3D TV

ESPN debuted its first 3D television channel this week with World Cup soccer coverage.  ESPN 3D plans to broadcast nearly 100 live sporting events during its first year, including 25 World Cup soccer matches using Sony 3D equipment.  Other ESPN 3D events schedules are the 2010 Home Run Derby, X Games 16, Winter X Games 15, college basketball and football games and the 2011 BCS National Championship Game.

Avatar released on DVD and Blu-ray on April 22, has sold 19.7 million DVD and Blu-ray discs in three weeks, more than any other film has ever sold in that span.  The movie from director James Cameron already holds the record for the biggest film release at global box offices with more than $2.7 billion in ticket sales.  Fox plans to release a 3-D version of Avatar on DVD sometime next year.

3D TV is making its way to terrestrial television broadcasts.  The Korea Times has reported that the four major television networks in South Korea, KBS, MBC, SBS and EBS, have plans for trial services. The area where the 3D terrestrial broadcasts will be available will include Seoul and the neighboring metropolitan area.

SBS is involved in the global test of 3D coverage of the FIFA World Cup in June.  That coverage will include 25 matches in live 3D beginning June 11th and continuing through July 12.  The Korea Communication Commission (KCC), which is similar to the FCC in the U.S., will allow for up to three hours of 3D programming a day beginning May 19th through June 10th. After that, the hours for 3D programming will expand to include the time required for broadcast of the FIFA World Cup 3D matches.

Panasonic has announced the pricing and release dates for its Viera VT25 series. Set to debut in May and June, the Viera VT25 series is Panasonic’s first line of Full HD plasma 3D TVs.

The 50-inch TC-P50VT25 ($2,599.95) and 54-inch TC-P54VT25 ($2,999.95) are due to arrive May 3. The 58-inch TC-P58VT25 ($3,399.95) and 65-inch TC-P65VT25 ($4,299.95) will debut in stores in June.

Panasonic 3D home theater suites debuted at Best Buy in March and all will feature Viera Cast WiFi with Skype capability, as well as one pair of Active Shutter 3D glasses.

Tech Specs

The small California start-up with big 3D TV plans is in the news again as more details about HDI’s laser-powered 3D TV are released.  HDI-US Inc. already has orders for its prototype 103-inch 3D HDTV and is now actively marketing itself as a television manufacturer and not just a 3D solutions licensor.  HDI’s platform is a laser-based projection system blended with proprietary optics and LCoS.  Glasses are needed for viewing in 3D, but reportedly the glasses are passively designed to provide less eye strain than the active-shutter models already in the market.

HDI is marketing heavily on the unique immersive qualities of large HDTV displays and 3D technology.  Steve Wozniak has praised the company and HDI’s future home models may incorporate such unique features as a 2D-to-3D processor, integrated soundbar and a personal 3D camcorder, all for less than $15,000.  Models can be purchased now for around $100,000 if you simply cannot wait until production begins in 2011 (tell them laser-tv.org sent you).

“We’ve witnessed 3D from a variety of sources, be it in a RealD theater, NVIDIA’s active-shutter 3D Vision gaming or Sony’s own active solution. Without a doubt, HDI’s 3D HDTV was the best in-home 3D product that we’ve had the pleasure of viewing.” Engadget

Both Samsung and Panasonic have recently debuted 3D TV bundles with Blu-ray players and active-shutter glasses.

Panasonic’s package features the TC-P50VT20, a 50-inch 1080p 3DTV for $2,900 which comes bundled with Panasonic’s DMP-BDT300 3D Blu-ray player, which is capable of playing Blu-ray discs and DVDs and also has access to Netflix, Pandora and Twitter.  This bundle is only sold through Best Buy.  Included in the bundle is one free set of ($200) battery-operated 3D glasses.

Panasonic has added a 55-inch model for $400 more.  Reports are Panasonic sold out in its first week of sales.  Samsung released a bundled 3D TV package over a week ago, has not yet released its 3D shipment or sales figures.

Samsung introduced its line of 3DTVs today, including 17 different TVs, Blu-ray players, and home theater products. Samsung is offering new buyers a 3D starter kit which includes the 3D version of Monsters vs. Aliens and a pair of active-shutter 3D glasses with the purchase of a compatible TV and Blu-ray player or home theater system. Samsung also announced a deal with DreamWorks to exclusively release 3D versions of its films.

The prices for the LED-based 3D sets start at $1,999.99 for the lowest-priced UN40C7000, and up to $7,000 for the 55-inch UN55C9000 (available this month in 55-inch and 46-inch). The 3D plasmas range from $1,799.99 for the PN50C7000 and up to $3,799.99 for the PN63C8000, both available in May.

Samsung’s BD-C6900 Blu-ray player starts at $400 or $900 for the 3D-compatible HT-C6930W Blu-ray home theater system.

Key features of the Samsung BD-C6900:

• 3D Blu-ray player
• Slim design with a transparent cover
• Supports Internet@TV/Samsung Apps, which will provide content from Netflix, Pandora, Vudu, Blockbuster, Picasa, and Twitter
• 15 second disc load; 15 second boot up
• Built-in Wi-Fi

Samsung's First 3D TV

Electronics market intelligence firm iSuppli issued a report Monday morning claiming 78 million television sets with 3D capability will be sold in the year 2015. “The market so far has been more talk than action,” researcher Riddhi Patel wrote in a note accompanying the report. “However, announcements made before and after the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in January indicate that 3D TV is becoming a reality.”

In other news, the first Samsung 3D-enabled HDTV is currently available for purchase on Amazon. The 55-inch UN55C7000 includes a 240Hz LED display, four HDMI 1.3 inputs, which are HDMI-CEC compatible: a component, a VGA, two ConnectShare Movie USB ports. It also has a BDWise feature, which is able to adjust components automatically, in order to offer the best picture and sound quality.

Read the full iSuppli report here.

While Avatar has been dethroned from its multi-week stranglehold on cinema, plenty of other studios are planning on capitalizing on its enormous success with additional 3D releases.  Will they be as popular or continue the momentum of 3D cinema?

Rumors have it the final Twilight installment, Breaking Dawn, may go 3D and the Spiderman reboot to be released July 3, 2012 will be in 3D.

Speculation continues about 3D TV for the home.  Some are predicting it may take a decade for this technology to come down in price for the average Joe.

While a BBC article cited a survey that forecast 3.4 million 3D TV sets will be sold in the United States alone this year, analyst James McQuivey disputes those figures. The vice president and principal analyst at Forrester Research, in his blog post, wrote that “not even a million US homes will [have 3D TV] in 2010″.  Read the full article here.

Riding the wave of Avatar’s enormous success, the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show featured the first tech theme of the new millennium: 3D TV.

3D devices will be everywhere, or so industry experts predict, and manufacturers are scrambling over each other to be the first to provide 3D hardware and content to the home. Is the public ready for 3D TV? Is the industry itself ready for 3D TV with looming format wars and no-glasses monitors and active and passive eyewear monitors? Do I need a new TV?

All of these questions will be answered over the coming years, but one thing is certain, you will never see TV the same again.

Quick Fact:

The Blu-ray 3D specification calls for encoding 3D video using the MPEG4-MVC (Multiview Video Coding) codec, which compresses both the left and right eye views necessary to simulate depth, and will be standard in all Blu-ray players.

3D TVs are everywhere at CES 2010 and Kevin Pereira and Alison Haislip tackle new television sets from Samsung, Sony and Panasonic to see what’s in store for consumers in 2010.

Demo and discussion of 3D gaming and intelligent self-adapting technology with Intel at CES 2010, by Neil Berman. The 3D game featured is Dirt 2.

Panasonic takes us through its new line of technology for 3D and their new plasma Kuro range at CES 2010.