When 3D television was first launched to consumers it was surrounded by a great deal of excitement. However, it has been something of a flop and has not been able to meet the expectations in terms of sales. So why did this device fail, especially when there was so much of buzz around it? In this article I will look at why 3D TV has not been as popular as expected.
Once hyped as the next big thing in home entertainment, now consumers have shown it the way out. Yes, 3D TV is dead already. After being ditched by BBC, ESPN, and more recently Sky News, now manufacturers like Sony, Panasonic and LG hardly discuss 3D TVs at their CES stands, meaning that 3D is finally over.
Since about 2010, these companies spent millions of dollars trying to convince consumers to watch television in 3D. A lot of people did give it a try, but those obnoxious spectacles among other factors soon put them off. Viewer have now shifted back to regular television. You can get details on packages available here at http://www.tvproviders.com/cablevision/.
Here are the reasons why 3D TVs failed:
- Viewers hate 3D TVs
Believe it or not, viewers hate 3D televisions, particularly in their homes because it is simply a trouble. You have to put on special eyeglasses and searching around for those horrible spectacles just as your favorite program is around the corner is really annoying. Companies have been trying to create a demand for 3D for almost a century now, but have failed badly. Remember, the world’s first 3D feature film, The Power of Love, premiered in Los Angeles in 1922 after which 3D quickly disappeared. It did make a comeback off and on throughout the century, but failed to convince consumers.
- Spectacles are a pain
Most people are required to use those passive glasses they got from the cinema to watch 3D TV at home. The passive glasses come with their own issues, such as poor, dim videos and issues with resolution. Some manufacturers have produced active glass to overcome those issues, but they are prized very high, require batteries and one manufacturer’s spectacles wouldn’t work on another manufacturer’s 3D TV.
- Many 3D TV viewers reported headache and migraine
Watching programs on 3D TV can be a pain for many. Many viewers have reported that 3D TV makes them suffer from headache, nausea and migraine. This is because our brains find a virtual 3D video totally perplexing.
Remember, in the real world we are able to see 3D views without pain because when we focus a particular thing, the background and all other things go out of focus. However, with artificial 3D images, everything stays in focus, thus creating a strain on the brain. This can be further corroborated by a research conducted at Eindhoven University in Holland that concluded that you should limit your 3D television views to stay away from headache and nausea.
- Very limited content to watch
As manufacturers and the media were busy convincing people to watch 3D TVs, convinced users were struggling to find enough and valuable content to watch. The bad news is that there was very limited or non-existent 3D content for viewers to watch. To produce 3D programs, unusual cameras and dedicated editing software have to be used. This was a very off-putting factor for viewers as well as program producers, so they decided to show 3D the door out.
- 3D viewing experience is not so cool
Take out Avatar, and 3D watching experience is not so valuable, not even in the case of Spider Man. Since users want value for every dollar they spend, 3D performed poorly to keep users stick around. There existed a high expectation from the entertainment industry to continuously come up with value added 3D movies, but the industry failed horribly, leading consumers to see 3D just as a gimmick, not the next big thing in home entertainment as claimed.
You may ask, “If 3D is dead, what’s next?”
The answer is that manufacturers are now in the process of developing 4K, which would show you 4000 lies of vertical resolution. The outcome is a rich viewing experience, and the good news is that it does not result in headache or nausea. However, it is not yet confirmed if 4K would really take off.
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