It’s October, and that means I’m looking for all the terror I can get. Horror is one of my favorite movie genres, so I watch it year-round, but now I have an excuse to do it. It’s nice to dive into some of the staples this time of year — Halloween, Friday the 13th, and The Nightmare on Elm Street. These franchises have several entries, all wildly varying in quality, but they’re classics for a reason.
I have a soft spot for Friday the 13th Part 3. No, it’s not very good, but it’s the one where Jason gets his mask for the first time. For a moment so iconic, it’s always funny to come back to this one and realize that it was filmed with 3D in mind. I’m not talking about the Avatar movies, where a 3D conversion enhances the experience. No, in Friday the 13th Part 3, you get egregious 3D placement, like a yo-yo coming right at you or Jason shooting a harpoon at the screen. I’m sure this was revolutionary for its time, but it sticks out like a sore thumb now.
I’ve had the Blu-ray of this movie for a long time now, but I’ve never actually sat down and watched it in 3D. This version of the film doesn’t require a 3D TV or a projector. This is anaglyph 3D, which means you just need a pair of those blue and red glasses. So, I picked up a set, popped in the disc, and started watching. I already mentioned that this one wasn’t one of my favorites to begin with, and these glasses didn’t help.
Blu-ray and DVD technology
Trivia challenge
From spinning discs to high-definition glory — how much do you really know about Blu-ray and DVD?
HistoryHardwareFormatsCapacityStandards
In what year was the DVD format officially launched for consumer use?
That’s right! DVD was officially launched in Japan in November 1996, before rolling out to North America in 1997. The format was developed by a consortium of major electronics companies including Sony, Panasonic, and Philips.
Not quite — DVD launched in Japan in November 1996. It then made its way to North American markets in 1997, quickly displacing VHS as the dominant home video format over the following years.
What colour laser does a standard Blu-ray player use to read discs?
Correct! Blu-ray players use a blue-violet laser with a wavelength of 405nm. This shorter wavelength compared to the red laser used in DVDs allows data to be packed much more densely on the disc surface.
The answer is blue-violet, with a wavelength of 405nm. This is actually what gives Blu-ray its name. The shorter wavelength compared to the red laser in DVDs is what enables the significantly higher storage capacity.
What is the storage capacity of a standard single-layer Blu-ray disc?
Spot on! A single-layer Blu-ray disc holds 25GB of data. Dual-layer discs double that to 50GB, while newer BDXL triple-layer discs can hold up to 100GB, making them ideal for 4K Ultra HD content.
The correct answer is 25GB for a single-layer Blu-ray disc. Dual-layer discs hold 50GB, which is why most feature films are released on dual-layer media to accommodate high-bitrate video and lossless audio tracks.
Which format did Blu-ray defeat in the high-definition disc format war of the mid-2000s?
Exactly right! Blu-ray defeated HD DVD in a format war that concluded in early 2008. The turning point came when Warner Bros. announced it would exclusively support Blu-ray, prompting Toshiba to discontinue HD DVD shortly after.
The correct answer is HD DVD, backed primarily by Toshiba and Microsoft. The format war ended in February 2008 when Toshiba officially discontinued HD DVD after Warner Bros. threw its exclusive support behind Blu-ray.
What is the maximum video resolution supported by a standard Blu-ray disc (not Ultra HD)?
That’s correct! Standard Blu-ray supports up to 1080p (Full HD) resolution at up to 60 frames per second. It was a massive leap over DVD’s 480p standard definition, and helped drive widespread adoption of HD televisions.
Standard Blu-ray tops out at 1080p Full HD resolution. This was a significant upgrade over DVD’s 480p and helped establish the format as the premium home video choice — until 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray arrived to raise the bar again.
Which company originally developed the DVD format alongside JVC, Sony, and others?
Correct! Philips was one of the founding members of the DVD Consortium alongside Sony, Panasonic, Hitachi, JVC, and others. Philips had already co-developed the CD format with Sony, so its involvement in DVD was a natural progression.
The answer is Philips, which co-developed the DVD standard alongside Sony, Panasonic, JVC, and Hitachi among others. Philips had significant experience in optical disc technology, having previously co-invented the CD with Sony back in the early 1980s.
What laser wavelength does a standard DVD player use to read discs?
Well done! DVD players use a red laser with a wavelength of 650nm. This is shorter than the 780nm infrared laser used in CD players, allowing DVDs to store more data, but longer than Blu-ray’s 405nm laser which enables even denser storage.
DVD players use a 650nm red laser. For comparison, CD players use a 780nm infrared laser, while Blu-ray uses a 405nm blue-violet laser. The progression to shorter wavelengths is what has driven increases in optical disc storage capacity over the decades.
What does the acronym ‘BD-ROM’ stand for in Blu-ray terminology?
Correct! BD-ROM stands for Blu-ray Disc Read-Only Memory. It is the standard format used for commercially pressed Blu-ray movies and games, as opposed to BD-R (recordable) or BD-RE (rewritable) formats used for home recording.
BD-ROM stands for Blu-ray Disc Read-Only Memory. This is the pre-pressed, non-recordable format you find on commercial movie and game releases. The Blu-ray family also includes BD-R for write-once recording and BD-RE for rewritable discs.
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A middling movie made even worse
This does not hold up
I guess I’ll confess right now and say that Part 6 might be the only good movie in the franchise, but that doesn’t mean I don’t find things to like in all of the entries. Part 3 specifically feels like it was made to showcase 3D, and that came at the expense of everything else. There are so many scenes put in the movie solely for the purpose of showing off the technology. Maybe if I were watching the movie in an actual movie theater with a proper 3D conversion instead of using these stupid glasses, it would’ve been better. I spent the whole movie readjusting the cardboard glasses on my face, and I don’t know if they’re meant to put a tint over the whole movie, but that’s what they did.
It’s definitely fun to try out the novelty of these glasses at home, but it feels like one of those situations where it’s better in your head. I don’t regret watching the movie in this way, but I think you’d get a better experience watching it without the glasses. Fortunately, my Blu-ray disc gives you the choice of one or the other. At the very least, I’m intrigued and would be open to trying out more anaglyph 3D films, just to see if I like them better. I’d like to find a more comfortable pair of glasses if they’re out there too.
If you want to try this out for yourself, it’s not hard to track down a copy of Part 3 in 3D. It’s available on both DVD and Blu-ray on Amazon, but you will need to pick up a pair of those red and blue glasses with it. Those aren’t too expensive either, and maybe you’ll end up going down a rabbit hole and track down all the other anaglyph 3D Blu-ray releases you can find. There are actually quite a few out there, so it could become a fun little hobby for a few months.
There’s a better way to experience it in 3D
But you need the right equipment
On the Scream Factory release of Friday the 13th Part 3, you can experience the movie in 3D free from your anaglyph glasses. This is the standard way of viewing 3D movies at home, as it’s printed on an actual 3D Blu-ray disc. The Blu-ray.com review says it’s a big improvement over the prior 3D method, but that comes with the drawback of needing a way to watch something like this at home.
Hardly anybody has a 3D TV these days, but there are some ways around that. VR headsets are a good way to watch a movie in 3D, so if you have a PSVR, that could be a good path forward. It’s a lot of trouble for a single movie, but if you have other 3D movies you want to watch, it might be worth grabbing a VR headset. I haven’t seen Part 3 in this way, and I really don’t think I ever will. However, the option is there, and it seems to be what people would generally say is the better way forward. I’ll probably stick to the regular Blu-ray experience going forward, and more likely, I’ll leave this film on the back burner for the next several Octobers.
