Since 3D theatrical releases routinely earn more revenue than their 2D counterparts, it’s no shock that Hollywood and the consumer electronics industry are eager to bring 3D into the home. And the focus isn’t just on movies: 80 percent of PC games are currently available in 3D.
“Consumers are willing to pay more money to watch a movie in 3D than to watch it in 2D,” notes Jennifer Colegrove, director of display technologies at Display Search, citing 3D’s immersiveness. “So manufacturers are naturally thinking about 3D for the home – on a computer, a notebook, a TV, a mobile phone.”
Research into what consumers want has begun in earnest. Sony is partnering with CBS to study what audiences expect from home 3D. Last year the Consumer Electronics Association and the Entertainment Technology Center released a study in which 50 percent of surveyed consumers said they would pay more for a 3D TV; 40 percent of the respondents preferred 3D to 2D. Hold back 3D’s potential is the “dorky” image of 3D glasses. Special glasses are a requirement for all variations of the active-shutter technology that television makers are using. RealD is providing glass technology to a number of TV manufacturers, but the eyepiece design may vary dramatically. Right now, there’s no guarantee that glasses will be compatible across manufacturers (though the Consumer Electronics Association is trying to get companies to agree on this point). The glasses won’t be cheap, either – and 3D-enabled TVs may not ship with them by default. So far, only Sony’s top-of-line Bravia LX900 HDTV will come packaged with two pairs of glasses.
Few experts see 3D claiming a big chunk of the market. According to Display-Search, just over 1 million 3D-readyTVs will ship this year; by 2018, the number will be 64 million (20 percent of the market). Display-Search expects 3D-ready monitors to grow to 10 million by 2018 (3.6 percent penetration), and it foresees a similar trajectory for 3D laptop systems. Mobile phones will be the largest 3D-display shipment by 2018, with 71 million units, Display-Search predicts.