While there is still a battle for 3D acceptance in the home, the lack of a format war for home media could lead to a faster adoption rate and increased interest.
Blu-ray 3D is the only home video format for the new stereoscopic 3D standard, and it is highly unlikely that any other competitor is going to step forward. That means there is no confusion for consumers.
However, 3D still needs to overcome the mental battle with most consumers. That is, there are many people who still find the use of 3D glasses as uncomfortable or silly.
A recent India Times report notes that the 3D journey is already quite unlike any other emerging format. With digital media and high definition, most people waited until there was a lot of content before they even considered making a purchase. However, 3D TV sales are already making a mark even though there is virtually no 3D content on the market.
Another nice coincidence happened that sped up 3D interest: Avatar. While many look at the film as an instantaneous catalyst that sparked all this 3D growth overnight, the fact is that the stereoscopic standard was being designed for several years before the first TVs went on sale, earlier this year. Nonetheless, Avatar’s release and subsequent amazing reception marked a sweet spot for the 3D timeline.
There’s still a long way to go, but with 3D TV market leader Samsung expecting 10% of all HDTV sales to be 3D-capable sets within the next year, adoption rate is already climbing higher than most new technologies. Research firm iSuppli projects that 78 million 3D TV sets will be sold in 2015 in an exponential growth that will topple this year’s sales 18-fold.
The real challenge is getting rid of the 3D glasses stigma. If someone finds a way to tackle that, there’s no limit to the success of 3D.
