According to research made by the CEA, a large proportion of consumers will be considering purchasing a 3D TV set in the near future. However the availability of 3D content seems to be still the major obstacle for adoption.

According to the CEA and Entertainment and Technology Center at the University of Southern California, 67%t of those planning to buy a 3D TV within the next three years said they will be more likely to buy if they can receive and watch 3D television programs through an antenna, cable, satellite or fibre-to-home. The majority stressed that the main reason for buying a 3D TV is to watch 3D movies.

Virgin Media, the cable television company, aims at offering 3D TV content to its subscribers. This will be enabled through an on demand service. The provider gave up its prior decision to launch an exclusive 3D TV channel. Customers will need special 3D glasses to view the 3D content.

Virgin Media plans to exhibit its 3D TV content, made up of films, TV and games, at the Ideal Home Show, at Earls Court in London.

One can buy glasses at different rates. There are both budget and hi-end versions of the glasses.

Virgin Media differentiates from its competitor BSkyB by offering on demand 3D pruducts.

SkyLife, a Korean satellite television company, plans to start 3D broadcasts of some live sports events in May 2010. SkyLife will ensure that its cameras, switchers and other production equipment are updated by then. From May, they will have some live sports coverage and then they will expand the time span of 3D content to seven hours a day.

3D content will be available in 2010 from ESPN, DirecTV, BSkyB, SkyLife and other broadcasters and providers. ESPN, for example, is expected to broadcast 85 games in 3D this year. Some market experts estimate 40-50 video game titles in 3D to be released in 2010. SkyLife plans to build content partnerships with major Hollywood companies including Disney and DreamWorks.

SkyLife also initiated discussions with Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Fuji Film for joint investment in increased 3D programming. The company CEO commented that it will offer 3D movies to subscribers based on video-on-demand (VOD) with content from upcoming partnerships.

SkyLife officials promise to provide 10 recent movies per week to set-top boxes. The service will be available in the second half of 2010. The multi-channel digital satellite broadcaster is developing new technology, enabling subscribers who have over 60Hz regular LCD or LED-backlit LCD TVs to watch 3D programs without buying 3D-only TV sets.

The provider is expected to charge more for 3D programs.

If there's one element that is rather primitive in the beginning era of 3D television, it's the glasses that viewers have to wear. They're big, awkward, and consumers are not yet used to wearing glasses at home when watching TV. The problem grows as manufacturers are offering a variety of spectacles, incompatible with each other, not to mention their rather high price.

3D television is already at the door step to massively enter living rooms. Samsung, LG, Panasonic, and Sony are already selling 3D televisions, and other manufacturers will come up with more sets later . Movies are being made, 3D channels launched and cable networks upgraded.

3D may not be quite as revolutionary as TFT or plazma and high-definition TV, but manufacturers are hoping that 3D will eventually help sell more sets.

The problem with glasses is that the cheap, polarized spectacles handed out at movie theaters won't work at home. New 3D televisions require hi-end "active-shutter" glasses. The effect sometimes is even better than you'll get in theaters with the polarized glasses.

TV makers cannot afford to offer expensive models for the U.S. market, where sales are particularly sensitive to price. That is why they are trying to shift price margin into the active-shutter glasses, which is less risky for the TV manufacturer.

To achieve a 3D effect in the glasses, the specs have to electronically synchronize with the TV set. The 3D screens rapidly show alternating images for the left and right eye. The glasses open and close shutters over each eye so that each sees only the image intended for it, which is from a slightly different perspective. This is what gives us an illusion of stereoscopic or three-dimensional vision.

Most manufacturers are bundling one set of glasses with their 3D TVs. But outfitting a living room for movie watching can add another $450.

Consumers will have an option to watch non-3D TV but if they want to use their sets for 3D, they will need the right glasses. TV manufacturers are exploring different approaches that are incompatible with each other. A pair of glasses that works with Samsung won't work with Panasonic.

There are several ways that TV sets communicate to 3D glasses. Projectors typically use a flash of white light that bounces off the screen into the glasses. A few manufacturers link their LCDs with the glasses via radio technology, like Bluetooth. Most LCD and plasma makers are using infrared signals. But even they are incompatible, much as infrared remote controls won't work with different makes of TVs. Manufacturers also use different protocols, or software, to ensure fidelity and timing.

One solution may be universal glasses that will work across manufacturer lines, much like universal remotes can work with different sets.

A standard technology is expected to soon emerge and manufacturers will begin supplying universal eyewear with their sets. However there is trap that the big makers (Sony, Samsung, Panasonic) have got into: they didn't really have time to figure out the glasses in the rush to hit the market with 3D sets.

Major electronics brands have announced plans for 3D TV, including Panasonic, Samsung and Sony. Some have already launched new 3D TV sets. They hope to capitalize on the huge 3D theatrical success of James Cameron's Avatar.

The technology retail giant Best Buy said its Full HD 3D Home Theater System will be available at Best Buy stores' Magnolia Home Theater division for $2899.99. The system comprises a 50-inch Panasonic VIERA television for $2,499.95, with a pair of 3D glasses, and a Blu-ray disc player for $399.95. Extra glasses will cost $149.95 each.

Best Buy intends to establish and maintain leadership in the new television technology. That's one way it differentiates from Wal-Mart and other competitors. Younger consumers express great interest in 3-D TV, although the popularity of 3D technology is just beginning. Television successfully moving from black and white, to color, to high-definition, now reached the final frontier delivering immersive, totally realistic 3D imagery. Among the problems are limited 3D content on TV channels and the hefty price tags for the 3D TVs. Some experts believe that these factors may slow down sales.

Sitting on your living room couch, you can experience the wonders of sports on 3D TV: a football flies through the goal posts and smack dab into your face, an image so real you flinch and move out of the way. The NBA and a few of its member organizations began flirting with 3D technology back in 2007.

ESPN is to launch a 3D channel in June 2010, aiming to broadcast 85 live events, including the World Cup and BCS national championship game. Fox is also working with DIRECTV to produce its 2010 MLB All-Star game in 3D. Discovery is also going to launch a 3D network in 2011.

"It's going to be an evolution, not a revolution, but it's going to be changing the way we look at television in the household," said Chuck Pagano, ESPN vice president of technology. "We don't know what the appetite is yet, but we are going to learn a lot in this next year."

There are certain hurdles to 3D sports production like getting the graphics right—and deciding where to put the box score and statistics is as important as creating the graphics themselves. Because the broadcast has depth, graphics had to be placed in a way that wouldn't lead to players constantly running through them and distracting from the game. 3ality doesn't put the graphics far in front of everything because they found most people didn't mind if players occasionally blocked them.

Television manufacturers see an opportunity to grow their market and are beginning to sell 3D TVs in the United States. Hollywood released about 14 3D movies last year, none bigger than blockbuster Avatar, which surpassed Titanic as the highest worldwide grossing film of all-time with $2.5 billion in sales.

Besides movies that come from cinemas to home TV, more content for TV is going to have to be produced to make it worth the investment for the consumer to buy a 3D TV set.

There is another issue to watching 3D at home - those glasses, another requirement to watch in 3D. High-tech glasses are sold separately and range in price from $35 to $300.

Not all consumers are prepared to put on glasses at home to watch TV programs.

An alternative to expensive 3d TV sets will be a 3D-ready projector that can cast a very large image on your wall. Acer is developing this concept with a pair of new and quite affordable DLP projectors (H5360 and X1261), which are equipped with Nvidia 3D Vision technology.

Both models contain "advanced" lamps with illumination of up to 2500 ANSI lumens and a 3200:1 contrast ratio. These lamps' life is estimated to be 4,000 hours. The H5360 offers native 16:9 720p video (1,280x720) while the step-down X1261 delivers XGA resolution in a 4:3 format.

The H5360 model is well suited for HD content (that includes 3D gaming). But you will need to connect an Nvidia 3D Vision-compatible computer with a special graphics card to the projector to get 3d content. An Nvidia's 3D Vision Kit (wireless active-shutter glasses and advanced software) is also needed.

The price tag will be set around US$700.

Samsung Electronics, has introduced 3D televisions. Samsung hopes to sell 2 million units this year. Despite the challenges of new 3D technology, there are pitfalls like the lack of available content, high prices and the need to use special glasses.Samsung 3D televisions use LCD technology backlit LED (light emitting diode) 46-inch and 55 inches and the 3D function that can be activated or not.

Samsung UN55C7000 comes with a stunning ultra slim design. It uses a 240 Hz technology that promises the fastest onscreen motion with utterly life like clarity, and features Internet@TV that lets you connect to the best of the web, right on your HDTV — allowing you to download customizable widgets and upcoming Samsung apps.

This Samsung 3D LED TV has four HDMI 1.3 ports, 2 USB slots, one component & PC input input and ConnectShare Movie support.

The new Samsung UN55C7000 should sell on Amazon for a hefty $3,299.

Sony is entering the next round of  3D TV wars by introducing its first 3D TVs. Sony launched three new 3D TV models coming out this summer: the LX900, HX900 and HX800. The flagship model (LX900) comes in 52 and 60-inch sizes. The HX900 (46 and 52-inch) model features the best LED backlight technology with anti-glare coating and Motionflow PRO 400 - running at 200Hz with partial black frames inserted to make 3D look sharper.

3D Glasses

These Sony 3D TV sets require viewers to wear Sony's battery powered "active" glasses, which offer a 120 degree viewing angle. The LX900 comes with a built-in infrared transmitter and two pairs of glasses while the transmitter and glasses are optional extras for the HX900 and HX800. Sony 3D glasses are said to work with any Sony 3D TV. There is an option to switch off the 3D, and just watch it like a normal television.

There is a definite minimum viewing distance, particularly for sport. If you stand within about three metres of the 50 inch screens, the soccer match is very difficult to focus on.

3D HD televisions have launched at CES 2010. But are general public and home consumers ready for 3D TV? Despite recent success of Avatar in cinemas all over the world, it is doubtful that people in mass will be willing to shell out for a new pricy TV sets and compatible glasses.

However, vendors like Panasonic, LG, Samsung and Sony are already exploring this technology. They were all showing off new 3d sets at CES 2010.

Panasonic’s VT25 series TVs is supplied with only one pair of their cool-looking glasses included for free. Sharp concentrated more on improving colour rather than 3D. Samsung C9000 comes with what has to be the coolest remote ever (with a mini TV on your remote).

Product demo of the new Sony Bravia LX900 3D at CES 2010:

Philips has decided to abandon its WOWvx 3D displays product line. They were based on auto-stereoscopic (no glasses) technology. WOWvx uses the 3D format called 2D-plus-depth that has a greyscale depth map next to each 2D frame.

These 3D displays had a large viewing zone (up to 132-inch), which made them suitable for simultaneous use by a number of viewers and Philips targeted business-to-business market. Philips' hopes of gaming industry boom failed and that caused a weak demand.