Courtesy USA Today

(January 9, 2009) You weren't reminded to turn off your cellphone in the Marquee Cinema theater showing Fox's 3-D coverage of Thursday's BCS title game.

After the crowd stood for the national anthem, it felt free to hoot — and sometimes groan when camera shots swiveled too fast and made you feel as if one of your eyes wasn't in sync with the other.

Based on 3-D testing, Fox avoided overhead shots that showed much of the field, in part because the 3-D effect is lost the farther the cameras are from the action. But game coverage that relied heavily on close-ups at times left you wondering what was happening on the field.

Fox announcer Kenny Albert, part of Fox's production crew devoted solely to its 3-D coverage — around the USA, prices ranged from $18-$20 — played up the novelty. He noted a snap "was high even in 3-D" and asked "does it hurt more in 3-D?"

For viewers, it sometimes did.

On-screen graphics were sometimes a bit jarring with the on-field action. Quick camera movements, which Fox had planned to avoid, were dizzying. But Fox, which planned to focus on tight shots for 3-D, made viewers feel they were on the sidelines or even on the field.

Said Reggie Thompson, a viewer from Lorton, Va., "forget about how they do it — it's jacked up. But it works better if you're glasses are upside-down."

Others in the audience echoed that opinion.