Report: 3D TV Adoption Outpacing HD

LONDON: Year-one adoption of 3D TVs is running at a "far quicker rate" in most territories than was the case for HD TVs, according to a new industry report from Futuresource Consulting.

The specialist research and knowledge-based consulting firm attributes the healthy adoption pace to falling prices of 3D TV hardware, which have been down by close to 40 percent in some cases.

Futuresource predicts 4 million 3D TVs to be sold worldwide by the end of 2010. Across Western Europe, 1.2 million 3D sets will be sold, rising to more than 3 million in 2011. In the U.S. more than 5 million 3D TVs will be sold next year.

"3DTV will continue to provide ‘premium brand’ CE manufacturers with a way to differentiate themselves from the competition and add value for consumers," says Bill Foster, senior technology consultant at Futuresource Consulting. "For systems that use active glasses technology, manufacturers are now able to embed 3D chipsets at a relatively low cost, allowing them to increase their margins while still keeping 3D affordable. Passive glasses technology, as used in cinemas, is still more expensive to produce for the home and will remain costly for some time, as the TV requires a polarised screen. In addition, passive systems are unable to show 3D in full 1080p, as the picture on the screen is polarised, with half the image delivered to the left eye and half to the right."

Futuresource predicts that as the 3D TV market continues to commoditize, factors like screen size, display thickness and the quality of image will reach their peak. This will lead to 3D TVs being bundled with other features such as connectivity, web services and energy efficiency, says the research report.