While Avatar and its stunning 3D appeal is grabbing all the attention, could 3D TV really be a reality next year?

Avatar’s Catalytic Impact on Future 3D TV and Film:

"Avatar won’t be alone for long in pursuing next-level 3D. Tim Burton ’s Alice in Wonderland for television and Steven Spielberg ’s live-action Tintin for the big screen will be matched by major 3D video game efforts involving iPod, PS4, Xbox 720, 3D Blu-ray and 3D blockbuster video games. Greenfield says that by this time next year, 3D could be more of a presence on television, although it is expected to gradually grow only to about 30 percent penetration over time."

3DTV testing starts in Finland:

“Welho, the cable broadcaster based in Finland, has begun testing out 3D TV with customers located around the Helsinki area. The company is another broadcaster looking to offer a full 3D TV channel at some point during 2010.”

Avatar: Good News for 3D TV and Blu-ray?

"But will the 3D trend extend to home entertainment, too? In recent months, the consumer electronics industry has been working behind the scenes to build the framework for 3D in the home. The Blu-Ray Disc Association this week announced specifications for creating full 1080p 3D Blu-Ray content. The first 3D-enabled Blu-ray players will likely debut at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. Meanwhile, major TV manufacturers are hoping 3D TV becomes the next big thing. Sony , for instance, predicts that 3D sets will compose 30 to 50 percent of all the TVs it sells in its 2012 fiscal year."

Sony Corporation and RealD announced a technology partnership aiming to provide immersive 3D home entertainment to consumers beginning in 2010. The pact includes Sony licensing the stereoscopic RealD Format, know-how in producing active and passive 3D eyewear and other RealD technologies. Sony and RealD have been closely working together to create a better 3D experience at movie theaters for years. The parties will now join forces to deliver a similar premium 3D entertainment experience to the home.

“Sony has its proprietary LCD panel driving technology to reproduce full HD 3D images on the screen of new “BRAVIA” LCD TVs, which will work in sync with new 3D eyewear based on RealD’s technology. We are excited to work with RealD in bringing 3D to the home,” said Hiroshi Yoshioka, Executive Deputy President, Officer in charge of Consumer Products and Devices Group, Sony Corporation.

Read more here from the WSJ.

James Cameron’s cinematic 3D film, Avatar , represents a critical junction in the public’s approval of 3D immersive entertainment.  Will Cameron’s $300 million sci-fi film meet and exceed the hype and bring a new sense of empathy and depth to cinema?

"The 3D experience is at the heart of Avatar . (In fact, some suspect that Cameron cannily delayed the movie’s release to wait for more theaters to install 3D screens—there will be more than 3000 for the launch.) Stereoscopic moviemaking has historically been the novelty act of cinema. But Cameron sees 3D as a subtler experience. To film the live-action sequences of Avatar , he used a modified version of the Fusion camera. The new 3D camera creates an augmented-reality view for Cameron as he shoots, sensing its position on a motion-capture stage, then integrating the live actors into CG environments on the viewfinder. “It’s a unique way of shooting stereo movies,” says visual-effects supervisor Stephen Rosenbaum. “Cameron uses it to look into the environment; it’s not about beating people over the head with visual spectacle.” This immersive 3D brings a heightened believability to Avatar ’s live-action sequences—gradually bringing viewers deeper into the exotic world of Pandora. In an early scene, Sully looks out the window as he flies over the giant trees and waterfalls of the jungle moon, and the depth afforded by the 3D perspective gives the planet mass and scale, making it as dizzyingly real for viewers as it is for him."

Read the full Popular Mechanics Article

Expected to debut sometime in 2010, LG’s 23-inch HDTV will feature a 1920 X 1080 pixel resolution 3D display which purportedly offers image quality that’s almost twice as crisp as existing 3D monitors, thanks to LG’s proprietary “high performance 3D exclusive controller” and “copper bus line.”

The South Korean electronics manufacturer estimates that the 3D TV market will exceed 30 million units by 2012.  The Korea Communications Commission has set the 3D world abuzz with plans to start a 3D broadcast trial service in 2010 using its terrestrial networks.  Licensing begins in January and first broadcasts are expected sometime later that year.  Engadget is also reporting Korea’s PPV providers want a piece of the pie too, with CJ HelloVision set to offer 3D content through its video-on-demand offerings in late 2009.  CJ HelloVision will initially target about 300 households with plans to extend the service to 1,000 homes by 2012.

Electronics manufacturers are betting big that 3D TV will catch on with the public.  Sony has announced big plans and up to 25 of the 2010 FIFA World Cup matches in South Africa will be produced in 3D TV.