There is a throwaway line in the 1998 movie Can't Hardly Wait, where a character laments how a bully-inflicted eye injury ruined a movie going experience. "My parents took me to a 3D film. I saw no third dimension." To many that statement of seeing no third dimension rings true, even as 3D HDTVs arrive in the home.
According to a recent Edge magazine story, some 12 percent of UK citizens suffer from poor binocular vision. This effectively stops them from processing 3D images correctly. The Eyecare Trust in the UK noted that 3D technology relies on the eyes' ability to work together, yet more than one in 10 has a visual impairment that means our brains cannot correctly process the individual images. The result is an overall inconsistency in viewing the three spatial dimensions. In other words, viewers with this disorder can't enjoy see that third dimension.
KING 5 TV in Seattle also covered this topic, speaking to Dr. Douglas Anderson of the Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, which also confirmed that there are about 10 percent of the general population in the United States who can't see in stereovision. Anderson sums it as saying, "there's several reasons why they have two eyes not working simultaneously. The most common is that they're born with their eyes not quite lined up."
This is bad news for 3D TV set makers, as it limits the prospective market for their wares. But that 10 percent number isn't the only thing the makers need to worry about. Even those who can see properly in 3D may see side effects, and not the sort of visual effects coming from the screen either. Some report headaches, eyestrain or even nausea, and this could be a sign to have your vision checked. The Media College website offers facts on the issue of "stereo-blindness" and even contains an online depth perception test so you can check to see if you're able to see that third dimension.
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