Looking back at NAB 2009- 3D

Well, another NAB show came and went, and every-one’s favorite video magazine was there to take stock of the industry and report on new and exciting equipment coming your way this year.

One of the first things I noticed was that 3d production was everywhere this year. It seemed that whichever booth you were in, there were people huddled around LCD panels with funny glasses on (Quick stock tip: find the name of the company that makes those polarized glasses).

I have to say I was a bit underwhelmed by 3d. Unlike HD video, (which also had it’s coming out party at NAB) I can’t feel the same sense of excitement and possibility for 3d. It still seemed very gimmiky and made it hard to suspend your disbelief, in addition to causing eye strain. However time will improve the technology hopefully. As it stands it seemed to me that instead of true 3d, you had a series of 2D planes in a 3d space. I’m not sure if the convergence was tuned right, but in almost all instances you simply had a foreground plane, a medium plane, and a background plane, instead of a smooth gradation of depth from foreground to background.

Panasonic, Sony, and JVC were all showing off 3D displays, and work is going on to develop a 3d standard for the home, in addition to your local cinema.