QOTW: How do you prefer to watch movies: 2D or 3D?

[Ttaskmaster]

Right...we're on about movies at home or out - so lowest common denominator. TV's still have much lower refresh rates and use blanking. People can tell the difference

Some people can tell the difference. Doesn't change the fact that cinemas use 144Hz refresh, which is why they're more popular.

The photograph thing...your brain interpolates images from both eyes... try wearing an eyepatch and walking around for a couple of weeks or driving and see how you fair.

Just fine.
People with one eye will still see the same photo and the same details and the same depth cues... because it is 2D. The content doesn't change in any way.
The only time having one eye makes a difference is in stereoscopic acuity, for which you need two eyes and for which people with only one eye still use the same depth cues to perceive as with the flat photo.

Also you are saying you have a great refresh rate, but movies are still using lower frame rates (unless you are talking about the Hobbit etc.) especially when presented in the home environment.

What they are filmed at and what they are shown at are two different things. Standard rate is 24fps, which is then (at least) doubled to 48fps for 3D. Most TVs can manage 60Hz and old CRTs were around 72Hz, IIRC. 24 (per eye) is all you need for persistence of vision, though, and shooting higher can rob you of that much needed motion blur, in effect simulating too high a resolution, thus flooding you with too much detail and 'over-immersing' you. This, combined with the usual focal mis-adoption and framing errors will more than likely lead to headaches.

Your brain has spent years finetuning itself to use both eyes. Faking 3D in any form unless like your vive it presents 2 wholly different images at the same time to each eye will result in some information loss. Same as encoding the movie. This is why makers are pushing towards 4K sets etc. etc.

Ah, so giving us 4K will give us much more information and make the image better at our 24fps, yes?

Nope - 4K is around 8.8 megapixels (depending on brand). NASA pegs the human eye at 576 megapixels, but then dials it back down to just 7 useful ones, with the average foveal vision about 2º from centre. We are getting 8K soon and 16K is already on the cards. That's 132 megapixels, of which 7 are of any good.

But it makes no difference how high a resolution you put on the screen. Put up two million megapixels if you like - Framerates and refreshes, along with various filming techniques like motion blurring, are what define how readily a still image is perceived as smooth motion by the average human eye, and your brain has had up to 6 decades of watching footage at about 25fps interlaced on 60Hz screens.
Resolution has nothing to do with it and even at 120fps, nay 300fps, there will be some people who can see 'through the frames'. Again, we're going back to filming and displaying correctly within an acceptable range for what is considered teh average viewer.

Oh and as regards the cinema..yes higher framerates and such but I can still discern the blanking effect. I know I have to focus harder to see the 3D and it makes me more tired. Mileage varies between people and that's why it's not as easy as saying.

If it's THAT bad that 72fps per eye is unwatchable for you, then I assume old CRTs were so flickery that you lived with a permanent migraine, or that you're just exceptionally perceptive. Fighter pilots have identified single frame images at over 200fps - Are you a fighter pilot?
Sounds more like another combination of factors, both medical and filmographical.
The average human can perceive smooth motion at just 18fps, if it's filmed properly.

Oh and the 144hz argument.... movies are never encoded to you in such high refresh rates or frame rates, which ARE different at home.

Apparently BluRay 3D is encoded slightly higher than 48fps...

[cima]

Prefer 2D

[jm101]

2d - for sure.

[shaithis]

3D when done right....i.e. Avatar and Gravity (I presume all the Disney/Pixar stuff was good as all that was needed was a second camera added to render the second image but I'm not a fan of kids movies)

Unfortunately, most other films seemed to tack 3D on as an after-thought....leaving a lack-luster finish Hence 3D has died, killed off by people without the vision to use the 3D medium. A shame really and when I purchased a new TV last Christmas, I couldn't get a 4K HDR TV with 3D support.

[peterb]

3D when done right....i.e. Avatar and Gravity (I presume all the Disney/Pixar stuff was good as all that was needed was a second camera added to render the second image but I'm not a fan of kids movies)

Unfortunately, most other films seemed to tack 3D on as an after-thought....leaving a lack-luster finish Hence 3D has died, killed off by people without the vision to use the 3D medium. A shame really and when I purchased a new TV last Christmas, I couldn't get a 4K HDR TV with 3D support.

Avatar was OK, but not very subtle, but it worked because of the nature of the film.

3D is more than just stereoscopic vision, there are other 3D clues as well - stereoscopic vision is really only useful when looking at images relatively close. After that there is more processing based on perspective and experience, which is why I think you can get a very good '3D' image with very high definition images (4K and above)

[FunKoder]

Personally, I am one of the very few who love everything 3D. I love playing games on my new 3DS xl in 3D (though the low resolution is sorta getting to me now that I have a much better PC and I am used to better graphics) and I do love 3D movies. However, that being said, movies which are not shot in 3D are generally not that great (however there are some which I feel do have good 3D, one being amazing spiderman 2) and although I am not put off by them I do feel when watching that there are so many places where the 3D could be so much better.

empireonline's article about the best 3D movies and cinemablend's 'to 3D or not to 3D' are great when deciding what 3D movies to watch (I can't post any links to those sites because I am a new member)
However overall, I really do like watching 3D movies.