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Reality check for 3D Technology in the home By: DJ Taylor February 8, 2010 We just returned from the Consumer Electronic Show (CES), which is the largest electronic show in the world. The biggest buzz was 3D technology. It was being made to be a new innovation, but in reality-- 3D TV is an old concept with some new technology. My question is; “Who cares and does anybody really want to buy it?” Walking down the aisles of the condensed version of CES, you would have thought that this 3D stuff was the going to be bigger than man walking on the moon. In 2009, Avatar was released and it has become the Top Grossing film of all time (without adjusting for inflation) and seems to be the catalyst for 3D technology in the home. I have lived through the Beta vs. VHS and recently the HD vs. Blu-Ray. Is this another industry ploy (some might say development) just to extract funds from consumer’s pockets? Time will tell if our industry is being premature. As I see it, bringing home 3D will be an uphill battle. The three biggest challenges to 3D will be: lack of 3D content (initially), expensive equipment upgrades, and wearing silly glasses. Let’s examine this new world by answering a few questions. Does everyone watching a 3D TV need to wear the glasses? Yes, every person sitting around the 3D TV must wear the glasses to see the 3D effect. Without glasses the image on the screen will appear doubled, distorted and mostly unwatchable. Do I need a new TV? Yes. None of the current HDTV’s can be upgraded to support the new 3D formats. So that year old TV you just purchased will need to be replaced. Do I need a new Blu-ray player, cable box, game console, or AV receiver? Yes. To date there are no manufactures of Blu-ray players with the ability to upgrade to 3D. The only exception to this is the Sony PS3 (Sony will have a firmware update in 2010). The cable providers (Direct TV, Dish Network, Cox cable, and others) could become creative and develop a similar upgrade for their hardware. As for the AV receivers, they will need to be replaced to allow switching for HDMI 1.4 to pass 3D. Can I use my existing HDMI cables? No. To receive full 1080p resolution in both eyes, all of the devices involved need HDMI 1.4 connections or better. Yes, there is already a newer standard on the horizon. Can the 3D feature on new 3D TV’s be turned off? Yes. All of the TV makers we spoke to at CES said that their sets would display current 2D content without problems. Will 3D TV’s be available this year? Yes. You can expect TV’s to be available late this year and into next year. Some of the manufactures have announced sets for late this year are: Panasonic, Sony, Samsung, LG, Vizio and Toshiba. We are sure others will follow. Will there be sets available that will not require glasses? Yes. We saw two manufactures showing 3D TV’s sets without the need of glasses. The sets were prototypes with no word on when they will be available for the public. However, they lack the depth of field that wearing the 3D glasses gives you. What do you think? Are you willing to upgrade to 3D at home? Some are looking forward to it, while others seem indifferent. I am for the latter. We do live in an interesting time, but the roll-out of 3D to home users could be hampered by its noted shortcomings. However, the push is already on to make this a reality and the home electronics industry cheer$. While it’s a cool technology, one has to wonder is this a mere marketing gimmick (see: fad) or could it have staying power? I say wake me when we get a holographic display- then I’ll be more impressed. |
