3DTV's: Early answers to some questions

The Dallas Morning News did a nice write-up last week on 3DTVs that coincided with the launch of both Panasonic and Samsung's products at retail. The article provided what I thought was a good perspective on whether the average consumer should run out and buy a 3DTV set:

"Unless you're rich and impatient, you might want to hold off for a year or two. The first batch of 3-D TVs is more expensive than standard HD sets, and analysts expect the prices for 3-D sets to drop dramatically over the next few years. Also, it will be at least a year before 3-D Blu-ray movies and TV channels are widely available. And there's a chance the technology will flop and makers will lose interest."

Overall, I think that this is pretty good advice, and I was wondering just how strong the demand would be for 3DTV sets, as I referenced in a blog last week. News from Panasonic, however, would indicate that early results were quite positive. Now, if only these consumers will be okay with waiting for the 3D release of "Avatar," on Blu-ray, which isn't supposed to happen until sometime next year.

So, there's early market demand, but one other question that I've had is whether the proprietary nature of the 3D displays themselves would present a hurdle to sales. This is why the announcement by XspanD about the release of "universal" 3D glasses is good news. The company notes that they are getting requests from both manufacturers and retailers to have a universal active pair of glasses.