Would you consider buying a 3D TV as your next major TV purchase?

[jonesbruce91361]

The gripe about the 3D glasses is naive and ultimately insulting. Lots of us wear glasses everyday, including sunglasses and pretty ugly coke bottle lens glasses and few of us complain or even notice it.

That said, nobody said 3D is or has to be for everyone. It is a natural progression of the dedicated home theater, still a very growing market, and not for passive TV viewing with the window shades up and the kids running through the house. Passive TV watches need to back off and let those of us with home theaters enjoy the likes of Avatar and other 3d fare and quit bitching about the silly glasses until they've given them a chance.

 

[TNGTony]

It's not a matter of "giving the glasses a chance". I and many of us that wear glasses already would have to wear ANOTHER pair of glasses above that. It's great for many for short periods of time in special circumstances, but I just don't see it for every day.

And passive viewers ARE the gargatuan majority of the basic market.

Remember it took AN ACT OF CONGRESS for HD to become an accepted standard 12 years after the act was passed and nearly 20 years after it was proposed!

See ya
Tony

 

[jayn_j]

I agree on wearing glasses over glasses. It is extremely uncomfortable.

My wife did not have stereo vision. She never understood the fascination with Sawyer Viewmasters. However, she could still wear the glasses and watch a stereo show, just couldn't see the stereo. My son is color blind, but he still enjoys color TV over B/W.

I would not buy a set just because of 3D. However, I wouldn't rule it out just because of that feature. Not sure I'd buy 3D titles or spend money on the glasses though. I might be becoming a luddite now that I am 60, but I am not going to get excited until filmakers stop being obsessed about showing off 3D, the same way audio producers used to try and sell such stuff as sound effects in stereo. When they finally settled down and let stereo be part of the depth and experience instead of unnatural movement of the soundstage.

 

[stonecold]

I would not go out and buy a tv just because it has 3dtv but I would not blow off a tv just because either.

 

[rglore]

Since adding 3D capability to a TV has near zero cost, by next CES, I bet nearly every TV will be 3D capable. The manufactures want to sell 3D Blu-ray boxes and shutter glasses. Also, next year we will see for sale 3D TVs that can use the cheap polarized glasses but they will be expensive. I have two Samsung 3D TVs I bought over two years ago and will buy the new 3D Blu-ray and glasses when available.

 

[tigerfan33]

By the next time I make another tv purchase 3D either will be standard or will be a flop. Will I get a new one just because it has 3D? No

Will I purchase one in the future that has 3D? Possible.

 

[dfergie]

The gripe about the 3D glasses is naive and ultimately insulting. Lots of us wear glasses everyday, including sunglasses and pretty ugly coke bottle lens glasses and few of us complain or even notice it.

That said, nobody said 3D is or has to be for everyone. It is a natural progression of the dedicated home theater, still a very growing market, and not for passive TV viewing with the window shades up and the kids running through the house. Passive TV watches need to back off and let those of us with home theaters enjoy the likes of Avatar and other 3d fare and quit bitching about the silly glasses until they've given them a chance.

:up

 

[Ilya]

I am pretty sure they will come out with Rx version of shutter glasses. Like Rx sunglasses...

 

[TNGTony]

Since adding 3D capability to a TV has near zero cost, by next CES, I bet nearly every TV will be 3D capable.

I'll take that bet!

How much extra does it cost to have 1080p over 1080i over 720p? Take a look at the TVs on the market now and you iwill see the best selling ones are still 720p and 1080i. Why? Because "near" zero does not equal zero. People in general buy the cheapest.

 

[Ilya]

Remember it took AN ACT OF CONGRESS for HD to become an accepted standard 12 years after the act was passed and nearly 20 years after it was proposed!

Oh, it's rather unfair to compare the transition to 3D TV with the HDTV transition.

First of all, the congress intervention was required primarily to re-allocate the OTA bandwidth, and to transition from analog to digital: both couldn't coexist for a long time.

Second, the price of HDTV sets was 2-3 times higher than the price of regular TV sets. And if my prediction is correct, 3D TV will not be that much more expensive. So, people will be buying 3D sets, just for the buzzword, if nothing else. I think gamers and HT enthusiasts will be driving the initial demand. Others will follow and will be buy just because a neighbor has it, as long as the price is reasonable.

Whether the 3D viewing will become common or not, that's a separate question. That will depend on how good the glasses are, on the content availability and many other factors. Time will tell.

 

[TNGTony]

If it requires glasses it will untimately be a flop just like in the 50s.

 

[Ilya]

How much extra does it cost to have 1080p over 1080i over 720p? Take a look at the TVs on the market now

So, how many 1080i sets can you find today in a store?

That's the beauty of the 3D technology for TV manufacturers (their little dirty secret), that they don't need a different type of display! They already have 120 Hz and 240 Hz displays. All they need to do is to change the electronics just a bit to accept the higher frame rate over HDMI and to send synchronization signal to the glasses. That's all! The rest is software.

Sure, only more expensive models will be 3D capable. But that's exactly their goal! To give us another incentive to buy more expensive sets!

 

[TNGTony]

So how many 1080i sets can you find in a store?

 

[Ilya]

Sorry, this was intended as a joke! They don't make 1080i (interlaced) sets any more!

 

[Ilya]

As for this new 3D attempt possibly turning out to be a flop - I definitly don't exclude such possibility. Though I think the TV manufacturers have a much better shot now than ever before. And they appear to be more commited than ever.

 

[Hemi 6.1]

Take a look at the TVs on the market now and you will see the best selling ones are still 720p and 1080i. Why? Because "near" zero does not equal zero. People in general buy the cheapest.

And 720p TV's still have Fantastic PQ, Sorry 1080p TV's are over rated in any tv under 60"
Most people buy 32-42 inch tvs including myself, and I can tell you right now the difference between 720p and 1080p on a 32 inch set is minimal at best. Not much better on a 42 either. My 52" 1080p sony Sure Blu Ray looks good, Better then HD TV? , Not always,
A More noticeable improvement over a 720p or 1080i.? Not enough for me to say, "I'll never buy a 720p tv again"
3D tv is just another Yuppy expensive fad, to replace the dying HD tv hype.

 

[TheForce]

Qualifier- I am a 3D enthusiast and own several of the anaglyph Blu Ray disks now.


What I plan to do is learn the requirements for 3D for my Home Theater and then make sure present plans for upgrade are compatible. For example, I don't plan on buying a new display but do plan on a new AVR this year. I will make sure it includes the new Dolby IIPLz so that will not be obsolete when I finally do make the display upgrade. I have a Blue Ray Player that Sony claims will play the 3D BD-- A PS3.

Most likely, I'll be waiting for a 3D front projector and that could be awhile. The on ly one out now, the LG has too many compatibility flaws from what I know about it. It is a nice picture, however.

Give me 3 years and I'll be more serious about 3D. For now, It's all a learning curve.

 

[tornado]

I have been to a lot of 3D movies lately not just Avatar. The first and best I saw was Monsters vs. Aliens. The others except for Avatar could not match it. It was really good. I am reluctant to spend any more money on TVs period. 3D TVs would have to be awesome for me even to consider. I am very critical of displays. OLED would be good though.

 

[tornado]

anaglyph Blu Ray disks now.

What are anaglyph Blu Rays?

 

[TNGTony]

Think red and blue glasses
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