As a developer, you might have a general idea how modern 3D games create their scrumptious visuals. It doesn't hurt however to have more specific knowledge, especially if you do any sort of work involving 3D graphics. Even artists will find it beneficial to know how the models and textures they create are transformed into 2D images.

Back in 2010 Sony Australia's Paul Colley forecasted that a large percentage of Australian viewers would have 3D televisions by 2014. In the same year, industry pundits such as Simon Murray predicted that sales of 3D TVs were set to increase in the years to come.

But others were heralding the death of 3D TVs and this year the remaining major manufacturers, LG and Sony, have said they will no longer produce 3D-capable televisions. So despite all the repeated push and positive predictions, what went wrong with 3D TV?

We have some bad news for 3D TV aficionados (all three of you). LG and Sony have both confirmed they will be abandoning 3D TV support in 2017. These two companies were the final holdouts. In other words, it will soon be impossible to buy a 3D TV from a major manufacturer in Australia - and 3D Blu-rays are sure to follow suit.

Gruntier video cards. More powerful CPUs. Higher resolution displays. All this stuff is really important when it comes to enjoying quality 3D experiences, be it video games or virtual reality. But none of it matters if it takes 400 years to download those experiences. Hence why companies such as Google spend a lot of time researching new ways to compress data. Now Google has a new compression library for 3D models -- called "Draco" -- and it looks very promising.

In 2015, 3D was still present in most HD TVs. Not that you'd have known -- advertisements had conspicuously stopped mentioning it. This year, the feature has been quietly killed off by most major manufacturers. After years of trying to convince consumers that 3D was the next big thing, it's finally been consigned to the dustbin of history. Here's why we won't miss it.

One of these images is a live HD video stream of a power drill in stasis. The other is a photo-realistic 3D model built in Nvidia Iray, a 3D renderer for design professionals. Can you tell which is which?

3D printing is really friggin' cool, but promises that we'd all have one in our homes by now have turned out to be less than true. Fortunately, you don't need one of your own to bring your imaginary creations to life.

iOS: Wish you could capture some depth with your photos? Slide's an app that turn photos into short GIFs with a 3D effect.

This week, I was invited to an early-preview screening of Ridley Scott's new science-fiction movie The Martian. Unfortunately, a train delay meant I arrived just as the film was about to start. The massive VMax cinema only had a handful of seats left -- all of which were in the front row. Would stupidly-close 3D enhance the experience or make me want to vomit? There was only one way to find out...

If you like to do any 3D modelling or animation, Pixar's in-house software that's been used for movies like Toy Story, Cars, and recent films like Guardians of the Galaxy is now completely free to download and use.

Television broadcasts in 3D promised to give people an extra dimension in viewing movies, sport and other entertainment but take up of the technology has not been that great. This is not the first time the industry has tried to use television screens to bring 3D to our living rooms. So what's going wrong?

In a world where cloud computing is increasingly important, software often takes centre stage. But when it comes to producing 3D animation, the big money is still in the hardware space.

Foxtel has announced it will close its 3D channel at the end of August. Meanwhile, ABC has made its iview catch-up-service available on the IPTV service Fetch TV. (What the TV industry gives with one hand it takes away with the other.)

This week, we were invited to an advanced screening of Monsters University by Pixar Animation Studios, the follow-up to the Academy Award-winning Monsters Inc. The film is an enjoyable romp for all ages... but does "enjoyable" really cut it when you're paying through the nose? These days, a family trip to the cinema costs around $50 -- and that's if you forgo 3D and the snack bar. So the question is: does Pixar still have what it takes to put your bum in a seat?

The Visual Studio 3D Starter Kit, designed to make adding 3D functionality to games and apps easier, has been extended to include support for Windows Phone 8. (Hey, anyone tempted to build a 3D game and enter it in our apps competition?) Full details and install instructions at the link.

In today's cinema, 3D is almost as synonymous with the movies as popcorn. You simply can't escape it. Even classic films that were released decades ago are getting dusted off for some 3D treatment, alongside an endless stream of shiny comic book movie sequels. If you've been holding off from 3D cinema due to the inflated ticket prices or fear of motion sickness, here are the facts you need to know.

Learning how to program in 3D seems like a really daunting task, but if you've ever wanted design a game, knowing how 3D objects interact with each other is a must-have skill in your portfolio. 3DPL is a programming language built for just that.

Want to enjoy movies and gaming in 3D but don't want to spend a fortune on a big-screen 3D TV? You can rig up two projectors with filters and screen material for a (relatively) budget alternative.

We spent last week learning about the basics of 3D modelling using an application called Rhino 3D. Here's the complete guide that will teach you everything you need to know to get started.