Would you have bought your TV if it came with a warning to "take frequent breaks" to keep from experience nauseating side effects? That's what Samsung, which already has 3D televisions on shelves, is recommending users do to keep from succumbing to "motion sickness, perceptual after effects, disorientation, eye strain and decreased postural stability." It all sounds like a list on drug ad.
The list goes on: children and teenagers should be "closely supervised" as they are more susceptible to the disorienting effects of 3D TV, and "pregnant women, the elderly, sufferers of serious medical conditions, those who are sleep deprived or under the influence of alcohol should avoid utilising the unit's 3D functionality." In other words, if you're any of those things, Samsung is pretty much saying to pass on 3D television.
The culprit here is largely the shutter glasses used to view a 3D image, which have lenses that alternatively become dark and then transparent in rapid succession, synced with a TV display showing alternating perspectives. As such, that flickering can also trigger epileptic seizures, or, worse, "be physically harmful to you and may weaken your eyesight" if worn when not viewing a 3D image. Hope your eyes don't start to wander!
As if the list wasn't long and terrifying enough, Samsung has one last word of advice: "Viewing in 3-D may cause disorientation for some viewers. Accordingly, DO NOT place your TV television near open stairwells, cables, balconies, or other objects that can be tripped over, run into, knocked down, broken or fallen over."
Gotcha! So, watch my 3D TV in a big empty room, keep my eyes on the screen at all times, and make sure that I'm in absolutely peak physical shape. Sounds like a good way to enjoy the ol' boob tube to me.
You can see the full list for yourself here (PDF download).
Via CNN
