsters vs Aliens, an animated film that comes free with the Samsung set and 3D Blu-ray player, and a collection of ballet, rugby and tennis clips provided by Sky. And this content, totalling about two hours' worth of footage, is pretty much the sum of 3D currently available in Britain.
Sky announced yesterday that its long-awaited 3D channel will launch in April, allowing the 1.6 million customers with an expensive HD box to enjoy 3D on their 3D telly. But for the first few months it will be a preview channel, showing clips and no more. Not until the start of the next football season will there be any live 3D broadcasts to people’s homes. And it will take a while for the studios to start releasing films, such as Up and Alice in Wonderland, in 3D format.
John Kempner, John Lewis’s head TV buyer – and as a result one of the key people who will decide what will end up in our living rooms – is excited, but believes only a handful of “early adopters” will buy the first sets.
“Will they become as standard as colour sets did in the 1970s? I’m not sure. But one thing’s certain: these 3D sets are still amazing quality 2D televisions. And £2,000 is not a ridiculous amount of money to pay for the very top-of-the-range flat-screen set.”
He’s right. One of the best things about the television is not the 3D itself, but the sharpness of the 2D images it also produces when in normal mode. And that might prove the ultimate selling point – buy a great new TV. It also has 3D. Just don't let your kids fight over the glasses.
We soon find out that the glasses are slightly too sophisticated for their own good. They work using so-called shutter technology, transforming the blurry picture on the television into amazing crisp images that appear to leap out of the screen.
Or at least that's the theory. And when I have tested out the glasses at electronics trade shows over the last two years, they have worked very well.
The glasses operate by tricking your brain, allowing you to take in two separate images – one for the left eye and one for the right eye. The glasses do this by rapidly alternating between lenses, shutting off one eye at a time. You don't notice it doing this, except for when you first put them on and there is a strange flickering sensation as they warm up.
The problem comes when you get up to make a cup of tea, or stop an argument between a two-year-old and her older brother – a frequent occurrence in our house when Angelina Ballerina is up against Total Wipeout. The glasses are clever enough to know when you are no longer watching the screen and switch to normal dark glasses mode. Turn back to the screen, and it takes another few seconds for the glasses to kick into 3D mode. This soon becomes annoying.
Some medics in America have warned you could get headaches while wearing the glasses. None of us suffered from this, though the children did endlessly fidget to stop them slipping off and the instruction manual includes an impressive warning list to cover the manufacturer from any pregnant Avatar fan in a litigious mood. My favourite caveat is: "Some 3D videos many surprise and overexcite viewers."
This was certainly our first reaction, once we had sussed out the glasses. The images are astonishing. What's impressive is not so much the bullets that come flying out of the screen, as the depth of field that 3D gives. You really feel you are having to peer over the heads of the first row of the Twickenham crowd to watch the rugby; when the ballerinas do their jetés, one leg is clearly in front of the other. That sounds unremarkable, but if you have spent a lifetime watching 2D television programmes, it is hard to stop yourself wanting to reach into the screen.
But the wow factor wears off after a while, and the quality is just not as good as the 3D you get in the cinema. Sometimes, the blurry double image appears even when you are wearing the glasses.
Undoubtedly these snags will be ironed out over time, and maybe even before they hit the shelves in May. But the most enthusiastic reaction I could muster from Felix was, “it’s good”. Alexander, his older brother, was a bit more positive with: “yeah, it’s fun”. Celia, the two year old, had a tantrum when she couldn’t get the glasses to fit.
The industry – not just the manufacturers in Asia but also the studios in Hollywood – of course think 3D will be more than just “fun”. Millions ride on it being more than that. "It's quite simply the entertainment revolution of our time," said DreamWorks' chief executive, Jeffrey Katzenberg. "It's as important as the introduction of sound or colour."
Hmm. Katzenberg may be a genius film producer, but I’m not sure he’s got three young children who would break the glasses within weeks, if not days, and who have the ability to flick through twenty channels in the time it takes to boil a kettle.
And that is the other stumbling block for 3D. While Samsung, Panasonic, Sony and LG will all have 3D sets and 3D Blu-ray players on the shelf by May, there is precious little to watch in 3D.
The only content we could view on our set was a disc of Monsters vs Aliens, an animated film that comes free with the Samsung set and 3D Blu-ray player, and a collection of ballet, rugby and tennis clips provided by Sky. And this content, totalling about two hours' worth of footage, is pretty much the sum of 3D currently available in Britain.
Sky announced yesterday that its long-awaited 3D channel will launch in April, allowing the 1.6 million customers with an expensive HD box to enjoy 3D on their 3D telly. But for the first few months it will be a preview channel, showing clips and no more. Not until the start of the next football season will there be any live 3D broadcasts to people’s homes. And it will take a while for the studios to start releasing films, such as Up and Alice in Wonderland, in 3D format.
John Kempner, John Lewis’s head TV buyer – and as a result one of the key people who will decide what will end up in our living rooms – is excited, but believes only a handful of “early adopters” will buy the first sets.
“Will they become as standard as colour sets did in the 1970s? I’m not sure. But one thing’s certain: these 3D sets are still amazing quality 2D televisions. And £2,000 is not a ridiculous amount of money to pay for the very top-of-the-range flat-screen set.”
He’s right. One of the best things about the television is not the 3D itself, but the sharpness of the 2D images it also produces when in normal mode. And that might prove the ultimate selling point – buy a great new TV. It also has 3D. Just don't let your kids fight over the glasses.
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