TV viewing enters another dimension

Proud of that new $1,200 high-definition TV you just bought? Think technology can't get any better?

Think again.

Three-dimensional HD sets are expected to be unveiled when the Consumer Electronics Show opens Thursday, and college football fans can get an eyeful that night when the Bowl Championship Series title game is shown in 3D at two area theaters.

The Galaxy Cannery Theatres and the Rave Motion Pictures Town Square 18 will show the Florida-Oklahoma game. Ticket prices at those two theaters weren't available, but the nationwide average at 82 sites in 35 states is $18 to $22.

It's the first BCS title game to be shown in 3D.

"You get the sense you're participating in the middle of the play that you don't get from 2D," said Sandy Climan, chief executive officer of 3ality Digital, which is putting together the broadcast.

Climan, though, is well aware of the negative connotations of 3D.

Mention 3D and the first thought is wearing awkward glasses while sitting through a bad movie that is memorable only for its special effects.

But Climan said this version of 3D is different. Viewers still wear glasses, but they more closely resemble trendy shades.

And the point isn't to have items leaping off the screen but instead to make viewers feel part of the action. The company put together a film on U2, and it wasn't until more than 21/2 hours into the film that lead singer Bono appeared to reach into the theater audience.

"It's totally comfortable," Climan said. "There is no discomfort. There is no eye strain.

"Being in the middle of it doesn't mean a football flying at your head."

Being in the middle of the action, Climan said, means seeing the difference in size between the 310-pound right tackle and the 180-pound running back, or seeing vividly how a screen pass unfolds as the quarterback waits until the last moment to throw over oncoming pass rushers.

The company showed the Dec. 4 Oakland Raiders-San Diego Chargers game in 3D in a private screening at three theaters in New York, the Boston area and Hollywood, Calif. It was the first live NFL game broadcast in 3D.

One executive told Climan he never understood football strategy as much as he did that day.

"When I think about the future of 3D, it isn't in terms of special effects," Climan said. "The change relates to the storytelling. All of the sudden, you're on the football field."

Contact reporter Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914.