Survey says: Viewers hate 3D glasses; Toshiba says no worries

Yes, 3D is on every studios hot list at the moment, and, yes, IPTV providers are running out 3D programming as soon as they can get their hands on it and, yes, it does seem like every TV coming to market this holiday season is going to be a "connected TV" and will likely also be capable of 3D display.

And, yes, that's all good.

Except that, by and large, while consumers are hot to trot for 3D programming, the idea of wearing--and, worse, sharing--3D glasses that cost the same as three dozen Titleist V1 golf balls (that would be around $150), isn't getting a lot of play.

In fact, a recent study from Nielsen found that consumers who have tried 3D HDTVs (and have, obviously, worn the glasses required) just aren't that interested in buying the sets afterwards, at least not as much as consumers who haven't yet worn the glasses. In fact, almost 50 percent of people surveyed had a negative reaction, with 89 percent of those saying it was almost impossible to do anything else while wearing the glasses.

And that, says Nielsen analyst Frank Stagliano, is "a marketing challenge." Really?

And that may be where Toshiba, which just announced it has developed a 3D technology that doesn't require glasses, makes hay.

The company this week announced it was rolling out a pair of 3D TVs, one model with a 12-inch screen, the other with a 20-inch screen, at CEATEC in Japan.

But, there are a couple of problems (besides the screen size and a somewhat limited 40-degree viewing area in front of the screen) that the new technology has, with price (more than $1,400 for the 12-inch screen and $2,900 for the 20-inch screen) being paramount. But, one would expect that to drop as consumers buy into the technology.

With Hollywood placing a lot of its eggs in the 3D basket, let's hope so.

For more:
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