UK TV Viewers Slow To Embrace 3D TV

A few years ago 3D TV was being billed as a possible saviour for recession hit manufacturers looking to boost sales but now excitement seems to have fizzled out.
Two years ago, 3D was the major buzz at NAB. This year it was barely visible. In fact, Sony was really the only major company actively pushing 3D. Does this mean it’s a fad that’s passed? Again?
According to recent research UK TV viewers are slow to embrace change. The eagerly anticipated 100m final at the London Olympics will be televised by the BBC in 3D, but audience research by Freeview has questioned the appeal of the technology.
3D ranked only sixth out of eight different new technologies in terms of popularity.
Meanwhile when asked to pick three technologies out of the eight which they found most appealing, only 19% chose 3D. The rest admitted the innovations they like most are the ones which best fit with and improve the things they already do today.
Only 6% of interviewees regarded 3D transmissions as potentially "useful", three percentage points below the total for those arguing it was "appealing".
Despite these emerging trends the blockbuster director behind Titanic and Avatar, James Cameron, claims that TV is the key to 3D success.
In Las Vegas he spoke not to the movie industry, but to television broadcasters at the NAB convention about how important TV is to the future of 3D.
Cameron said: "3D is inevitable as the way we will view all entertainment, whether it’s on a tablet, TV, or the movie screen."
In an interview with Tech Crunch Cameron went on to explain his reasoning for why the future of 3D is with TV.
He said: "The future of 3D will be defined by TV. The reason for that is it’s going to solve this whole conversion issue. Because the 3D production cycle for TV is so short. You don’t have time to do a conversion. It just doesn’t exist. It’s just not part of the vocabulary. So, the tools for shooting it, posting it, delivering it, displaying it, are all going to be proven in the TV markets and then movie guys are just going to have to get in line with it."
Meanwhile Managing Director at Freeview, Ilse Howling also said: “Despite the poor turnout for 3D and TV applications, Freeview believes that 2012 could see a big change in consumer opinion.
"Eight years ago in Athens, the iPad and social media were unimagined, while the prospect of watching the 100m final in 3D at home was no more than a pipe dream. London 2012 is gearing up to be a game changer for the television industry."
However Howling added: "I am absolutely certain that no technology can succeed in the next decade without an appreciation of what the vast majority of viewers want
"In the melee of the television world, it's often easy to get caught up in industry hype on the latest fad. We must make sure that technology isn't running ahead of consumers in terms of what they actually want."
I guess when it comes to 3D on the broadcast scene only time will tell.
(LB)