Few years back the television manufacturers believed 3D TV to be the future of our living rooms. Following the success of the James Cameron directed movie “Avatar”, TV companies had put in maximum effort to the manufacturing and marketing of the 3D TVs. But seven years later, the manufacturers are realizing that the 3D technology never had a future for domestic use, and many customers will never consider it as a factor while purchasing new TV.
That is why Samsung and LG companies have cut back their production of 3D TVs. Samsung has stopped producing any 3D TV since 2016, and the only television sets having the 3D technology were the ones that were carryovers from 2015. Samsung is one of the biggest TV makers in the world, having remarkable influence on the global market. Until the end of 2015, most of the Samsung models had included the 3D feature, but after 2016 even the most expensive models came will only 2D technology.
Instead of improving the 3D technology, the TV companies are focusing on new smart TVs.
Also LG has decided to include the feature only in expensive models. With this move, LG is holding steady in the market of 3D TVs. Tim Alessi, the director of new product development of LG believes that the 3D feature is still an important criteria considered by many TV-buyers. About one third of the TVs LG sold in the US market in the year 2016 had the 3D feature. But at the same time, LG is also concentrating on manufacturing TV sets with high end 4k resolution OLED models. It is to be considered that LG’s series of 4K OLED flat screen TVs didn’t include the 3D feature. This may come as a disappointment to several 3D fans, since the EF9500 model of LG launched in 2015 delivered the best 3D experience to the audiences.
Vizio, the major US brand has not offered 3D feature to its TV sets since 2013, and continued to manufacture expensive models in 2D format only. Sony will be having only X930D and X940D with 3D formats.
Even broadcasting channels like Sky shifted its interest from 3D channels to Ultra HD or Virtual Reality.
What is the fate of 3D TV?
3D TV may not have a promising future in the living rooms but 3D movies are being made and released in theatres. 3D Blu-Ray DVDs may continue to be sold for few more years, which can be enjoyed by people still owning those 3D glasses. Online streaming services like Amazon, Netflix still have few 3D videos. But it is evident that most of the brands are stepping to the Ultra HD experience. The new 4K Blu-Ray discs doesn’t provide any support for 3D print format.
With the advent of Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, and HTC Vive, Virtual Reality is gradually capturing the market. In a way, they are basically 3D displays glued to the viewer’s face.
But if a person wants to buy a 3D TV now, they have very limited choices, most of which are way too expensive than before.
