Thinking - high def and 3d

I was watching Resident Evil 4 (Afterlife) the other night, which was making me think even more about switching to 3d stuff.

It's a bit too early for 3d yet though, as the technology is still in its early stages. Not "very early" as there are 3d displays available commercially now. Not just PC displays, those have been around for years but it's breaking into domestic television displays now. Just one issue with them - I already wear glasses, so having to wear another set to make the 3d work is something I'm not even going to tentatively consider.

There's light though, as 3d tellies that don't need glasses are starting to come to the market. So, armed also with the knowledge that I'm likely to switch my blu-ray player for one that can play dvds, I felt happy to pay another £2 for the 3d version of Resi Evil Afterlife.

After the opening scenes, I was starting to drool for a 3d setup. Looks incredible and that's backed up by the sound as well. They just keep making well watchable Resident Evil films. They're not for everyone, as they are very action heavy and video-game silly with the T-virus science stuff but I enjoy them. And that's what counts at the end of the day. I'm a big fan of Milla Jovovich as an actress too.

Anyway - Resi Evil Afterlife - incredible looking film that definitely took the superslomo action thing to heart. May write more about it at later date because I feel the need to watch it again.
(the 3d blu-ray has an option to play in 2d as well and refuses to play 3d unless you have 3d kit - buy now for promise of more later)

How about stuff that's more in reach to the average person ? That would be High def vs Standard def. This isn't nearly as clear cut as the difference between TV sound and proper cinema sound. The difference there is stunning, with £500 worth of cinema sound amp and speakers giving a mind blowing upgrade. It's not really the bass to back up the action, it's the clarity and placement of incidental noise that makes you feel as if you're in the scene. On the other hand, HD vs SD is one that will be with the jury for a very long time.

I can genuinely see the difference that HD makes in blu-rays like Iron Man 2, where the scene in the greenhouse dome brings out the extra detail available. But ... do you really want to pay loadsamoney to see sharp pictures of grass ? No. Didn't think so. Most of the time with broadcast stuff, I wouldn't know I was watching HD unless I hit the Info button that tells me I am. I have 2 examples there :

1 - cricket on Sky at the moment. Sky Sports isn't something where I get the HD for free, I'd have to pay an extra £7 a month for it. Looking at the quality of image I do get, I can tell it's not HD because there are the compression artifacts (blocky pixels) that follow the ball around. When the camera is moving a lot, the ground goes fuzzy and then sharpens up when the camera stops. That's how video compression works, by cheating with giving a little less information on the bits that don't change much.
2 - Formula 1 coverage from last year. It actually looked sharper than some HD transmissions, even though it was coming in standard.

I'm still unconvinced by HD. A lot of it depends on the quality of the transmission. The cricket and motor racing above were getting excellent transmission quality, watching not so old reruns tend to show the bad as the networks skimp on the quality. I don't get the sport or movies in HD because I ain't gonna pay that extra £7 a month but I do get a few other channels free. Guess what I record in given the choice ?

Yep - even though I don't think there's much difference between high quality SD transmission and HD signals, I still set the recorder for space hogging HD :-)

I'll shelve the 3d upgrade plans for now until it becomes usable and affordable but I'm glad I got the (cheap!) high def telly. I suspect it's making some SD stuff look far better than it should do ... although that could be partly down to a Cable TV box that gets more out of the signal than the satellite box did.

PS Blip count = 0 since playing 2 dvd's on the Xbox and 1 blu-ray.