Panasonic leads way for 3D in the home

Cameron's Avatar might be first such release in 2010

By Susanne Ault -- Video Business, 2/27/2009

FEB. 27 | Panasonic is leading consumer electronics manufacturers dead-set on getting modern 3D into homes as soon as next year.

The company is holding regular 3D demonstrations using a Panasonic Blu-ray Disc player and plasma TV set at its Hollywood headquarters. Panasonic wants to convince studios and rival manufacturers to adopt its technology in order to speed up consumption of home-based 3D hardware.

At this time, the 3D technology enjoyed in theaters with such films as Journey to the Center of the Earth and Bolt is not commercially available for home use. One huge obstacle is that there are no agreed upon terms regarding building 3D-capable TV sets that are compatible with all possible content sources, including existing Blu-ray and/or DVD players. For the Blu-ray/DVD market today, studios must downgrade their 3D theatrical releases into anaglyph form, with 3D imagery that’s more crude and blurry compared to big-screen technology.

It appears that James Cameron’s Avatar, set for theatrical release Dec. 18, might be one of the first 3D theatricals to be released in modern 3D form on Blu-ray. Panasonic donated 3D camera and TV display equipment for filming, and the company is expected to stay with the project through all of its various phases.

In a YouTube clip posted on Jan. 25, Cameron thanks Panasonic for its Avatar involvement and remarks, “I look forward to working with Panasonic to bring high-quality 3D onto home screens.”

Panasonic’s Hollywood demo involves a modified BD50 model BD Live player, which runs discs at about twice as fast as its usual rate. Also, the model’s picture-in-picture capabilities have been further amplified. The player is connected to a 3D-ready Panasonic prototype plasma TV that was shown off at January’s Consumer Electronics Show.

Eisuke Tsuyuzaki, Panasonic VP of corporate development and general manager of its Blu-ray Group, says he believes the company will simultaneously launch a 3D-enabled TV display and Blu-ray player in 2010. That rollout also would be supported by available 3D content, potentially hailing from Panasonic’s own recently launched 3D Blu-ray authoring facility at its Hollywood headquarters.

Pricing for upcoming 3D products should be similar to Panasonic’s currently available 65-inch plasma displays and BD Live players.

“Most active studios [with 3D theatricals] have come through to watch the demo,” said Tsuyuzaki. “A lot of directors have come through as well. … We want the next big thing, and 3D is a compelling proposition to rejuvenate TV and Blu-ray. 3D is becoming normal [for theaters], and it’s only natural to do the same thing for home entertainment.”

Panasonic-backed 3D technology is non-proprietary, and the company hopes that will encourage support elsewhere.

There are rival companies who are also racing to provide 3D entertainment in the home. Samsung has been selling 3D-ready TVs for some time, but without much available programming. However, at CES 2009, Samsung demoed sets that can automatically deliver 3D content, standards or not, with a built-in engine that immediately upconverts 2D programming over existing Samsung Blu-ray players to near 3D specifications.

Samsung is hopeful its products will be on shelves by 2010 as well.

Dan Schinasi, senior manager of HDTV product planning at Samsung, said the company is willing to adopt any 3D standard as long as it’s an open system.

“They are still jumping around on standards and the way that 3D is actually encoded,” said Schinasi. “Studios [and manufacturers] are meeting regularly and debating. It’s a long process.”

Consumers are expressing a true curiosity about 3D at home, according to the Consumer Electronics Assn.

From a December survey, the CEA reports that 26 million households are interested in some form of 3D content in the home. Currently, 17% of U.S. adults (representing 41 million people) saw a 3D theatrical movie in 2008.

Over the next two years, nearly 15% of those surveyed said they’d be interested in buying a 3D movie for home viewing.

Of the respondents who have seen a 3D movie in the last 12 months, more than 35% say they prefer watching theatrical movies in 3D over 2D. Another 20% said it led them to want to watch 3D at home.

Some 3D skeptics have doubted that people will ever agree to wear the polarized glasses necessary to enjoy modern 3D technology. However, CEA reveals that 41% of U.S. adults say that having to wear glasses has no impact on whether they buy a 3D-ready TV.

Other naysayers don’t believe that people who have recently purchased HDTVs will want to buy additional 3D-ready TVs, especially in this economy.

But CEA research would disagree, according to organization economist Shawn DuBravac.

“The thing with TVs is that they are in 98% of U.S. households, and there are few products with this sort of adoption,” said DuBravac. “People will often upgrade their primary display and take the old TVs and move them to another room. Consumers tend to upgrade TV faster than the technology decays. There is still room for 3D TV to fit in that cycle.”