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3D TV coming soon to a living room near you
MONTREAL — Now that 3-D movies are in theatres, the next starring role for this digital technology could be the living room.
Major TV makers are moving to 3D TVs, hoping that consumers will want feel like they're almost inside what they're watching but analysts say it could be years before it's mainstream.
Mitsubishi has a 3-D ready TV and Sony and Panasonic are among manufacturers that are expected to hit the consumer market in 2010 with TVs that could cost at least US$5,000.
The manufacturers are following the lead of the movie major studios, which have embraced 3-D with movies like "Monsters vs. Aliens" and "Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs." Analysts say animated movies naturally lend themselves to the format.
Director James Cameron of "Titanic" fame is releasing his widely anticipated 3-D movie, "Avatar," which is part animation and part live action, in December in theatres.
Consumers, who still haven't widely adopted high-definition television, aren't expected to have a lot of choice initially and won't be sitting down to watch their favourite program in 3-D any time soon.
"You're looking at many, many years hence before any kind of typical television programming would be 3-D," said Forrester Research analyst James McQuivey.
What consumers would likely see in 3-D would be sporting events, movies on DVD, video games and pay-per-view concerts, said McQuivey, principal analyst in media technology.
"A three-dimensional hockey fight is probably something a lot of fans would love to see," he said from Boston.
McQuivey also noted there aren't any accepted standards for 3-D on TVs and sets will all be different in terms of how they display 3-D technology.
Despite the challenges, 3-D TVS have been front and centre at recent technology trade shows in Tokyo and Berlin. Even though they've been on display at the giant Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas for the last two years, they're expected to be in the spotlight even more at the 2010 show.
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