3D TV: Pro's, Con's, and More

Astor Theater, NYC

The whole idea of 3D TV isn't a new phenomena. Actually, believe it or not, 3D film was patented in 1890 by a British fellow named William Freise-Greene. His method, when viewed stereoscopically, tricked the brain into giving you a 3-D image visually. It wasn't tested on an audience until June 10, 1915 in the Astor Theatre in New York City where people we're shown a compilation of scenes including but not limited to Marie Doro, John Mason playing passages from Tim the Penman, and oriental dancers.

3D TV- Panasonic

Fast forwarding to today, 3D TV's are catching on with an estimated 6.2 million sold in the US and an estimated 33 by 2012, according to Today 3D. 3D movies are also more popular than ever before with the instillation of Imax premium 3D movie theaters across the country making it possible for everyone to enjoy. The top 5 movies of late would be Avatar (2009), Toy Story 3 (2010), Alice in Wonderland (2010), and Despicable Me (2010).

3D TV set's of today are pretty cool for the average person with a little extra change in their purse. They provide the same awesome 3D projections as a movie theater but in the convenience of your own home. However, they do come with a couple cons:

1. Primarily, the cost. The average 3D TV will run you anywhere from $900 to upwards of $2500 and even more for those who seek true a more true cinema experience.
2. Secondly, the lack of content. Though 3D technology has been on the market for about 2 years consistently, the rest of the tech world hasn't quite caught on 100% and many companies are not ready to invest money into 3D products because its not clear how well this phase will stick. The limited amount of 3D channels, topped with the only 3D movie format being the pricey Blu-ray and PS3's high cost, scares away many potential buyers.
3. And lastly, the tacky glasses. Look, you can sugar coat it any way you want, but these glasses are UGLY. You could be wearing the old school multi-colored glasses or the new more modern looking glasses, it's still a hassle to anyone who wants to just sit down and watch, especially if you already wear glasses. Also, if you're anything like me, you're CONSTANTLY losing the remote whether its tangled up in your sheets, fallen under the bed, behind the couch, or whatever. Imagine losing those glasses once a day and not being able to watch anything. Bit of a drag, huh?

Panasonic's 3D Glasses

Some of the top name brands in the market for 3D TV would be Samsung, Panasonic, Sony, Sharp, and LG. I did a little research into the customer reviews and this is what I came across with so far:

• Samsung- lower quality sound, suffers from some bad glare, incredible HD and 3D TV image quality, easy to set up and use, internet connection with Netflix, and overall best quality for price.

• Panasonic- high picture quality, internet connection with Netflix capability, but a known glitch in the brightness that engineers claim to "know about" and "are currently working on it", as well as reduced sound quality.

• Sony- high picture quality, lower sound quality(seems to be a trending issue with 3D TV's), and top internet capabilities with both Netflix and Pandora.

• Sharp- no reported cons, just a high picture quality, internet with netflix capabilities, high price, but the sound quality was ranked a tad bit lower than the picture quality, keeping it even with the rest.

• LG- suffers from low sound quality, slacking picture quality when watching HDTV, and colors are not vibrant and do not pop when watching any form of TV.

If you're looking for anything more, like 3D gaming, you'd have to look into the PS3 and Nintendo 3DS' which are being mentioned in a follow up post coming soon.

Any other questions? Perhaps something I didn't answer here, contact us and we'll be sure to help.

Credit to:
Box Office Mojo
Wikipedia