Is the Industry Souring On 3D TV?

TVPredictions.com ^ | May 26, 2010 | Philip Swann

[Las Vegas Dave]

In recent days, more TV executives and industry analysts are expressing doubt that 3D and 3D TV will be a big hit.

BBC chief Danielle Nagler told an industry conference in London that it may be years before 3D TV overcomes certain technological hurdles. She added that she's not ready to commit her network to producing 3D programming until she learns more.

“We are excited about the developments of 3D but we need to see what the long term benefits of 3D to broadcasters is, before we commit”, Nagler said, according to the web site, News In Tech. “We are not clear on what makes good 3D and are certainly not clear on what makes good 3D television. The trials we are doing are a bit like early color -- it looks interesting but there is a long way to go”

CBS CEO Les Moonves told an industry conference in Beverly Hills that he has seen 'prototype' conversions of old Star Trek shows to 3D and they did not "knock him out."

"Does the experience get good enough on television to work? I'm not sure it's going to be economically viable for the near future," Moonves said, according to Reuters.

And Wall Street analyst Richard Greenfield this week even cast doubt on whether 3D will continue to be successful in movie theaters. Home Media Magazine reports that Greenfield noted in a blog post that the new 3D Shrek movie generated box office revenues far below Avatar and Alice in Wonderland during its opening weekend.

There were even reports that many consumers decided to watch the 2D version of Shrek because it was priced lower than the 3D edition. Greenfield said consumers may not be willing to pay a premium to see a sub-par film in 3D.

“The last thing the industry needs is consumers starting to believe that 3D is simply ‘not worth it,’” Greenfield said. “The movie industry cannot afford a wide-spread consumer backlash against (3D)."

[Las Vegas Dave]

Pinging the HDTV list.. HDTV pings!

[Pearls Before Swine]

Internet enabled 3D TVs will be used for porn. There will be relatively little regular source material.

[mgstarr]

[dila813]

I tried out the best 3d tv that they had at the Fry’s Superstore, wasn’t impressed.

They said it will be more effective if the screen was bigger and the room is dark like a theater. That just isn’t how we watch tv.

We will wait, not worth the price and in our mind it didn’t work.

[norraad]

"Jumped the shark right from the start!"

[MississippiMan]

I remain amazed at the amount of money that was surely sunk into a technology that had virtually zero chance of widespread consumer acceptance. Folks are not gonna sit around in their homes wearing $200-each glasses to watch TV. Never had a chance.

MM (in TX)

[ETL]

Ralph Kramden (Honeymooners, 1955):

“Do you want to know the reason I won’t buy you a television set, Alice”...Do you really want to know the reason?...the reason?...Well, I’ll tell you the reason! I’m waiting for 3d television!”

http://www.techjaws.com/ralph-kramden-3d-tv-is-here/

[Ramius]

I’ve got no particular interest in 3D. If I’m going to wear something on my head to watch a movie it should be full-immersion VR. Now THAT would sell.

[Arthur McGowan]

the dirty little secret is that BROADCAST HDTV is a bomb. Everyone I know who tries to receive it over the air has problems with reception.

[cvetic]

Eh, broadcast television is a waste of beautiful spectrum anyway. The sooner it dies, the better off we’ll all be.

[ken in texas]

The subject of 3D TV reminds me of the line from Jurassic Park which went something like "... you spent all this time thinking about what you can do, but never thought about what you should do...".

[RangerM]

But then you’ll have liberals claiming a “right to cable TV”.

Hell, for all I know they already do.

I see the future of digital TV as coming from Cell Phone towers. You subscribe to Verizon/AT&T TV and always have the same line up no matter where you go.

[Ken H]

If I'm going to wear something on my head to watch a movie it should be full-immersion VR.

[G Larry]

I called this as soon as it was announced on this ping list.
The demand for 3D will be very limited.

[Nepeta]

the dirty little secret is that BROADCAST HDTV is a bomb. Everyone I know who tries to receive it over the air has problems with reception.

When it works, it's wonderful.

However, a lot of time it doesn't work. I live no more than 7 miles from the transmitters--and 4.5 miles from some--but there are still frequent dropouts from low signals. That's with an antenna aimed properly--and NO, I am not down in a valley.

I think I might need something like the Very Large Array to capture the digital transmissions from out of town stations I used to receive in analogue transmissions, however. Digital just doesn't get out there.

HDTV transmission needs to be fixed before anything else. And yes, there is a place for OTA television.

[Ramius]

I don’t know why we still bother with OTA broadcast. Cable simply has more bandwidth and less latency and a more reliable signal. Game, set, match.

[Arthur McGowan]

Here in N. Dakota, people routinely picked up analog TV 100 miles from the transmitters. Not anymore. Now, I can’t get two out of the five Fargo stations—and I live in Fargo.

[JSDude1]

I am ~not~ going to wear glasses to watch TV.

[moonhawk]

I have almost zero problems with OTA HDTV. I’ll never go back.

Or look back, in case I turn into a pillar of salt.