While it’s all anyone wants to talk about in the tech world and everyone makes it sound really cool, consumers just don’t want 3D TVs. And manufacturers are already cutting prices of their 3D sets by as much as 50%.
It was just nine months ago when the first stereoscopic 3D TVs went on sale, to the amazement and wonder of consumers everywhere. But then a whole bunch of other stuff came out, like the iPad, iPhone 4, Google TV, and 4G.
Then, there was the fact that even though more movies were released in 3D this year than any year before, there wasn’t a single one that really stuck out. There was no Avatar this year. There was no movie that everyone told each other they had to see in 3D.
So, all the excitement that built up after last year’s release of Avatar kind of subsided. 3D was no longer the big thing. Now industry tracker Display Search is saying perhaps only 2% of all TV sales this year were for 3D models. Earlier this year, it was projecting 5%.
And manufacturers are feeling the squeeze. While they may still see good sales numbers for the rest of their product lines, they notice no one is buying their 3D sets. And by next year, they may become even more obsolete, so they’re trying to attract consumers with lower prices, reports the Wall Street Journal.
There’s one more thing at play here. When 3D TV launched in March, the brilliant thing was that there was no format war. Everything was stereoscopic 3D. Now, though, the big thing is “glasses-free,” or autostereoscopic, 3D. That will perhaps be what more people are interested at CES next month. And other manufacturers are even turning to the 3D technology that theaters use.
Now, even though the thing about 3D TV was supposed to be that there wouldn’t be any confusion, it’s more confusing than any home entertainment shift we’ve ever seen. Consumers simply don’t even know what to buy, so they don’t buy anything. And that’s simply not good.
