Monthly Archives: April 2011

Death on Oz?

Incredible! I’m listening to a recent episode of the Skeptoid podcast, this one on Hollywood myths. It turns out that some people actually believe that the suicide of a Munchkin was recorded on film in The Wizard of Oz. Brian … Continue reading

Posted in Blu-ray, Cinema, Imperfect perception | 2 Comments

Lots and lots of comments

The other day I mentioned that I had a political piece on the ABC website: Unleashed. That piece, called ‘The real defence exception’, now has 454 comments. Having a look through them was pretty instructive, I thought. Have a look … Continue reading

Posted in Admin, Misc | 2 Comments

The next big advance?

So it turns out that Peter Jackson is shooting his Lord of the Rings prequel, The Hobbit, in 3D and at 48 frames per second. Virtually all filming for cinema is done at 24fps of course, and one of the … Continue reading

Posted in 3D, Blu-ray, Cinema, HDMI, Video | 15 Comments

Is 3D TV bad for your health?

That’s what’s argued here. It’s called ‘binocular dysphoria‘, which Wikipedia calls a ‘hypothesized condition’, noting that ‘there is no peer reviewed evidence of this condition’. If you’re worried, just keep it down to one 3D movie a week.

Posted in 3D | Leave a comment

The many faces of 3D

If anything demonstrates how our senses provide us with a useful abstraction of the world, rather than a photographic image, it is surely the various 3D technologies now proliferating. The sensation of 3D is a weird thing. At some engine-room … Continue reading

Posted in 3D, Imperfect perception | Leave a comment

On a completely different topic

I try not to litter this blog with my political views, except when they are relevant to home entertainment stuff. But if anyone is interested, I’ve had a piece published on Unleashed/The Drum on the ABC website in which I … Continue reading

Posted in Admin, Misc | Leave a comment

No, the Nazis weren’t the first

Apparently someone has found a couple of half hour 3D movies made by the Nazis back in 1936. Well, what better excuse could there be for expressing one’s amused contempt for America? This occurs in the UK lefty newspaper The Guardian … Continue reading

Posted in 3D, Cinema, Rant | 1 Comment

What is Blu-ray 3D?

Last year saw a nearly unique sporting event in Australia. For only the second time in its 113 year history, the Australian Rules football grand final ended in a draw. This is so rare simply because the rules of the … Continue reading

Posted in 3D, Blu-ray, HDTV | 4 Comments

Metropolis cometh, Buenos Aires version

To say the movie Metropolis is influential would be an understatement. Some 84 years old, it still scores 8.4, putting it at #94 on IMDB’s Top 250 list. Last week a new episode of Futurama (‘The Mutants Are Revolting‘) was on … Continue reading

Posted in Blu-ray, Cinema, DTV | 2 Comments