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3D TV…..Is it worth it?

The Buzz word in the CE industry this Summer has been all about 3D TVs.  I get a lot of questions about whether or not it is worth looking into and my honest answer is, well, not yet.  Although we have installed a few, I tend to talk economics when it comes to 3D.  Let’s take a look at what I mean.  If you remember Economics 101, there are cycles when new products are introduced to the market place.  When deciding to purchase 3D or not to purchase you need to classify yourself in 1 of three categories.  Are you an early adopter?  If so you want the latest and greatest technology as soon as it hits the shelves.  You are more concerned with having and reviewing the technology rather than knowing all of the pros and cons.(which I will go into later)  Are you a Late Adopter?  If so, you will wait to hear the Buzz and the pros and cons of products and make a more informed purchase.  The only problem; if you are in the market for a TV and you are a late adopter, you may not be buying another TV for a while and you may miss out on the 3D Technology for a while.  If you are a late adopter and bought a flat panel in the last 3-4 years, the timing may work nice for the 3D technology to have the bugs worked out when you are ready for a new TV.  Last, you may be a laggard.  If so, you may still have a Tube TV or possibly just bought a flat panel at the last Thanksgiving Day Sale from Target.  If this is you, check back on this Blog in about 5 years to find the latest info on 3D.

As promised here are the pros and cons with 3D.  Lets start with the Pros since the list is shorter.  First and foremost the technology is really cool.  If you have seen it at your local Electronics store the Picture depth and quality is better than I imagined it would be.  Second, with sports it brings a whole new dimension (no pun intended) to life.  Finally, if you are a Gamer you will love 3D, I just hope the glasses fit over your ear piece while you are playing Halo or Call of Duty online.  One quick benefit I wanted to list is that there are models available that have the technology built in, but you don’t have to buy the emitter and glasses until you are ready.  The price of the TV is in line with similar models from last year, and you can choose when to adopt the technology and not have to buy a new TV.

The Cons list is long but I will cover the most important.  First is Content.  There is not nearly enough content available right now to justify buying 3D.  Companies like Sony, are trying to push out content as fast as possible but the sales have not lined up just yet.  Until multiple TV programmers and Blu Ray discs become available you will struggle to find a good time to use the technology.  The second and most important con is the glasses.  Unless you plan on putting the TV in a media room that is used for movies and entertainment, you will not want to use the glasses during an average evening.  They are bulky and cumbersome, and hurt your eyes after a while.  Finally, I think consumers feel a little bit hurt with 3D.  Just when we all get used to Blu-Ray, HD and 1080p, companies are going to try and get us to buy all new gear to make 3D work.  This is the worst offense of all and I think it may set the TVindustry back a year or two.