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Back in 2010 Sony Australia's Paul Colley forecasted that a large percentage of Australian viewers would have 3-D televisions by 2014.
In the same year, industry pundits such as Simon Murray predicted that sales of 3-D TVs were set to increase in the years to come.
But others were heralding the death of 3-D TVs and this year the remaining major manufacturers, LG and Sony, have said they will no longer produce 3-D-capable televisions.
So despite all the repeated push and positive predictions, what went wrong with 3-D TV?
Tim Alessi, LG's director of new product development, acknowledged this year that:
[...] 3-D capability was never really universally embraced in the industry for home use, and it's just not a key buying factor when selecting a new TV.
Sales of 3-D TVs have been in decline for several years, according to data from analysts NPD. In 2013, 3-D TVs accounted for 23% of TV purchases in the United States, but this dropped to just 8% in 2016.
Is 3-D TV dead, or will it rise again?
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday February 09 2017, @04:49PM
4K, curved, HDR, and 8K, in that order.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:11PM
You didn't mention spherical (360-degree) video. Does that mean you think it has staying power, or that it's not worth mentioning?
(Score: 3, Interesting) by takyon on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:26PM
I thought about it but didn't list it because 360-degree/VR doesn't have much to do with "television screens", unless they try to sell a $100,000 TV dome/igloo I guess. The FOV of a TV or computer monitor depends on your sitting distance but will be quite low.
VR headsets may be a better buy than big TV sets for some people. They could be cheaper (when comparing high end to high end and low end to low end), they are 3D by their nature with no tricky holography or flawed 3D techniques required, and they are a better use case for high resolution panels than TV sets that people sit several feet away from. Downsides include the need for multiple headsets for multiple people, and headsets are bulkier than 3D glasses. TVs also don't typically get smeared with your disgusting body liquids when you use them.
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(Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:34PM
TVs also don't require you to wear bulky things on your head or in your ears, which can get uncomfortable. It's just like stereo speakers vs. headphones: with headphones, you don't have to worry about reflections from the walls and things in the room making the listening experience imperfect. But it's more comfortable to not have headphones on at all, and most people generally seem to prefer loudspeakers rather than wearing headphones all the time.
(Score: 3, Interesting) by fritsd on Thursday February 09 2017, @06:24PM
Sure; it brings this historical film about the life of Dutch fishermen(*) [wikipedia.org] to vibrant life due to its 360° nature.
(*) Please, don't complain about the frame-rate! We know.
(Score: 3, Informative) by butthurt on Thursday February 09 2017, @09:28PM
I suppose the fact it's lasted makes up for the 2.3*10-10 fps frame rate.
At the 1900 Paris Exposition there was a cinematic version; it was only shown for three days before the police shut it down.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cin%C3%A9orama [wikipedia.org]
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:11PM
We need more K's! 88KKK
(Score: 2) by DECbot on Friday February 10 2017, @12:12AM
Did you just suggest 88,000,000,000p resolution? You'll need a Monster Glasses to see all those pixels in their Highest Definition!**1
**result may vary
1 This product is known to cause cancer in the state of California.
cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 10 2017, @02:42AM
We need more K's! 88KKK
Did you just suggest 88,000,000,000p resolution?
No, AC clearly suggested 88 white supremacists. *rimshot*
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:11PM
"curved"
I could swear we already had that one, but decided we like flat more...
(Yes, I'm still talking about screens, not breasts.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @09:52PM
Yes, it exists, it's just that it doesn't make any sense in TV size. I think there are manufacturers making them, but unless you're talking about projector screen sized screens, the slight difference in focus is not noticeable.
Sort of like how 4K and up really only make sense when dealing with production and theater use. The parts of 4k that would make sense haven't even been proposed as extensions to the current 1080p standard. Namely, the color gammut and dynamic range.
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday February 10 2017, @02:45AM
To clarify, I wasn't thinking of curved LCDs, but of a somewhat older technology. [wikipedia.org] :D
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @10:12PM
Your mind's still on the Rackspace story, you dirty dog.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by Nerdfest on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:42PM
What's the plus with a curved display? If you're not extremely close to it, I would think it would be more a a downside, especially as you sit to the side to any degree.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:52PM
Don't ask me. They are still trying to push them:
https://news.samsung.com/global/samsung-to-introduce-new-quantum-dot-curved-monitor-at-ces-2017 [samsung.com]
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(Score: 2) by AndyTheAbsurd on Thursday February 09 2017, @06:01PM
They were trying to push 3D TVs for a long time, for the same reason: They expect people to want to upgrade because an upgrade is available. But the fact of the matter is that if you're feeding an HD panel with an HD signal (likely over HDMI, but you can do it over component cables as well), curved doesn't seem to offer a better experience. 4K, HDR, and 8K all offer some advantage but beyond 4K, I'm not sure it's enough of one to drive lots of upgrades; so sales of those may be "replace HDTVs as they die" rather than the fundamentals shifts that we saw with VHS->DVD and SDTV->HDTV where everyone started upgrading once the prices got down to where they were reasonable.
Please note my username before responding. You may have been trolled.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Thursday February 09 2017, @05:53PM
The plus is they can trick a few people into running out and buying one because the sales slick says it's better.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @06:40PM
You can add a new buzzword on your sales prospect.
(Score: 2) by mcgrew on Friday February 10 2017, @02:41AM
From what I've read, its because looking at LCD from the wrong angle screws up the picture or something. Personally, I think that explanation is bullshit. My TV is fine even at extreme angles. I think it's another case of trying to sell shit nobody needs.
mcgrewbooks.com mcgrew.info nooze.org
(Score: 1, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @06:10PM
Smellovision
(Score: 2, Funny) by Deeo Kain on Thursday February 09 2017, @08:20PM
Punchovision
(Score: 3, Touché) by LoRdTAW on Thursday February 09 2017, @10:41PM
You need Relax-O-Vision.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @11:53PM
Weed-o-vision?
(Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Sunday February 12 2017, @04:28PM
Another good go-to! Just smoked last night.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday February 09 2017, @09:49PM
You forgot penis-vision. The TV that automatically scales genitalia so that porn videos aren't so threatening.