This year’s CES is all about 4k TV – a technology that does not deliver a lot of benefits to typical home consumers with modest size TVs (most cannot tell the difference between 2K HDTV and 4K Ultra TV on a typical home sized screen):
“Any new 3D technology has to be sufficiently different, and I believe that this means High Dynamic Range HDR Ultra HD. I saw HDR video from Dolby, and it blew me away.”
via CES: 3D TV Needs Glasses-Free, High Dynamic Range Reboot.
HDR video is coming and can deliver eye catching value when it gets here. But consumers do not upgrade TVs every few years. That’s the problem that hit 3D and will impact 4K and HDR too. Everyone just upgraded to digital HDTV and most do not have disposable income to run out and buy a new technology gizmo – and certainly in the midst of the recent economic downturn.
3D’s problem was not 3D glasses but lack of content. No one wanted to watch old re-plays of sports on ESPN 3D, shot with just a few cameras. There are only so many odd cartoons and documentaries people will watch in 3D. Netflix’s 3D pickings were slim. And not everyone wants to buy Blu-ray 3D discs. The problem is lack of content.
User created 3D content via Youtube and the growing 3D production capacity of China may change this. I expect it will.
Related articles
