3D Blu-ray reaches parts other video formats cannot reach, claim scientists

According to Home Cinema Choice this morning, scientists from Mindlab International Ltd at the Sussex Innovation Centre in Brighton have collected scientific evidence suggesting that 3D Blu-ray is the most engaging and emotional home entertainment format.

The Mindlab people showed 24 test subjects (12 men and 12 women) DVD, 2D Blu-ray and 3D Blu-ray clips while monitoring their reactions to what they were watching in terms of heart rate, skin conductance, and brain activity. And the results showed this:

1. On average, subjects were 12% more attentive when watching Blu-ray 3D than they were with 2D Blu-ray and 17% more attentive when watching a 2D Blu-ray than they were watching a DVD.

2. Emotional response readings ‘significantly increased’ when watching Blu-ray versus DVD, topping out at an 8% increase when watching 3D Blu-ray versus normal DVD.

3. Subjects were a whole 7% (ooh, count ‘em) more engaged when watching 3D Blu-ray than they were while watching a 2D Blu-ray, and 12% more engaged when watching 2D Blu-ray over DVD. Probably the single most impressive stat from this research, though, found subjects to be 18% more engaged in the 3D Blu-ray clip than they were in the 2D DVD clip.

While the use of just 24 subjects can hardly make this a truly comprehensive study, it’s certainly an interesting little addition to the whole ‘is 3D the best thing since the invention of colour or just a waste of space?’ argument.