3-D television

By Amy Elbert

Last week I attended the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas and was blown away by the newest television innovation — 3-D. We were treated to numerous demonstrations by several manufacturers but probably the most impressive was the  3-D experience on Panasonic’s large plasma screen. I’m not a huge football fan but watching a football game in 3-D was truly like being on the field. I can imagine sports fans would be the first to buy into this technology.

You must wear special glasses to view the 3-D images and, while they are far more sophisticated than the cardboard and plastic ones that were used in the early days, they are still cumbersome. Watching a 3-D picture without the glasses is not an option because it’s like looking at a picture that is badly out of focus. (Bring me some Excedrin.) Most TVs will come with 2 pairs of glasses (although Panasonic only boxes one pair with their TVs) so the typical family is going to have to invest in several pairs. And how careful are youngsters going to be with those high-tech glasses? Not very, I’d guess.  It seems to me the 3-D experience would be fun for an occasional movie or sports event but for regular television viewing it just wouldn’t be worth the effort. Of course, you can watch standard 2-D images on a 3-D equipped TVs so you aren’t obligated to wear glasses while you’re fixing breakfast and watching the morning show. And some manufacturers are offering new  TVs that will be “3-D ready.” That allows you to buy a TV with the potential to display 3-D without having to make a total commitment to the technology.

TV manufacturers are banking on the success of the James Cameron movie Avatar, now showing in 3-D in theaters, to jumpstart this technology and who knows, it just might be the spark that starts a 3-D firestorm.