Before the release of Avatar in December, nerves must have been high in the AV industry about their upcoming 3D announcements at CES 2010.
Sure, there were a number of 3D-related movies on the roster. But while UP, Monsters Versus Aliens and A Christmas Carol were all a successes, they gently rocked the box-office boat rather than setting it on fire.
To break box-office records, it would need somebody who was well aware of creating big movies. That somebody was James Cameron.
Now that Avatar is the second biggest movie of all time – with Cameron's Titanic still in number-one spot – the proliferation of 3D announcements at CES makes complete sense to the mainstream media.
But look beyond the deeply flawed idea that whatever 3D success is happening in the cinema at the moment can be echoed in the home and what you have is a nervous TV industry looking to 3D as a saviour.
The AV industry has been pushing the idea of 3D in the home for some time now (both Sony and Panasonic chose IFA 2009 to pledge allegiance) but CES 2010 will be remembered for its 3D slant.
But why 3D and why now? A lot of it has to do with the muted response to Blu-ray by consumers, and the industry looking for the next big thing after HDTV.
Yes, HD is bigger than ever and more people have HD-ready sets in their homes, but prices have hit rock bottom. You only have to look in your local Asda to see the results of this.
Rock-bottom prices are not great for TV manufacturers. Although they always want TVs to be 'affordable', there needs to be enough space in the pricing to make a profit.
3D TV is perfect for money-making. Sony, one of the big guns in the 3D world, is to start making 3D-Ready badges for its upcoming range of TVs. Each TV with one of these badges will cost significantly more that a non-3D version being released.
Even though there will be a significant lack of 3D media to play on your 3D TVs, you have to remember that this hasn't stopped consumers buying an HDTV before they have anything that pipes out HD content to plug to the telly. Consumers love a bit of future proofing now and again.
Your comments (5) Click to add a new comment
rickmonkeyboy
January 28th 2010
5. The whole worlds gone 3D Crazy!! Now 3D football, I dare not think whats next!!
Here's more 3D news for your viewing pleasure!
http://www.themusicvoid.com/2010/01/ces-3d-tv/
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hss1
January 17th 2010
4. Can't wait seen a demo of the Panasonic VT25 3D plasma and it looks amazing, 3D makes you the Movie experience more immersive you actually feel like you are in the Movie.
I think to begin with 3D will be a niche market for high end TV's but as the whole range, more movies and TV programs are produces this will be mass market by around 2013.
HD TV is looking a bit dated now its been out for 10 years now!!! 4KSuper HD and 12:9 widescreen is actually round the corner launching in South Korea and japan this year.
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tech89
January 14th 2010
3. It is way too soon to bring 3D TV's out.
Technological advancements are moving incredibly fast that if you went and bought one now, it would be out of date in a year or two's time.
Plus, HDTVs are the market at the moment with HD material still struggling to break through, and I can only guess that 3D material would struggle even more (wearing glasses at the movies is OK, but at home it's just a nuisance).
Oh, and all the TV manufacturers have spent the past 3 years encouraging people to upgrade to HDTVs so there is going to be many less people who are looking to upgrade their TV nowadays.
A bit of idiocy on the TV manufacturers part, in that they have saturated the portion of the market in the last few years where people would upgrade their sets.
If they did bring out 3D TVs this would drive the price of HDTVs down a lot and anger a fair number of people who have just splashed out on a new set.
Technology companies don't seem to ever get release dates correct for successor devices.
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caimbeul
January 13th 2010
2. I bought a nw 46" LCD just over a year ago and paid £1500...There is no way in hell that SWMBO would let me spend that kind of money again for many years to come nor would I. I have noticed a trend amongst tech companies over the las t few years and that is to push new standards every 5 mins before the previous one has really caught on. Look how long CD's and DVD's have been around. It is also hugely dmaging to the environment as many people get rid of fully functional equipment when upgrading.
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d4lien
January 13th 2010
1. I wonder if people who cannot experience 3D, due to various eye issues, can claim discrimination if they ever do away with bland old 2D screens?
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