Surveying The 3D TV Landscape - Early 2011 Developments & Prospects..

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Surveying The 3D TV landscape - Early 2011 Developments & Prospects

In spite of a significant increase of interest in 3D TV and 3D TV technologies in general, 2010 ended with reports of flat sales from some of the leading manufacturers. The question could be - are we more likely to buy a 3D TV now than this time last year? Well, that interest is far from declining, and in fact the first few weeks of 2011 has seen just as much focus on 3D TV as 2010 did. Although sales may not have been quite as expected so far, the manufacturers are already announcing multiple new models for the coming year. On top of this it might be surprising to learn that the majority of these new 3D TV models are of the type that require the use of 3D glasses.

This aspect of the development curve that requires the wearing of special glasses by the viewer is one which has seen heated comment and debate, both from within the industry and from consumers via blogs and 3D TV forums. There has been much interest in the growth of 3D TV without glasses technology, and although small screen models are already on sale from Toshiba in Japan, it looks as if the arrival of affordable, high quality, big screen �no glasses 3D TV� is some way off. 2011 may still see the arrival of some models. What it will see is growth in the mobile arena, with the March release of the Nintendo 3DS all set to explode 3D entertainment into public consciousness.

Mobile 3D TVs are already under development, with leading manufacturers such as LG showing off their prototypes at CES 2011. With the benefit of small screen technology delivering high quality 3D imaging at a reasonable price, mobile 3D TV could turn out to be a major part of future mass consumer acceptance.

As we said, it might be surprising that with glasses new models are still being developed - and we might well ask why?

The answer appears to lie in �competitive advantage�. It could well be a testament to the burning belief from the 3D TV manufacturers that 3D television - and all the associated spin offs in 3D games, laptops, monitors, etc - remains a key part of the future path of home entertainment. Those manufacturers cannot be seen to lose ground on competitors. Even with the debate over whether with glasses or without glasses will ultimately win out, they must maintain a competitive position in a market which analysts are now predicting could reach a sales value of $100 billion by the start of 2015.

Alternatively, some of the issues that plague acceptance of 3D glasses look to have solutions on the way. Models that use cheaper passive glasses are on the increase, reducing cost (though at the risk of losing some quality), and the higher quality active glasses developments are seeing a focus on those that can be used with different makes of TV. Some of the 3D TV health warnings we've seen have not been disproved, but available evidence suggests that reasonably limited use will not cause long term issues.

Of course, one other area of concern is in content. Although 2010 did see the broadcasting in 3D of the World Cup, along with some other sporting events, in general the availability of 3D content was not as high as required. 2011 will be different. Sales of 3D Blu Ray players and movies on 3D DVD are on the increase, the public appetite for high quality 3D movie cinema experiences continues unabated, and 3D gaming is about to explode with the arrival of the Nintendo 3DS and increase in available Sony PS3 3D games. Microsoft are tagging onto the 3D interest and the first Xbox 3D games may not be as far off as once thought. Extra content is also going to come from new dedicated 3D TV networks.

One of the obstacles to the overall success of 3D TV may lie in the alternatives. Internet connected TV is expected to be popular. Technology is moving so fast that we�re heading for the dream of connected everything - interaction through the TV with the internet, plus connected mobile phones and other devices.

It isn�t far-fetched to say that we may not be far away from the point where we don�t say �3D TV� and we don�t say �internet connected or smart TV�. We just say TV, because that�s what we all expect a TV to be capable of.