3 ms·

I think most of what you're saying applies to 3D TV, too. And that ended up being a dud. IMO the problem with both is that they're an awful shared experience, a

I think most of what you're saying applies to 3D TV, too. And that ended up being a dud. IMO the problem with both is that they're an awful shared experience, and a lot of TV watching is done by more than one person at a time.

slownews45 5y ago
It's weird because I've had the BEST experience with apple in terms of shared experiences. I go to share audio on my iphone, then I share with my wifes airpods. Seems to work fine.
- afavour 5y ago
  Everyone is different, I suppose. A shared TV watching experience where we're both plugged into our own isolated audio and can't hear each other talk would be an awful experience for me.
  - a4isms 5y ago
    Not only is everyone different, but we have different needs at different times. My partner and I use shared audio infrequently, but when we need it, we need it. Our use case is watching something together in bed while the kids are going to sleep. We put our AirPods Pro in “Transparent” mode, which allows us to converse with each other just fine. To say that “Your Mileage May Vary” would be putting it mildly. I accept that this feature may not be useful for you, in exactly the same way that Dark Mode in IOS is not useful for me, but seems to have its fans.
  - crazygringo 5y ago
    > and can't hear each other talk That's what transparency mode is for. You can hear each other perfectly. You don't need noise cancellation as much when you're at home. It's more for the subway, planes, etc.
  - slownews45 5y ago
    Actually apple has a setting for this (at least on the pro's) which is called transparency. Works surprisingly well. You get the TV / movie audio in ear, and then any other audio from outside. We use it to keep an ear out for kids (bathroom breaks / falls off bed or whatever) and to chat with each other. But yes - some people do hate apple products - so different uses I think for different folks. My one MAJOR complaint is the volume of the mode switch sound on these things is way way too loud! Perhaps there is a setting for that I haven't found. Bong! in the ear is super annoying. Make it a click or something.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
crazygringo 5y ago
3D has tons of drawbacks though -- the image is less than half as bright, glasses are clunky and not used for anything else, there's still serious ghosting effects. It's really half-baked, alas. Also there's only a tiny fraction of content in 3D. (The best way to view 3D movies, funnily enough, is in a virtual theater on the Oculus Quest 2.) Spatial audio is different. It has zero downsides over existing headphones, and nearly all movies and TV episodes are mastered in 5.1 so the source signal is everywhere. And it's not meant for a shared experience. That's what actual surround speakers in your living room are for. But these days tons of movies and TV are consumed privately with headphones, and so spatial audio simply recreates a similar surround experience on the headphones you're already using. So I think it's pretty different -- just a pure positive upgrade. It doesn't have tradeoffs like 3D does.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
  > (The best way to view 3D movies, funnily enough, is in a virtual theater on the Oculus Quest 2.) I don't deny the drawbacks of stereoscopic 3D—even as a personal 3D fan, I'm not surprised it never caught on—but I don't think a VR headset is the best way to consume stereoscopic content. Because, well, you have to wear a headset! I have a BenQ W1070 projector which supports stereoscopic 3D, and a Valve Index. For actual VR content, the Index is great, but for normal stereoscopic movies, using just the projector with a pair of special glasses is much more comfortable. I do wish enabling 3D didn't dull the colors on the projector, but it's still clearly preferable to a headset IMO.
  - crazygringo 5y ago
    Oh sure I wasn't referring to comfort, just to the pure quality of the 3D experience. A VR headset is the only solution I'm aware of that is full-brightness, zero-ghosting.
    - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
      Ghosting, maybe, although I almost never notice it on my projector. But, isn't "full brightness" just a function of how bright you make the projector? Which is to say, you could make a projector that's twice as bright as mine (mine isn't amazing, it cost less a a grand) and in 3D it would have the brightness of my 2D setup.

slownews45 5y ago

It's weird because I've had the BEST experience with apple in terms of shared experiences. I go to share audio on my iphone, then I share with my wifes airpods. Seems to work fine.

afavour 5y ago
Everyone is different, I suppose. A shared TV watching experience where we're both plugged into our own isolated audio and can't hear each other talk would be an awful experience for me.
- a4isms 5y ago
  Not only is everyone different, but we have different needs at different times. My partner and I use shared audio infrequently, but when we need it, we need it. Our use case is watching something together in bed while the kids are going to sleep. We put our AirPods Pro in “Transparent” mode, which allows us to converse with each other just fine. To say that “Your Mileage May Vary” would be putting it mildly. I accept that this feature may not be useful for you, in exactly the same way that Dark Mode in IOS is not useful for me, but seems to have its fans.
- crazygringo 5y ago
  > and can't hear each other talk That's what transparency mode is for. You can hear each other perfectly. You don't need noise cancellation as much when you're at home. It's more for the subway, planes, etc.
- slownews45 5y ago
  Actually apple has a setting for this (at least on the pro's) which is called transparency. Works surprisingly well. You get the TV / movie audio in ear, and then any other audio from outside. We use it to keep an ear out for kids (bathroom breaks / falls off bed or whatever) and to chat with each other. But yes - some people do hate apple products - so different uses I think for different folks. My one MAJOR complaint is the volume of the mode switch sound on these things is way way too loud! Perhaps there is a setting for that I haven't found. Bong! in the ear is super annoying. Make it a click or something.
deleted 5y ago
[deleted]

crazygringo 5y ago

3D has tons of drawbacks though -- the image is less than half as bright, glasses are clunky and not used for anything else, there's still serious ghosting effects. It's really half-baked, alas. Also there's only a tiny fraction of content in 3D. (The best way to view 3D movies, funnily enough, is in a virtual theater on the Oculus Quest 2.) Spatial audio is different. It has zero downsides over existing headphones, and nearly all movies and TV episodes are mastered in 5.1 so the source signal is everywhere. And it's not meant for a shared experience. That's what actual surround speakers in your living room are for. But these days tons of movies and TV are consumed privately with headphones, and so spatial audio simply recreates a similar surround experience on the headphones you're already using. So I think it's pretty different -- just a pure positive upgrade. It doesn't have tradeoffs like 3D does.

Wowfunhappy 5y ago
> (The best way to view 3D movies, funnily enough, is in a virtual theater on the Oculus Quest 2.) I don't deny the drawbacks of stereoscopic 3D—even as a personal 3D fan, I'm not surprised it never caught on—but I don't think a VR headset is the best way to consume stereoscopic content. Because, well, you have to wear a headset! I have a BenQ W1070 projector which supports stereoscopic 3D, and a Valve Index. For actual VR content, the Index is great, but for normal stereoscopic movies, using just the projector with a pair of special glasses is much more comfortable. I do wish enabling 3D didn't dull the colors on the projector, but it's still clearly preferable to a headset IMO.
- crazygringo 5y ago
  Oh sure I wasn't referring to comfort, just to the pure quality of the 3D experience. A VR headset is the only solution I'm aware of that is full-brightness, zero-ghosting.
  - Wowfunhappy 5y ago
    Ghosting, maybe, although I almost never notice it on my projector. But, isn't "full brightness" just a function of how bright you make the projector? Which is to say, you could make a projector that's twice as bright as mine (mine isn't amazing, it cost less a a grand) and in 3D it would have the brightness of my 2D setup.