The Five Misconceptions About 3D Technology in the News.

Top Five 3D TV Misconceptions

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.