3-D TV — Are Consumers Ready to Make the Jump?

Imagine watching a game where the team actually surrounds you. Or immerse yourself in a movie that looks like it is taking place in your living room.  After seeing some of the news from International CES, this makes me wonder if this is the future of TV? 

Researchers have been working on advancing hologram technology since the 1990s, so producing a 3-D display is a major step forward. But will this kind of TV take off like the HDTV earlier this decade? Are consumers willing to upgrade to another set in this economy? 

There are some drawbacks to 3-D TV — there isn’t much content, but the movie studios are changing that. That should change over the next year. Networks are experimenting with broadcasting live events in digital 3-D, and movie studios have a number of big-budget 3-D movies lined up for 2009. 

Additionally, there isn’t a standard to get 3-D footage from the movie studios or from live broadcasts to the home. Furthermore, it also costs more to shoot a movie in 3-D and transport the video across networks. We have a long way to go before 3-D is the “norm,” but it might be closer than we think.