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Guest galenareiki

I haven't read all posts so fingers crossed that I dont duplicate. House of Wax was made in 1953 and was the first grade a 3d film. it was originally shown in the states with stereophonic sound. the director was blind in one eye and could not see the 3d effect.

Mo

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I haven't read all posts so fingers crossed that I dont duplicate. House of Wax was made in 1953 and was the first grade a 3d film. it was originally shown in the states with stereophonic sound. the director was blind in one eye and could not see the 3d effect.

Mo

If he was also deaf in one ear he would not be able to hear the stereophonic sound either lol

Welcome to Sheffield History galenareiki

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I haven't read all posts so fingers crossed that I dont duplicate. House of Wax was made in 1953 and was the first grade a 3d film. it was originally shown in the states with stereophonic sound. the director was blind in one eye and could not see the 3d effect.

Mo

That's right..... Andre de Toth was blind in one eye, and wore an eye patch. Originally from Hungary, he directed many westerns during his Hollywood career.

"House of Wax" was the most famous, and successful film he ever made.

Whilst that movie did have Stereophonic Sound in it's London run at the Warner Theatre, there is no mention of it in the Hippodrome's press advertising in Sheffield.

Nor is there any mention of stereo for it's later CinemaScope movies' runs.

I remember the Stereo was terriffic at the Palace, Union Street, and a great novelty back then.

I can't remember when the Hippodrome installed Stereophonic Sound, if ever!

Can anyone else?

It wasn't the most comfortable of cinemas, nor did it's shape lend itself to Wide Screen presentations.

The Hippodrome's listing in The Star - Sept. 7th, 1954

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This topic increasingly reminds me of an old Hollywood all singing all dancing musical with a song called something like,

"Glorious Technicolour, breathtaking CinemaScope and stereophonic sound"

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This topic increasingly reminds me of an old Hollywood all singing all dancing musical with a song called something like,

"Glorious Technicolour, breathtaking CinemaScope and stereophonic sound"

Actually the song is just called "Stereophonic Sound". I even found the lyrics for it.

Stereophonic Sound

Words and music by Cole Porter

from the 1955 musical Silk Stockings

Today to get the public to attend a picture show

It's not enough to advertise a famous star they know

If you want to get the crowd to come around, You gotta have

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope

and stereophonic sound

If Zanuck's latest picture were the gold old-fashioned kind

There'd be no one in front to look at Marilyn's behind

If you want to hear applauding hands resound, You gotta have

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope

and stereophonic sound

The customers don't like to see the groom embrace the bride

Unless her lips are scarlet and her bosom's five feet wide, in

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope,

or Cinerama, VistaVision, Superscope, or Todd-A-O

and stereophonic sound

and stereophonic sound

You all remember Lassie that beloved canine star

To see her wag her tail the crowds would come from near and far

But at present she'd be just another hound, unless she had

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope

and stereophonic sound

I lately did a picture at the bottom of the sea-

I rassled with an octopus and licked an anchovee

but the public wouldn't care if I had drowned, unless I had

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope

and stereophonic sound

If Ava Gardner played Godiva riding on a mare

The people wouldn't pay a cent to see her in the bare, unless she had

Glorious Technicolor

or Cinecolor or Warnercolor or Pathécolor or Eastmancolor or Kodacolor or any color

and stereophonic sound

As an extra tonic,

Stereophonic sound

There was a time when dancing was so intimate and sleek

A fellow hugged his partner as they cuddled cheek to cheek

Now he doesn't even know if she's around, because they're in

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope

and Stereophonic sound

It's not enough today to see a dancer at his ease

He's gotta throw his back out and come sliding on his knees, he's gotta have

Glorious Russian ballet

or Modern ballet, or English ballet, or Chinese ballet, or Hindu ballet, or Bali ballet, or any ballet

and stereophonic sound

and stereophonic sound

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Will 3D TV ever be any good?

I don't mean technically, - I.m sure modern technology is well up to the job.

I mean aesthetically.

Wouldn't a 3D TV just look like everything was happening inside a Punch & Judy booth?

Effectively you would just be looking "into the box" :unsure:

Just read a report on 3D TV in this months WHICH? magazine.

Says that 3D TV should be on sale by end of 2010, but doesn't say what proportion of the programmes broadcast will be in 3D.

As for quality it says that with a modern HD TV with a large screen the 3D effect is very dramatic and gives a very vivid impression of depth even if the viewer is at an angle to the screen and not straight in front of it

However on the bad side it states that the 3D effect drops off with distance from the screen and that it is best viewed at a distance of about 1.5 metres from the screen, - a lot closer than the more usual 2.5 metres and therefore more likely to cause eyestrain.

Further to this it noted that there was some "ghosting" around the edge of some objects which was visible but which does not happen with a standard 2D picture.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see for ourselves.

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Actually the song is just called "Stereophonic Sound". I even found the lyrics for it.

That's the one Dave.

The movie version of Cole Porter's "Silk Stockings" was released by M.G.M. in 1957, and starred Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse and Janis Paige.

Fred and Janis sang (and danced) the "Stereophonic Sound" number - and very well too !

Although, as was the norm in those days, some of the more "racy" lyrics were re-written.

The film played at the very same Hippodrome in question, from October 14th to 19th, 1957....... in CinemaScope, but (ironically), probably not in Stereophonic Sound !

It still holds up very well too, so, don't miss it next time it's on TV.

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Just read a report on 3D TV in this months WHICH? magazine.

Says that 3D TV should be on sale by end of 2010, but doesn't say what proportion of the programmes broadcast will be in 3D.

I suppose we will just have to wait and see for ourselves.

I think the biggest problem for 3-D at home Dave is going to be the cost of the equipment needed to view it.

I mean - who is going to fork out another several hundred pounds for a new, 3-D ready TV, when the HD sets they have now are not very old ?

It's a lot of money for a five minute novelty "toy".

I can't see it happening, unless they can adapt the TV's we already have.

We shall see ........

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That's the one Dave.

The movie version of Cole Porter's "Silk Stockings" was released by M.G.M. in 1957, and starred Fred Astaire, Cyd Charisse and Janis Paige.

Fred and Janis sang (and danced) the "Stereophonic Sound" number - and very well too !

Although, as was the norm in those days, some of the more "racy" lyrics were re-written.

The film played at the very same Hippodrome in question, from October 14th to 19th, 1957....... in CinemaScope, but (ironically), probably not in Stereophonic Sound !

It still holds up very well too, so, don't miss it next time it's on TV.

Old fashioned perhaps but I just love this type of all singing all dancing Hollywood musical.

..and who better to perform in them than the likes of Fred Astair, Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse, Donald O'Connor, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby,....

The list goes on. They did these numbers to perfection, - both the music and the choreography.

So, the film was in "Breathtaking CinemaScope" but not (at least at the Hippodrome) "Stereophonic Sound", but was it in "Glorious Technicolour"? lol

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I think the biggest problem for 3-D at home Dave is going to be the cost of the equipment needed to view it.

I mean - who is going to fork out another several hundred pounds for a new, 3-D ready TV, when the HD sets they have now are not very old ?

It's a lot of money for a five minute novelty "toy".

I can't see it happening, unless they can adapt the TV's we already have.

We shall see ........

Neither did the report say anything about wearing a pair of 3D specs to view the 3D effect.

I got the impression that it used a different system as light from a TV screen cannot easily be plane polarised and the red - green analglyph system from the 1950's would compromise the picture quality way below modern broadcast standards.

I would have liked more technical details on how the 3D for TV system is going to work.

Or is that still a "patents pending trade secret" between the top manufacturers?

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Old fashioned perhaps but I just love this type of all singing all dancing Hollywood musical.

..and who better to perform in them than the likes of Fred Astair, Ginger Rogers, Cyd Charisse, Donald O'Connor, Gene Kelly, Bing Crosby,....

The list goes on. They did these numbers to perfection, - both the music and the choreography.

So, the film was in "Breathtaking CinemaScope" but not (at least at the Hippodrome) "Stereophonic Sound", but was it in "Glorious Technicolour"?

Me too Dave, those were real Stars, with real talent. Sadly, we shall never see their like again.

They wouldn't know where to start today!

Oh! - yes indeed , "Silk Stockings" was most definitely in Technicolor.

And, if you buy the DVD (Region 1 ,from Amazon), you can still see it all in "Glorious Technicolor, Breathtaking CinemaScope and S-t-e-r-e-o-p-h-o-n-i-c S-o-u-n-d" !

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Neither did the report say anything about wearing a pair of 3D specs to view the 3D effect.

I got the impression that it used a different system as light from a TV screen cannot easily be plane polarised and the red - green analglyph system from the 1950's would compromise the picture quality way below modern broadcast standards.

I would have liked more technical details on how the 3D for TV system is going to work.

Or is that still a "patents pending trade secret" between the top manufacturers?

From what i've seen and read about 3-D TV Dave, you do have to wear glasses to see it.

Take a look at this link and you can read all about it.

And - already, there are complaints about having to wear the glasses - just like in 1953 !

http://www.t3.com/ne...-screens?=43421

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Oh! - yes indeed , "Silk Stockings" was most definitely in Technicolor.

And, if you buy the DVD (Region 1 ,from Amazon), you can still see it all in "Glorious Technicolor, Breathtaking CinemaScope and S-t-e-r-e-o-p-h-o-n-i-c S-o-u-n-d" !

I thought it would be, but as one chorus of the song points out, Technicolour wasn't the only outstanding colour system in use at the time, -

Glorious Technicolor

or Cinecolor or Warnercolor or Pathécolor or Eastmancolor or Kodacolor or any color

and stereophonic sound

A further chorus also indicates that not only CinemaScope offered breathtaking widescreen either, -

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope,

or Cinerama, VistaVision, Superscope, or Todd-A-O

and stereophonic sound

Presumably, as in the song, nothing equalled "Stereophonic Sound" the film must predate quadraphonic sound, surround sound and sensoround (the one that shakes the cinema to pieces with low frequencies)

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From what i've seen and read about 3-D TV Dave, you do have to wear glasses to see it.

Take a look at this link and you can read all about it.

And - already, there are complaints about having to wear the glasses - just like in 1953 !

http://www.t3.com/ne...-screens?=43421

OK, looks like its not going to be here for a while yet and may not stay for long just like in the 1950's.

I won't be rushing down to the shops to buy it anyway.

We don't even have HD TV yet, why do I need HD?

I need glasses to see anything clearly these days so to me a standard definition picture and a HD picture look identical so why waste my money. If I was deaf in one ear I wouldn't bother with stereo would I?

A report today indicated that over 25,000 households in Britain still hold a current TV licence for a black & white TV.

Why not?

If you have an old set that still works, - use it.

Rubbish for watching the snooker :angry: (For those watching in black & white the blue ball is just behind the pink!)

Brilliant for watching "The Black & White Minstrel Show" lol

I still like to keep up to date with latest developments though and know how they work.

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OK, looks like its not going to be here for a while yet and may not stay for long just like in the 1950's.

I won't be rushing down to the shops to buy it anyway.

We don't even have HD TV yet, why do I need HD?

I need glasses to see anything clearly these days so to me a standard definition picture and a HD picture look identical so why waste my money. If I was deaf in one ear I wouldn't bother with stereo would I?

A report today indicated that over 25,000 households in Britain still hold a current TV licence for a black & white TV.

Why not?

If you have an old set that still works, - use it.

Rubbish for watching the snooker :angry: (For those watching in black & white the blue ball is just behind the pink!)

Brilliant for watching "The Black & White Minstrel Show" lol

I still like to keep up to date with latest developments though and know how they work.

Slightly off topic, what happens after digital switch over for people with Black & White licences, can they continue watching digital tv through a set top box on black & white.?

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Slightly off topic, what happens after digital switch over for people with Black & White licences, can they continue watching digital tv through a set top box on black & white.?

I don't see why not.

At present they are recieving the same signal as everyone else, including the colour information.

Their TV set is only capable of interpreting and displaying that signal as a black & white picture.

After digital changeover, with the help of a freeview box, the situation would be no different.

A black and white TV licence currently costs £49 (and NO, - I haven't still got one, - it was in the report I heard)

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OK, looks like its not going to be here for a while yet and may not stay for long just like in the 1950's.

I won't be rushing down to the shops to buy it anyway.

We don't even have HD TV yet, why do I need HD?

I need glasses to see anything clearly these days so to me a standard definition picture and a HD picture look identical so why waste my money. If I was deaf in one ear I wouldn't bother with stereo would I?

A report today indicated that over 25,000 households in Britain still hold a current TV licence for a black & white TV.

Why not?

If you have an old set that still works, - use it.

Rubbish for watching the snooker :angry: (For those watching in black & white the blue ball is just behind the pink!)

Brilliant for watching "The Black & White Minstrel Show" lol

I still like to keep up to date with latest developments though and know how they work.

Went to town to do the Saturday shopping this morning and outside the town hall was a tent advertising Panasonic HD 3D TV and presumably trying to sell it.

An attractive young lady in charge of this stall was giving demonstrations of the HD 3D TV but as I now have to pay by the hour for parking and I needed to buy extra stuff for the bank holiday weekend I didn't have time to take a close look.

Inside the tent they had a large flat screen TV, possibly 42 to 60 inches.

The viewing distance was about a metre (36 inches) so the screen would appear large filling most of your field of vision.

This is much closer than you would normally watch TV.

You do have to wear glasses to watch it. The glasses looked quite big and fancy.

They didn't appear to have coloured lenses and looked like the polarised light type with crossed polarisation polaroid filters.

This is the better, more modern method of creating 3D which preserves the true colours.

If it's going to be there for some time I may try to get a "viewing".

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Modern 3D films like "Jaws 3D" made in the 1980's use a cross polarised polaroid system which overcomes all of the problems of the earlier system so hopefully 3D may one day make a come bavk, - it would work in the cinema but at present polarised light from a TV screen isn't possible and this may be holding the technology up.

Having noted the Panasonic demonstration in town today I am now fairly convinced that HD 3D TV does use polarised light to obtain the 3D effect.

It then occured to me that I was wrong to state "polarised light from a TV screen isn't possible" and that I have known this for over 30 years.

When I was doing my chemistry degree at Hull University in the mid 1970's I was taught and worked with Professor George Grey who at that time was the world's leading expert on the new chemistry of "liquid crystals". He developed new chemicals which were "liquid crystals" for new advanced uses such as the liquid crystal display (LCD) in the new electronic calculators.

Certain liquid crystal molecules had the ability to align in such a way, when an electric current was applied, as to polarise light, but to stop doing so when the current was switched off. This lead directly to the worlds first, black and white LCD displays.

Professor George Grey won the Queen's award for industry for this work in 1985.

I remember in one of his lecture demonstrations him talking about future developments which included colour LCD's to allow production of a flat screen colour TV.

This has since happened but I don't think modern flatscreen TV's use LCD's, they are more likely to use some form of LED's as a TV screen has to give out light, not just reflect it.

However, knowing that LCD colour displays are possible, and knowing that LCD's work by polarising light I should have been able to put the two together and realised that it would be perfectly possible, - and relatively easy, to make 3D TV possible using this system.

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Having noted the Panasonic demonstration in town today I am now fairly convinced that HD 3D TV does use polarised light to obtain the 3D effect.

It then occured to me that I was wrong to state "polarised light from a TV screen isn't possible" and that I have known this for over 30 years.

When I was doing my chemistry degree at Hull University in the mid 1970's I was taught and worked with Professor George Grey who at that time was the world's leading expert on the new chemistry of "liquid crystals". He developed new chemicals which were "liquid crystals" for new advanced uses such as the liquid crystal display (LCD) in the new electronic calculators.

Certain liquid crystal molecules had the ability to align in such a way, when an electric current was applied, as to polarise light, but to stop doing so when the current was switched off. This lead directly to the worlds first, black and white LCD displays.

Professor George Grey won the Queen's award for industry for this work in 1985.

I remember in one of his lecture demonstrations him talking about future developments which included colour LCD's to allow production of a flat screen colour TV.

This has since happened but I don't think modern flatscreen TV's use LCD's, they are more likely to use some form of LED's as a TV screen has to give out light, not just reflect it.

However, knowing that LCD colour displays are possible, and knowing that LCD's work by polarising light I should have been able to put the two together and realised that it would be perfectly possible, - and relatively easy, to make 3D TV possible using this system.

Having mentioned 3D techniques in the 1970's and 80's

What happened to Holographics and the Hologram?

Using LASER light a Hologram was a true 3D image, at the time highly popular novelties.

The Hologram is still with us today mainly as a security device on credit cards and banknotes because they cannot easily be copied.

But I am sure that at one time it was considered that LASER's and Holographics was going to be the way to make 3D TV a reality.

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Having mentioned 3D techniques in the 1970's and 80's

What happened to Holographics and the Hologram?

Using LASER light a Hologram was a true 3D image, at the time highly popular novelties.

The Hologram is still with us today mainly as a security device on credit cards and banknotes because they cannot easily be copied.

But I am sure that at one time it was considered that LASER's and Holographics was going to be the way to make 3D TV a reality.

"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi ...... You are my only hope."

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"Help me Obi Wan Kenobi ...... You are my only hope."

Perhaps its the idea of using LASERs to create the 3D image that put people off the idea

"A LASER !!, You could have someone's eye out with that!" :o

or even

"No, I expect you to die Mr. Bond!" lol

It didn't stop them using lasers in CD, DVD and BluRay machines though did it?

Even if every single device has a big yellow sticker on saying

CAUTION CLASS I LASER PRODUCT

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Went to town to do the Saturday shopping this morning and outside the town hall was a tent advertising Panasonic HD 3D TV and presumably trying to sell it.

An attractive young lady in charge of this stall was giving demonstrations of the HD 3D TV but as I now have to pay by the hour for parking and I needed to buy extra stuff for the bank holiday weekend I didn't have time to take a close look.

Inside the tent they had a large flat screen TV, possibly 42 to 60 inches.

The viewing distance was about a metre (36 inches) so the screen would appear large filling most of your field of vision.

This is much closer than you would normally watch TV.

You do have to wear glasses to watch it. The glasses looked quite big and fancy.

They didn't appear to have coloured lenses and looked like the polarised light type with crossed polarisation polaroid filters.

This is the better, more modern method of creating 3D which preserves the true colours.

If it's going to be there for some time I may try to get a "viewing".

Went to town again today with a bit more time to spare but the "girl from Panasonic" giving HD 3D TV demonstrations outside the town hall had gone.

Instead it has been replaced with a council market in the Peace Gardens and an all Italian market in Fargate.

Having said that, the Panasonic shop is only just across the road on Pinstone Street.

Still didn't get a demo of it in action though.

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Guest varamorphic

I thought it was making a comeback, there have been a few 3D films last year

I think the western you refered to was FORT TI

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I think the western you refered to was FORT TI

Welcome to Sheffield History varamorphic and thanks for the information.

It most probably was Fort Ti as we went through several western films trying to decide what it was and we never came up with that one.

Your name "varamorphic" sounds like some sort of widescreen projection lens so you are probably a film buff, or possibly, like a couple of our other members who regularly post in this section, a projectionist.

Hope you find our posts interesting and informative and that you will continue to post items to share with us.

DaveH

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I thought it would be, but as one chorus of the song points out, Technicolour wasn't the only outstanding colour system in use at the time, -

Glorious Technicolor

or Cinecolor or Warnercolor or Pathécolor or Eastmancolor or Kodacolor or any color

and stereophonic sound

A further chorus also indicates that not only CinemaScope offered breathtaking widescreen either, -

Glorious Technicolor

Breath-taking Cinemascope,

or Cinerama, VistaVision, Superscope, or Todd-A-O

and stereophonic sound

Presumably, as in the song, nothing equalled "Stereophonic Sound" the film must predate quadraphonic sound, surround sound and sensoround (the one that shakes the cinema to pieces with low frequencies)

Presumably, as in the song, nothing equalled "Stereophonic Sound" the film must predate quadraphonic sound, surround sound and sensoround (the one that shakes the cinema to pieces with low frequencies)

Cinerama actually used multi track surround sound. :o

Cinemascope, or Cinerama, VistaVision, Superscope, or Todd-A-O all became obselete and were replaced by Panavision. The reason being the cinema didn't have to change its film projection system. Also the company could supply the film in different aspect ratios. So a Cinema needed only adjust the lens on the projector for the different sizes of movie. For instance the one in Flatt Street had to have a moving screen for cinemascope.

I reckon that means a modern cinema couldn't show a Cinemascope movie properly. The screen wouldn't be curved enough. You get the same effect on TV, even if they letterbox it on widescreen TV. Building angles look wrong. And if you look at Oklahoma! at the Surrey with the fringe on top, it has jack-knifed wheels that still turn! lol

Slightly off topic, what happens after digital switch over for people with Black & White licences, can they continue watching digital tv through a set top box on black & white.?

Any device that picks up colour signals must have a colour licence, this applies to VCR's too. Even if you watch them on a B&W TV. So the answer would appear to be no. I don't know if the licence fee - fee, makes a difference between analog and digital service. But I don't think any box is made just to send out B&W signals so that rule will apply.

PS a B&W set would not have extra components for dealing with colour including seperation of the 3 colours used to make up the image. It would therefore be cheaper to build.

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