Monday August 15, 2011 – Stewart Wolpin
Panasonic, Samsung, Sony and XpanD (in politically correct alphabetical order) last week announced a universal 3D glasses standard.
Upon hearing of agreement between the three leading active shutter 3D HDTV makers, the first thing that jumped to mind was the brief exchange between Howard Johnson and Sherriff Bart as the Rock Ridge townsfolk prepare to escape from Hedley Lamarr's terror gang of toll-paying desperados in Blazing Saddles:
"Can't you see that's the last act of a desperate man?" exclaims Sherriff Bart.
Replies H.J., "We don't care if it's the First Act of Henry the Fifth!"
My point is, announcing a universal glasses standard (to supplement the IR-based M-3DI universal glasses standard announced last a few months ago) is paramount to spitting on an actual blazing saddle, using a Q-tip to staunch an abdominal knife wound, ducking-and-covering under a wooden desk to survive an atom bomb attack – the last futile act to save a doomed format.
Who's buying/who's watching
It is estimated that about 2 million households are estimated to have purchased 3D HDTVs.
But just because people are buying 3D HDTVs – a growing number of step-up sets are including 3D as an "oh, it also does…" feature rather than as the primary selling headline – doesn't mean folks at home are actually watching anything in 3D.
Yes, once upon a time, having 3D glasses that worked only with a specific brand of 3D HDTV was considered dumb and might have stalled sales.
But it's now becoming clear the lack of 3D HDTV adoption is not the lack of cross-compatible glasses – it's the glasses to begin with.
Late last year, 89 percent of consumers surveyed for a report from Nielsen and the Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing felt glasses would get in the way of doing other things while watching TV – such as surfing the net on an iPad or laptop, a growing American habit – and 57 percent said they wouldn't buy a 3D HDTV because of the glasses.
And an active v. passive glasses format war doesn't help.
So, yes, universal glasses – finally – are a nice and good thing. But it may be the last act of a desperate format.
