Picture: Samsung
3D TVs are trickling into Australian lounge rooms, and could be in yours for less than $2500, writes Jennifer Dudley-Nicholson.
The next big thing in television could cause twitching, nausea, headaches, altered vision, dizziness or seizures.
Or, more likely, it could make home-cinema aficionados rush into shops and inspect what manufacturers have called "the biggest transition for television since black-and white to colour".
The big picture for 3D TV is becoming clear as manufacturers reveal how much it will cost, when it will be available, what 3D content can be seen and what side-effects it has.
Samsung began selling 3D plasma and LCD TVs last month, and Panasonic will this month give viewers a taste before launching its own 3D screen next month.
Sony will launch two 3D TVs in July, and manufacturers including Sharp and Viewsonic are pitching 3D home-theatre projectors for later this month.
Though these launches are certain to create a frenzy of interest, Samsung Electronics consumer technology marketing manager Mark Leathan says an early rush is only the start.
"We expect 10 per cent of our sales to be in 3D products this year and that will only increase in future," he says.
"At the end of the day, 3D TVs are priced where our top end TVs have been priced in the past. In fact, it's priced below our top-end TV from last year."
Samsung plans to launch six 3D TVs in Australia this year, including three LED-backlit LCD screens from 40in to 55in from $2899 to $4799 and three plasma models from 50in to 63in from $2499 to $4499.
All models will require glasses to see 3D content, and two pairs will come with the TV.
Extras will cost $129 each.
3D take-up
Though Samsung's 3D TVs have not been available long, Leathan says they are "selling very, very well. I've been in stores and we can barely get them on display".
Panasonic managing director Steve Rust expects a modest initial take-up for 3D televisions, forecasting many people will buy when they decide to replace their TVs.
"I think take up will be slow initially as people wait for content to arrive," he says.
Panasonic plans to launch four Neo Plasma 3D TVs this year. A 50in model, will arrive in June for $3299 and consumer electronics director Paul Reid says it will deliver superior pictures to the "quite gimmicky" 3D in cinemas.
Reid says Panasonic created new plasma phosphors, the glowing material inside plasma TVs, to deliver images faster and without "afterglow" that can make 3D images appear blurry.
Reid says plasma screens are better suited to the demands of 3D technology.
"We chose plasma for its ability to deliver blacker blacks, it's a self-illuminating technology, it handles moving images well basically for all the reasons plasma is good at delivering 2D TV we're choosing it to deliver 3D TV."
The company will release a further three plasma 3D TVs in October and November.
Sony will compete in July with two 3D LED-backlit LCD screens and four that can screen 3D with an accessory.
Sony technology communications manager Paul Colley says other TV makers might benefit from being early, but buyers are likely to wait until more 3D movies and TV shows are available.
"The key element of 3D TV is content. No one will want to watch TV with their glasses on if there's no content."
Most 3D movies will be delivered on Blu-ray discs. Samsung and Panasonic will launch 3D Blu-ray Disc players for $599, and 35 3D Blu-ray films are due in shops this year.
Some 3D Blu-ray titles are being offered as three-month exclusives to manufacturers, delaying their availability to the wider audience. Ice Age 3 and Coraline will be exclusive to Panasonic for three months, and Monsters Vs Aliens and Shrek will initially only be available to Samsung 3D TV buyers.
Channel 9 will broadcast this year's State-of-Origin rugby league matches in 3D as a trial and is looking to give the next series of Underbelly the same treatment.
Some 3D TVs, including those from Samsung and Sony, will be able to convert 2D images into 3D, though Colley admits the results are "nowhere near as compelling" as footage designed for 3D.
Colley says 3D games, as delivered on PlayStation 3, could interest 3D fans while they wait for more TV content, because "gaming is really immersive" and "gamers have already proved happy to engage physically with the experience" via controllers.
PlayStation 3 is due to receive a 3D software upgrade and it will be able to play 3D Blu-ray discs this year.
And as for those health warnings? The list in Samsung's 3D TV instruction booklet warns against watching 3D video if you're pregnant, elderly, epileptic, sleep-deprived, unfit or if you've had alcohol.
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