2D vs 3D: spot the difference

The term 2D and 3D are used to indicate dimensions. 2D stands for Two-Dimensional, whereas 3D stands for Three-Dimensional. 

2d vs 3d

Okay, let’s begin with 2D

2D represents an object in just two dimensions, while 3D represents it in three dimensions. 2D shapes can be summarized by calling them flat shapes. Any shape that can be laid flat on a piece of paper or any mathematical plane is a 2D shape, we can move left and right like in one dimension, but also forwards and backward!

Sidescroll games are a good example of 2d. Areas do exist here, but volumes still don’t. As a child, your first drawings probably used basic shapes, such as squares, triangles, and circles.

Try to see things in 3-Dimensions

It is best to think of it with an example. A car has three dimensions. In fact, everything in our reality is three-dimensional. It has length, width, and height; however, a photograph of a car or a drawing of a car has only two dimensions. In the photo or drawing, one can only see and measure length and height, whereas the depth or width is indistinguishable.

From a creative perspective, the third dimension creates a conceptualization of space that has yet to be exploited in 3D movies: volume. The view frustum defined by depth perception through the frame of the screen is containment of space begging to be used creatively.

But movie makers still think of 3D as a tack-on effect and are still making 2D movies with added depth even when they shoot with stereoscopic camera rigs. The memes and tropes of flat screen confinement will not budge.

But this is not the case when we talk about Virtual Reality, here all the advantages of 3D are used to its full potential, but instead what it suffers from is a need for high pixel density. There is a big difference between feeling surrounded and feeling within. Flatlander narrative devices can be awkwardly imposed upon a surrounding volume but within a subsuming environment, they will feel like psychosis.

2D vs 3D: The More Pixels the Better

With the understanding that VR technology only really displays the immediate 90 degrees horizontally and vertically in front of the viewer, it’s important to understand that the resolution of that video directly impacts the viewer’s experience.

If the video is shot on a 2K 360 video camera, it’s not quite the video quality that it sounds! 2K resolution means that the image is 2,000 by 1,000 pixels. Since they can only see a 90-degree sliver of the image at any time, they’re only seeing an image 500 pixels wide. That’s only 20 pixels wider than a standard definition television. Imagine the difference between a Commodore 64 and a brand new high definition 4K TV.

The Difference is clear

That’s a very visible difference. True 4K resolution in a 360 video means that 4K resolution needs to apply directly to that 90 degrees that are visible in the HMD. 360Rize Video Gear uses that 2K image as the starting line, and it can go as high as 16,000 pixels wide by 8,000 pixels high – which provide a true 4K viewing experience for the whole 360-degree image.

So to get the best result VR experience we need to be able to have hardware and content that can give us higher resolution as well as maximum pixel density.