My local theater is an “8 plex” (octoplex?) and they’ve recently started giving the patron a choice on 3 D : For movies that are in 3 D, you can either buy a ticket for the 3 D showing OR the 2 D showing-your choice. We have been shunning the 3 D option and going with the regular version as too many 3 D films have NOT been improved by the 3 D-in fact, many seemed too darkly lit(hard to see what’s going on onscreen) , the 3 D seems to be used as a substitute for a plot, character development, or anything else you’d like in a film, and most of the time , it’s not real 3 D any way, just computer simulation of 3 D inserted post filming, and that looks even worse than true 3 D which we don’t like in the first place! We bought a 48” flat panel HDTV 1080p in 2009-no way in h—l are we going to replace it with a 3 D tv, and I wonder how many people who *like* 3 D will feel compelled to replace their flat panels, in this economy. No Mr. TV Manufacturer, we *won’t* pretend it’s 2005, just because you want us to!
The current 3D technology inherently darkens the image because of the lens. What's apparently happening now is that the theater owners, to save money, aren't swapping out the 3D lenses for 2D lenses when showing 2D movies, darkening those as well.
Lens-Gate: Exhibitors' Failure To Swap Out 3D Filters Casting Theaters In Poor Light