3D TV is safe for your eyes.
A 3D TV may leave your wallets high and dry but your eyes will come out unscathed. At least that’s what Australian Ophthalmologists would like us to believe. That there is no ill effect on the eye from viewing 3D TV.
Professor Colin Clifford is considered to be an authority on the processes of brain and its interpretation of the signals it receives from the eye. And he has gone on record saying the risk to the eye as posed by the 3D TV is as much as it is in the case of a flat screen conventional TV.
The normal fear psychosis that comes with a new home entertainment system is what he attributes the present apprehension on 3D TV viewing and its ill effects to.
As per him “The concern about 3DTV originates with the development a couple of years ago, of virtual reality goggles which have tiny screens right in front of both eyes which present a slightly different image to each eye.”
That technology as per Prof Clifford did force each eye to focus on a point that was in close proximity whereas the brain would be receiving images of the objects that appeared to be far away.
As the eye would be forced to visualize objects in an unnatural manner, this would also cause the brain system to go into a state of confusion. This caused injury to the eye.
Prof Clifford goes on to clarify saying “As 3DTV is usually watched from a longer distance it is unlikely to affect how the eyes and brain perceive depth of field. The human visual system responds to a great many different cues in order to interpret the depth of what it is seeing. It is not likely to be confused by a single cue – a 3D picture which is in fact being projected on a flat screen.”
This argument by Prof Clifford actually places 3D television to be causing fewer problems for the brain’s interpretation of signals received from the eye than the ordinary 2D TV does.
Limiting the time of viewing TV, and also ensuring to maintain a distance of three meter while viewing, is the only advice he offers to viewers.
His advice was especially meant for the children fraternity who watch TV for excessive time since their brain and eyes are still in development stages and such long time viewing could affect their sense of depth.
Covering one eye while watching an ordinary TV was a close simulation of 3D viewing. “By covering the second eye, you lose the cue from that eye that tells you the screen are in fact flat and so the image appears more in-depth and realistic,” said Prof Clifford.
The Vision Center where the Professor is at has been funded by the Australian Research Council as the ARC Centre of Excellence in Vision Science.
Sovan Mandal is the senior tablet and tech corespondent for goodereader.com and 3D Specialist. He brings a international approach to news that is not just applicable to the North American market, but also Asia, India, Europe and others. Sovy brings his own writing flavor to the website and is interested in Science Fiction, Technology and Writing. Any questions, send an email
