The hottest ticket in Las Vegas last night was the inaugural 3D broadcast by RealD which featured the BCS Championship game and we were there. After chilling with some big wigs and interviewing Mark Cuban, we settled down in the comfy Paris Las Vegas theater for what we were told was the next big thing. We quickly found out that was a lie; a dirty, nasty lie.
Technical difficulties aside (like a blowing the right speaker), this 3D thing is a bust. Doug and I sat there while all these grey haired men were blown away thinking that we may have missed something. Was simple movement like even the swaying of the arms suppose to blur? Was it suppose to give you a headache with the terrible picture? Are people really going to attend more than one of these events?
Sadly, the picture quality was a step down from high-def. The praised 3D picture was sort-of 3D; I guess. The broadcast had their own cameras and crew at the game so they optimized the shots to showcase 3D effects but even shots of the teams running out of their tunnel were not that impressive. The in-game stats windows that show the score and info did come across nicely in 3D as it seemed to hover in the corner in true 3D fashion.
The over all experience was like watching football on a large LCD TV six years ago. The still shots looked good but any movement suffered from terrible lag. Even when the players on the side lines walked about, their arms and legs blurred. Worst of all though was you couldn’t see the football clearly when it was thrown. The picture and viewing experience was a big step down from a high-quality HD picture.Â
Our taste of 3D sports last night left us with a sinking feeling that this gigantic venture needs a lot more polish. I would have rather watched the game at the same venue via a 4k projector. Said system should be able to provide enough depth to give a similar, if not superior, 3D experience while maintaining all the quality we have came to expect from premier sporting events. Who knows, maybe Doug’s contacts and my glasses caused the picture to look so crappy but there is no way I would pay money to watch another 3D sporting event. Sorry, Cuban.[PSGallery=1n209q3mhs]