3D Revenue Tops $55 Million in the U.S.
"3D TV and Blu-ray players are seeing steady growth even as major product line launches are slated for the coming months," said Ross Rubin, executive director of industry analysis at NPD. "As more consumers adopt 3D, the industry can help foster a 3D ecosystem similar to that of HD."
No matter what your feeling is on 3D, that's a lot of dough, and it's easy to see why manufacturers are so eager to push the fad further into the mainstream. This is made even more impressive when you consider that today's 3D landscape still requires that viewers don a pair of dorky looking glasses, which the NPD Group identified as a possible inhibitor to the adoption of 3D. Interestingly, it's not that users feel self-conscious when wearing 3D glasses, as only 10 percent of consumers in a recent NPD survey citing "looking silly" as a main concern. Instead, the biggest concern -- as evidenced by 41 percent of respondents -- is not having enough glasses on hand to accommodate everyone.
This may be a short-term problem, however. Several companies are already working on glasses-free 3D displays, such as the one that will be used in Nintendo's upcoming 3DS handheld console. On a larger scale, Microsoft has developed a new type of wedge-shaped lens capable of directing light and is purportedly easy to integrate into LCD displays. By adding a camera, the display is then able to track viewers and project a stereoscopic image right to their eyes without the need for glasses.
In this early state, the technology only supports a limited number of viewers, and it requires advances in LCD technology to really shine. Still, we're probably not all that far off from a viable glass-free 3D display.
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Does *anyone* know anybody who actually bought one of these? |
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I actually know some in person who bought the Sony and Samsung 3D TVs. They are kind of 3D nuts and have been waiting for this for a long time. They have all those bad horror movies in red/cyan 3D and to them stereoscopic 3D is a godsend. Still hearing it make $55 million this year is surprising. It's like every time I hear that Two and a Half Men is the most watched show on TV yet I don't know anyone who watches the show. At least Stereoscopic 3D works, Two and a Half Men isn't funny. |
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I watched some 3D content on a Panasonic plasma at Best Buy. Looked good. But it still seems like a gimmick to me lol I can't see spending an extra $1,000 for 3D content... just not worth it. And yea, who would want a cat? lol |
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Who's buying all these?? I think Nintendo is taking a step in the right direction. Glasses are tricky to deal with. You'd need enough for everybody, and different sized ones for people with glasses. I'm hesitant to say it's a gimmick/fad, because that's what I said about HD and bluray, now I own a 52" hdtv, a PS3, and a couple dozen blu rays. But HD always looks better than SD, where as 3D, can be done poorly or retroactively and made to look terrible. So I think overtime w/ tech cost reductions it'll become a standard capability, but I don't think all movies, tv shows, and games will use it. |
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i'm tired of this 3d crap... I just want it to go away :-( |
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As soon as you buy it...It will go away! |
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With the amount of money the major companies are putting into it, hopefully that will help accellerate the technological innovation involved in rendering the 3D images. I wish the "glasses-free" would improve in image quality and field of view soon. |
Even watching 3D with the glasses off center feels uncomfortable and awkward. I watched Toy Story 3 in 3D today... because I pretty much had no choice... it felt like I was watching a normal 2D movie for the most part. It only felt slightly 3D and the glasses were really getting on my nerves. |
crowTrobot:|
Maybe you had them on backwards |
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Yes..... I know many people who have bought a cat! Still dont know why?! |
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hmm a new way to advirtise is to a cat |
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