I'll Sit Out This Upgrade

I have no desire to see the new movie Avatar. Seems a little long, too dependent on special effects for my tastes and the constant over-hyping of it has turned me off. Plus, something about James Cameron bugs me, even if I can't tell you exactly what it is. However, it's supposed to be stunning visually and even better if you can find your way to a theatre that is showing it in 3-D. That's right, 3-D is back in our lives. Personally, I didn't miss it all that much. I mean, it was always around with the occasional movie "event" in 3-D, but now it seems that it is back to stay. On the strength of movies like Avatar and the advances made in home theatre systems and with high-definition TVs, a few of the major cable channels (Discovery and ESPN just to name two) have announced that they will soon be able to broadcast certain shows in 3-D. Oh good, cause what I want most in life is Merrill Hodge coming out of my TV to tell me why he still thinks Jay Cutler is better than Vince Young.

I just have to say, I'm all set with skipping this latest technology fad. Normally I am all for new electronics and gadgets that will enhance my viewing pleasure. I love it when new video game systems come out and the switch to high-definition TVs has made watching sports all the more enjoyable. But, I don't think that I need 3-D in my home. I'm perfectly fine with the crystal-clear picture I get from HD and I don't need to feel like Tom Brady's pass is meant for me. Also, didn't we just get to high-definition a couple years ago? Seems like we're sliding past HD and Blu-Ray and moving as fast as we can to yet another fad. Is it suddenly going to be that Blu-Ray is like laser discs, which were supposed to be the next big thing, until DVDs came out and we all realised that laser disc stunk in comparison?

We're not even all the way into HD yet. I know of several stations that still do not even broadcast in HD, so what are the odds that I'm going to have a lot of channels that will be willing to broadcast in 3-D right away? I just wonder if buying a new TV for the sake of 3-D would be a terrible investment. I just hope that this doesn't become one of those things that I have no choice but to follow as so many things start to be broadcast in 3-D that if you don't have a TV capable of receiving the signal it instead just looks like the convergence on your TV is always off. That's how they eventually made the shift over to DVD, they just stopped putting stuff out on VHS. Also, I find it ironic that, as more and more people have Lasik with the intention of being able to stop wearing glasses, we keep finding ways for people to have to put glasses back on.