Why is 3d so unwatchable for me? (Panasonic 50gt60)

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Hi,

Bought a 50gt60 at the weekend and im super impressed with it in 2d mode but 3d is totally unwatchable for me.
Im fine with cinema 3d and I demo'd a panasonic DT passive 3d set which looked great too. Ive tried all the settings (thx 3d cinema, professional mode etc) and I cant seem to get a watchable picture. In the day the flickering is terrible if theres a light source and its very hard to focus on the image, things seem blurry and have a ghostly appearance. I also cant relax and watch 3d, its like I have to concentrate really hard to make out whats happening, theres no way I could sit through a whole movie.
Tried sky 3d (Attenboroughs shows) ps3 games, Avatar and a few MKVs from the web.
All the reviews said what an excellent 3d TV this was and like I said, 3d in the cinema is great. Is it possible that Im just reacting really badly to active 3d?

Edit: The glasses dont really help either, I can see the thick black frame, like peeping through a keyhole! Wonder if new glasses would help, be expensive to find out if they don't!
 
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I have active 3D (WT50) and I find that it is better for me if I force the 3D refresh rate to be 120Hz rather than "Auto" or "100 Hz". The 100Hz rate is just a bit too slow.

If you watch 3D during the day you do need cover windows which are in your peripheral vision or they flicker.

In addition, 3D viewing is probably not very good for your eyes. Normally your brain uses not just the image in each eye, but also slight changes in the angle that each eye is pointed to decide the correct focusing. But for 3D viewing the brain is getting depth cues from the images which do not match the eye angle required. Often this will mean that the brain will try to use the wrong focus, or hunt for focus. Personally I suggest that you do not sit too close for 3D viewing. Although this will reduce the "pop out" effect, it is easier to watch, and you are still aware of depth (which is what 3D should be about really.)

Finally, if things are really blurry, as in the glasses do not seem to be having any effect at all, then perhaps the glasses have not synced correctly with the TV. Make sure you switch them on very close to the TV the first time you use them to pair them up (See manual for details.).
 
thanks for the help.

the glasses are synched, there is definately a 3d effect and its a sharp image its just like my brain is hunting for the focus like you say and i find it really uncomfortable.
Im about 7 feet from the TV.
I tried 120hz, its better at night, less flickering but I still struggle to focus.
 
How do you find the 2D->3D conversion? In my experience this is a milder effect. Is that too much for you as well?

Your seating distance of 7 feet is OK according to Panasonic. If it is possible, experiment from further away and see if it works better for you.

I found an interesting article here:

Don't sit too close to the (3D) TV | Crave - CNET

but they think 6 foot is OK for a 50" TV and you are further than that.

If it is any consolation it probably means you have good eyesight.
 
tried a few things, seems its more the glasses. removed the nose bridge/battery cover so the glasses sit closer to my face and less of the frame is in view and its definitely better. the glasses are so prone to finger marks too which ruins any 3d effect. Still not comfortable enough to shell out on new glasses though.
 
Is it possible that Im just reacting really badly to active 3d?
I suspect that is indeed the reason and especially so if you find watching passive 3D comfortable.

As Nick has suggested, a couple of the drawbacks of active shutter can be overcome by simply viewing in darkness. This will stop all peripheral flicker and also allow the brightness to be reduced which should help reduce cross-talk (3D looks better in the dark too :)).

Unfortunately some people react badly to the technology itself (the fact an image is never displayed to both eyes at the same time) and there's not a lot that can be done about that :(
 
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yeah starting to think thats the reason, messing with the glasses, distance and room brightness is helping, but still not comfortable watching for more than a minute or so. Real shame because for brief moments some of the 3d Ive watched looked excellent.

One thing that did help a lot was screwing my eyes up a bit, but cant sit through a whole movie like that! :laugh:

thanks for the help.
 
A friend of mine moaned about watching 3d untill they sat at mine and watched The Hobbit
I know this might sound silly but she was straining her eyes to see 3d instead of just relaxing back and letting the glasses and TV do its job
Make sure your eye level with the TV and just relax let your eyes just do things on there own
She was straining all the time looking for pop out and did not notice the depth so for the first time she walked away with out having a headache and really enjoyed it
 
Im wondering if the glasses are a big issue. the frames are small and very thick, quite distracting. nervous of shelling out for some nice big expand 104s incase i still suffer the same strain.
 
Im wondering if the glasses are a big issue. the frames are small and very thick, quite distracting. nervous of shelling out for some nice big expand 104s incase i still suffer the same strain.

Again if you don't normally watch TV with glasses on it takes time for you to forget about them,I just think you need to get used to them
 
Im wondering if the glasses are a big issue. the frames are small and very thick, quite distracting. nervous of shelling out for some nice big expand 104s incase i still suffer the same strain.

I also found have some sort of light behind the TV helped,with eye strain
 
Im wondering if the glasses are a big issue. the frames are small and very thick, quite distracting. nervous of shelling out for some nice big expand 104s incase i still suffer the same strain.
7 day return if you buy on the net (ebay/amazon) :)

Bigger glasses can certainly help with the 3D experience (more immersive) but can't see them making any difference to eye-strain

I also found have some sort of light behind the TV helped,with eye strain
Are you talking active or passive 3D technology - as external lights are the last thing you want with active (due to flicker)
 
A friend of mine moaned about watching 3d untill they sat at mine and watched The Hobbit
I know this might sound silly but she was straining her eyes to see 3d instead of just relaxing back and letting the glasses and TV do its job
Make sure your eye level with the TV and just relax let your eyes just do things on there own
She was straining all the time looking for pop out and did not notice the depth so for the first time she walked away with out having a headache and really enjoyed it

I take back everything I posted initially. been forcing myself to watch and play 3d and Its kind of clicked with me all of a sudden. I can relax and just watch it now, bit like those magic eye pics from the 90s, once I "got it" it was great! been watching a load of samsung, sony and lg demo discs, looks fantastic! and killzone 3 in 3d with move and the sharpshooter blew my mind, I doubt ps4 will impress me as much at the hour I just spent smoking helghast :)
 
I take back everything I posted initially. been forcing myself to watch and play 3d and Its kind of clicked with me all of a sudden. I can relax and just watch it now, bit like those magic eye pics from the 90s, once I "got it" it was great! been watching a load of samsung, sony and lg demo discs, looks fantastic! and killzone 3 in 3d with move and the sharpshooter blew my mind, I doubt ps4 will impress me as much at the hour I just spent smoking helghast :)

Glad to see its worked for you
Games wise the best to play in 3d is batman arkhem city and drakes deception I found them both great in 3d
Enjoy
 
ooh, I've got dr akes deception free with ps+. ill give it a bash. gone from hating 3d to only wanting to play in 3d haha.
 

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