Thursday, September 23, 2010

To 3D or not to 3D? The question is answered. For now.

This article caught my attention this morning. Apparently there's a bit of a glut of flat-screen televisions. That means great prices for you if you're in the market for one.

What wasn't in the news is 3D HDTV. A few months ago it was the rage, at least in the trade media if not customer showrooms. When was the last time you saw an ad for a 3D television? Or a promo on a network promoting it? I thought so.

I saw an 3D HDTV demo a few months ago showing a World Cup Soccer match. It was pretty cool. Two things held me back. I'm not in the market for a new television and the 3D glasses. At $150 a pop plus having to replace batteries every 20 hours or so is a no-sell and nonsense. As consumers, most of us aren't conditioned to buying added doo-dads when we buy a TV.

Then there's the question of how many sets of glasses do you buy? We've all broken eye glasses in our lives, just something else to break and replace. Again, there's the $150 tab. What if the batteries die in the middle of the Superbowl? Oops, remembered the drinks and snacks but forgot the extra batteries.

For want of a horse, the battle was lost. For the expense of the glasses, the 3D battle is lost. At least for now. When someone markets a 3D set that comes with glasses as convenient as those we get in theaters, the battle will be rejoined.

Brian Olson
Conversation Starters LLC
"We start the conversation about you"

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