3D TV COST AND SPECS

Between a sluggish economy, lack of standards and few movie offerings, the latest and greatest in television technology is likely to remain a niche product, according to Riddhi Patel, principal analyst for television systems at iSuppli Market Research. 
                                   
3D televisions made their debut in January at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Panasonic, Sony and Samsung all rolled out their models. Sony and LG plan rollouts for the summer.  Avatar's runaway success - the film had already hit the $1 billion mark at the box office by January - fueled speculation that 3-D movies could drive people to plunk down $2,000 for a new television.
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But so far the first quarter of 2010 has been anything but a blockbuster. According to iSuppli, only four percent of the TVs shipped to retailers in the first quarter of 2010 -- about 1.8 million out of 46.5 million -- were 3-D. Samsung is currently leading the field, having sold 90 percent of all 3-D TV sets. In a press release, the company said it expects to sell 600,000 of them in the first six months of this year.

Patel says part of the problem is that there just aren't that many 3D movies out there. Avatar is just one, and the latest Shrek movie isn't likely to generate anywhere near the same DVD sales. And nobody, Patel says, is going to spend a lot for the sake of a single film. "There's some out there... but not enough to justify the price," she says.

Another issue is standards. There aren't any. One company's 3D glasses won't work with another brand. The glasses are priced in the hundreds of dollars per pair - Panasonic's 3-D glasses re $149 - so it's a large investment for an accessory.

The other major reason for the low sales numbers is the cost. Most 3-D TV models cost in the $2,000-$3,500 range. Patel said most consumers aren't willing to go beyond  $1,000 for a TV.

A Best Buy sales manager in New York City (who chose to remain anonymous) said sales on 3-D TVs have been slow so far. The manager said a lack of consumer knowledge on the product has stunted sales. People don't always know what they are getting - and are anxious about putting down that much for an unproven appliance for a very few games, channels or DVDs.

Patel also speculates that home theater 3-D TVs are simply inferior to the theater experience. "Most of us, when we think of 3D we think of Avatar and the experience we had while viewing Avatar in the theater. What we forget is that was a big screen. When you bring it in your home, your set will be 40-60 inches. That may not give you the same immersive experience you had when you watched the movie at the theater."
                          
Although initial sales have disappointed, iSuppli's projections show that 3-D TV sales will grow quickly. By year-end 2011, the number of units sold will triple from 2010, to about 12 million. By 2015, it will reach 78.1 million, a growth rate of about 80.2 percent.

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DRAWBACKS OF 3D TV

So, it's not surprising that the prices of the first sets were astronomically high initially, and beyond the reach of many of us. But there were takers among us, particularly those of us who had been exposed to the immersive experience that good quality 3D imaging offers, and couldn't wait for the cost to reduce. Personally, I'm in that number. I admit it, and I'm hooked.

In early 2011 prices have begun to fall, especially of older models as the manufacturers get their 2011 models on to the display shelves. 3D TV prices will continue to fall as technology advances, though no glasses models and of course the bigger home theatre size models can be expected to be high for some time.
                 
The obvious negatives of 3D TVs are the the requirement to wear glasses, and the requirement for extra equipment to view 3D content such as a 3D Blu Ray. The good news is that 3D Blu Ray players are rapidly reducing in price. As I mentioned earlier, the lack of 3D content is not so much of a problem now with new networks and channels springing up - but it's still not what it should be. We are still some way off the availability levels of 3D content that will really help the growth of 3D television into a must have entertainment source.

Glasses are an issue, both from a cost perspective and for when you have visitors in who also want to watch your 3D content. In addition to this, there have been recent news articles on the potential health risks of 3D TV which we should all take note of.

Pricing of course also plays its part as a drawback - as with any new technology the cost of equipment is high in the early days. Prices are falling though, and for 3D fans the current entry cost is getting to be within reach. In fact, as I write in early February 2011, a number of UK online stores are selling a 50 inch Samsung Plasma 3D TV for around 700 pounds.

Another issue, and one which might be difficult to overcome for some of us, is in room size. 3D TV works best on larger screen sets, and also most sets perform better in dark environments. Not always easy to achieve in a smaller size room. Viewing angle isn't such a problem, though especially with LCD 3D TVs you won't want to be sitting way off to the side.

The biggest quality impacting problem is that of crosstalk. This is the appearance of blurring or double ghosting around the edges of 3D objects on the display. There can be a number of causes and its impact varies from manufacturer to manufacturer and model to model. Filming techniques can contribute to crosstalk, but it's predominantly caused by TV displays not being able to refresh themselves quickly enough to keep up speed that the 3D images are delivered, so that a part of the image intended for one eye merges into the image that's destined for the other. It's useful to note here that plasma sets enjoy a faster response time than LCD models, hence they're generally better at handling ghosting problems. 

This has been the subject of some debate ever since Samsung issued 3D TV health warnings on their website late in 2010. The reality is that some people do experience nausea and sickness when watching 3D images, though this seems to be of a temporary nature and not experienced by everyone.

This is due to the way our eyes and brains 'see' 3D images. We see in 3D naturally in real life, but watching 3D TV is the result of artificial creation of 3D images which our eyes and brains need to 'translate'  to make sense of. For some viewers eyes that is difficult and can cause short term issues such as dizziness, nausea or tiredness. For some people this might be immediate, sometimes it might occur if watching 3D content for too long.
Anyone experiencing these problems might find that different sets have less effect than others, mainly because of the differences in quality of 3D images that they deliver. This will be due to either the type of technology that drives the set, or the quality of the imaging itself.

So the question really is about any potential long term risks. The general concensus of opinion is that this is unlikely, and moderation is the key to enjoying 3D entertainment. Personally I can sit through 2 hour 3D movies at the cinema with no issues, and going by the popularity of 3D movies in general that appears to be the same for the vast majority of viewers.

One recommendation if you're watching 3D TV at home would be to take short breaks, maybe every 20 minutes take a 20 second break and focus away from the set on a distant image.

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