To 3D or not 3D

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Posted by: BatRastered Sep 30, 2010
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Tagged: 3d hdtv wildrant

Items featured: Blu-Ray HDTV

Is 3D the next big thing?

3d blu ray

Supposedly the next big thing in consumer electronics is 3-D. This is assuming that HDTV can no longer drive the industry forward as it has penetrated (or will shortly) enough homes that sales will slow.

I call shenanigans on both fronts.

First of all, there are many, many households that don't even have one HDTV let alone every TV in their house upgraded. A lot of the enthusiast, or early-adopter, types have older HDTVs that could use upgrading (either to 1080p or the newer 120Hz flat panels or simply to get a bigger screen).

But 3-D is the one that really gets me fired up. Look at the picture above for a second... go on, I'll wait. You see that? Those two pairs of glasses that come with? We're still in that age of 3-D. As long as the glasses are necessary to view 3-D content, this garbage will never catch on. Could you imagine having a 3-D Superbowl party at your house and having someone bring an extra guest over? Ooops, sorry, we don't have enough 3-D goggles to go around... you'll have to watch on the other TV in the den.

Of course, this is largely irrelevant as no one but ESPN is broadcasting 3-D programs anyway. At least nothing more than demos. I just can't see people paying extra for a 3-D capable HDTV and a 3-D capable Blu-Ray palyer and some number of 3-D goggles just to watch a Pixar movie they saw in the theaters last year. Not to mention the discomfort and hassle of the goggles themselves. (Especially to those, like me, who wear eye glasses.)

Until you can show me a 3-D system that doesn't involve me putting something on my face, can you please turn the hype machine down a notch? Thanks.

So what do I think is really the next big thing? Probably OLED once the costs come down and the screens get bigger. What do you think? Leave a comment.