Chargers-Raiders in 3-D

For the last decade, I’ve been listening to tech entrepreneurs offer countless variations of the same pitch to the entertainment industry: Their microprocessor-powered magic was so powerful, it would transform ordinary content (television shows, music, movies, etc.) into a sales juggernaut! The products rarely ignited the revolution their backers predicted, however. That’s because the technology didn’t actually work, the industry didn’t buy into the concept or the public was content with what it had. So when 3ality Digital of Burbank, RealD of Beverly Hills and the National Football League announced plans to screen a pro football game live in 3-D for the first time ever, I was intrigued but skeptical. The game they chose -- the hapless Oakland Raiders versus the erratic San Diego Chargers -- posed what seemed like the perfect test. If 3-D could make a clunker like that compelling, perhaps it really was transformative.

On Thursday, I joined dozens of other journalists and industry insiders at Mann’s Chinese 6, one of three RealD-equipped theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston chosen to show the game. The contest was just as bad as expected, with the Chargers embarrassing the Raiders, 34-7. The visuals, however, were something else. After putting a pair of polarized specs over my customary glasses, I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen. Adding the third dimension made it possible to see the game much as those on the field did, which was a revelation. Instead of flattening players against the screen, it showed the spaces around them. I watched holes open for running backs, felt the speed of the action, saw the true enormity of the linemen.

Rather than popping images off the screen and into viewers’ laps, the 3ality Digital crew used the technology mainly to push the action deeper into the screen. The result was more clarity, more ability to pick out details in crowded scenes and to follow individual players through clumps of bodies. But if the details revealed by 3-D aren’t interesting, the technology alone won’t draw viewers in the long run. Once the novelty wears off, what you’re left with is, in essence, a change in perspective.

And that’s probably not enough to persuade the public to pay higher ticket prices or buy special TV equipment to watch 3-D, unless companies such as 3ality and RealD marry their technology to stronger content than a game between also-ran teams. The success of recent 3-D movies is due largely to the appeal of the films themselves -- the Hannah Montana 3-D concert film would probably have sold a few tickets in 2-D too. Backers of the technology say its “immersive” nature adds to the emotional impact of the material. But even with the magic of 3-D, there wasn’t enough emotion or impact in the Raiders-Chargers game to keep me in my seat past halftime.

-- Jon Healey