3D TV's Tricked Me But Never Again
The second TV I ever bought was a 3D TV, and I was psyched about it. Six months before I got married, I moved out of my aunt and uncle's place and bought a refurbished DLP. It was amazing and huge but only lasted four years until the bulb burned out. It was around 2012, the first TV my wife and I bought together, and I pitched a 3D TV and paid way too much considering our budget.
Reasons why I wanted a 3D TV:
It was the shiny new thing
I thought the future of TV was 3D
I bought into the hype
3D TVs failed for all sorts of reasons, but I like these three learnings from thestreamingwars.tv:
Solve real problems, not imaginary ones. People didn't want this experience in their homes. They would rather just go to the theater for a better 3D experience.
Content is king. There wasn't enough content to make the 3D TV worth it at home. ESPN in 3D wasn't enough from DirectTV. Yes, this was a thing, and I used it when it was available.
Manage expectations. The promise of what 3D would feel like and what it was didn't align. It was cool only for certain movies if done right. The lighting environment, TV size, and distance from the TV had to be perfect. Also, everyone had to have glasses. I had way too many 3D glasses, considering how many people ever experienced the 3D mode.
It wasn't worth all the extra effort. 3D was a cool thing I would show a friend coming over, but it never was practical for our day-to-day TV viewing habits.
What does this have to do with technology and the church?
I learned the hard lesson that cool tech isn't the answer. Ignore all the noise. Focus on using these that only make sense for your church's mission and vision. Don't copy and paste just because someone else is doing it. Only do things that make sense for your community.
I keep a pair of 3D glasses to remind myself of this costly mistake.
What is your 3D TV mistake for your church?
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