Special to the Director's Cut Blog
By Mike Snider, USA TODAY
The race is on to get new 3D TVs into stores - and homes.
Panasonic plans to have its first 3D HDTVs in stores next week. (Model and pricing information have not yet been released.) Samsung's first 3D models - 46-inch and 55-inch flat panels starting at $2,340 - are available for pre-order on Amazon.com and Sears.com for shipment as early as this week.
Mitsubishi today brings to market $129 XpanD 3D glasses that will turn many of its existing televisions into 3D sets. The TVs include models sold during the past two years that were marked "3D-ready."
3D TVs from Sony and other competitors are close behind.
"Our belief is that the American consumer has experienced 3D and thinks it is pretty cool," says Bob Perry, Panasonic senior vice president. "There is a great opportunity to create a different (3D) experience in homes and in theaters."
3D Blu-ray movie discs and broadcasts are still a few months away, so TV makers are turning to video games, such as Ubisoft's Avatar, to show off 3D content.
"This is really an easy plug-and-play system the consumer can use to enjoy 3D now and then be ready when these 3D movie releases come out," says Mitsubishi's Frank DeMartin.
Game publishers have "more 3D games in the pipeline," he says, "and movies is the second wave."
Some current Blu-ray disc players can be upgraded to play 3D discs, but new models are hitting stores now from Panasonic, Sony and others.
Sony has 3D TVs due this summer, too. Customers who have seen demonstrations in Sony Style stores "either say they flat-out really like it or that they didn't expect to like it so much," says Sony's Chris Fawcett.
3D television programming is also on the way. In June, satellite provider DirecTV plans to launch three 3D channels. ESPN has its own channel announced for June 11. Also in the works later this year: a joint 3D channel from Discovery, IMAX and Sony.
"There won't be an overwhelming amount of 3D content available early in the cycle, but there will be more than there was (high-definition content) in the early days of HDTV," says Ross Rubin of The NPD Group.
An NPD survey released last month found that while one-third of consumers were somewhat interested in 3D TV, more than 60% were worried about the cost.
"One of the industrywide concerns is whether consumers will be so quick to upgrade (high-definition) TVs that they may have only recently purchased," Rubin says. "While retailers are cautious about 3D, they're excited about its potential to drive people to the stores to experience it."
A projection from research firm DisplaySearch that consumers worldwide could buy more than 1 million 3D TVs in 2010 is "fairly conservative," Panasonic's Perry says. "We believe a significant proportion of consumers are going to buy a 3D TV and future-proof themselves."
Los Angeles-area retailer Tom Campbell of Linder's Furniture/Home Theater agrees. The chain plans to sell the first Mitsubishi 3D-ready HDTV bundle today in Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., with XpanD 3D glasses, video game system and the Avatar game (starting at $1,899 for a 60-inch set).
"People want it," he says. "It is beyond their expectations, and we tell them about how they are going to be able to watch sports and movies soon."
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