Posted by Adam N on 20th Aug 2014
If blogs and news sites were any indication, you would think that 3D TV is going the way of
the Betamax cassette. And now that LG and Vizio is heavily marketing
their Passive 3D Glasses, it’s easy to feel that 3D Shutter Glasses are
old-news. But, as an industry insiders I simply don’t see the
correlation between these news reports and what’s happening on the
ground. So, I thought I would take a few moments to try and clear up
some of he top 5 misconceptions about 3D Television.
1) 3D Is Dead or Dying.
This is an often cited misconception which relies heavily on comparing
3D Shutter Glasses sales from 2010 and 2011. Since sales are down in
2011 compared with 2010, some news agencies have reported the beginning
of the end to 3D. However, I would like to point out that there were
many more highly anticipated 3D releases in 2010 than there were in 2011
(Avatar and Tron for example). Additionally, there is additional
competition in the 3D Glasses world from the likes of LG and Vizio
passive 3D Glasses. Although the 3D TV market continues to grow, buyers
of 3D Glasses were split between the competing technologies of 3D Active
and Passive glasses. It doesn’t look like 3D is dead or dying in 2011
or into 2012.
2) The quality of movies released in 3D BluRay in 2011 prove that 3D is dying. This simply is not true – when 3D movies fail to sell, it’s rarely because of the 3D technology.
Generally,
it’s because the movie was just plain bad. 3D special effects have to
complement a story line – they can’t *BE* the storyline. A bad movie in
3D is just as bad in 3D as it is in 2d. Lets not blame the 3D Shutter
Glasses on this one!
3) 3D Shutter Glasses are not perfect, which is why 3D will fail. This is a common criticism I
hear about why 3D TV is just not going to last. In fact, 3D shutter
glasses have been evolving for the past 2 years. The 3D Glasses that
came out in 2011 have far more advanced shutter technology than the
glasses that came out in 2009. There have also been many more competing
3D shutter glasses makers entering the market, such as Tekspree.com
which released it’s aftermarket glasses in 2011. These competitors to
Sony, Samsung, Sharp, Panasonic and other OEM makers have caused
quality to increase as the aftermarket glasses surpase the OEM ones in
quality and affordability.
4) 3D TV is just a gimmick to get us to buy more stuff.
There are many gimmicks out there to try and sell you things – from
blankets with arm holes, to bracelets that improve body chi. However, 3D
glasses do not fit into this category. Sure, in the old days 3D was
just way to try and get people to watch a relatively bad horror movie.
But modern day digital 3D is about story telling, pure and simple. With
3D TV and a pair of 3D shutter glasses, you can watch an NFL or college
football game in high definition 3D - you will feel like you are right
there in the stadium. The effect helps to engross you in the media you
are watching – not distract you . People are buying 3D TV equipment
because it makes watching sports and movies more enjoyable -not because
it’s a gimmick.5) No one wants to pay extra for those dorky glasses.
The media reports about 3D consistently concentrate on the 3D shutter
glasses as the albatross hanging around 3D technologies neck. Not only
are they expensive, but they are simply not fashionable! This may have
been true in 2009, but these days 3D shutter glasses technology has come
a long way. If 3D adds to the enjoyment of a movie, consumers will not
mind wearing 3D shutter glasses for the experience. Again, the question
is not whether people like the glasses, but whether the content is worth
watching. No one is going to want to watch the nightly news in 3D. But,
watching the super-bowl in 3D is an experience all it’s own! Wearing
glassses is an inconvenience only when the 3D content is Gili-like.