3D Blu-ray will reach tipping point in 2011, claims BDA
3D Blu-ray is close to reaching the "tipping point" where it becomes widely accepted in the home, claims Victor Matsuda, chairman of the Blu-ray Disc Association's (BDA) promotions committee.
"Consumers are telling us, both in research and in their response to theatrical 3D releases, that they want more content in 3D," says Matsuda.
"Movie goers have shown an overwhelming preference for the 3D version of films when presented with the option of watching in 2D or 3D. And they're telling us they would like to see that experience extended into the home."
Matsuda believes that the 2D Blu-ray format is "already well past the point of having reached critical mass, quickly becoming the standard for high-definition home entertainment", and says it's growing faster than DVD.
Research by Futuresource Consulting indicates that sales of Blu-ray players will total nearly 24 million units this year across the three key growth markets – USA, Europe and Japan.
In his upbeat assessment, Matsuda predicts that the number of households in the US with a 3D Blu-ray player will increase 3-4 times next year. "I expect 2011 to be a break-out year for Blu-ray 3D," he says.
As for the relative lack of 3D software, he is confident that there will be an increasing number of titles available in tme for Christmas.
Do you agree? Will you be buying a 3D Blu-ray player this Christmas? Let us know what you think in the Comments box below.
Follow whathifi.com on Twitter
Comments
professorhat I don't think you're alone, as more people realise upscaled/converted dvd's simply don't compare to blu-rays, esp. since if they have already have the full hd telly.
Quite a while ago I expressed the same opinion that 3D tellys and blu-ray players will proliferate to the extent that 3D capability will be a moot point. Especially as they become cheaper.
But the article is completely ignorant of Toshiba (or others) who are pushing ahead with spec-free 3D. Personally I don't think the demand for 3D is such that some won't be willing to wait 2 or 3 years for a better technology.
Mine came as a bundle with my panasonic 3d tv.
I agree with "dvdaudio" comments my kids, thier friends and several neighbours also love the 3d experience and sky 3dtv. The only down side is the house is always full...
However, as a technologist I also agree with "irishav" comments.
The technology is immature + needs more content..
Well, the comments did come from the head of the BDA's promotions committee, so I guess it's his job to promote Blu-ray!
But weren't there some figures the other week saying that 3D market penetration in the UK was only 10% or thereabouts?
I guess this may be another one of those "well, all PS3s can now play 3D BD, so that'll boost the numbers up a bit" exercises.
Just sounds like a load of marketing twaddle to encourage more sales, based on a set of massaged statistics. 3D is load of cobblers and will not take off in the home.
Personally I`m not totally convinced by 3d tech yet............ as i have to wear glasses already to see hd clearly the prospect of having to wear two is very off-putting!
I would sooner save my pennies until the technology arrives where glasses are not needed ( I know it`s here already - just not commercially available at any sort of reasonable price! )
When that happens, hopefully I will have saved enough for the mother of all upgrades.....until then I think nothing can beat a well mastered blu-ray in 2d on a properly calibrated screen
I'm a huge HD fan & have bought/upgraded all my equipment to enjoy gaming, films & audio. As a result it will be sometime before I am going to re-upgrade! I would like an LED tv to replace my LCD but if I went 3D I would need to replace my perfectly good BD player along with my Onkyo-607.
I was in the same mindframe as jamesbub that I'll wait till glasses free takes off but James Cameron said the other day in an interview it will take another 8-10yrs! I'm hoping he was being less than optimisitc!
as the prof says - quality AVRs, TVs and BD players have 3d built-in. Because someone buys a 3D compatible device does not mean they've "bought-in" to 3d.
I imagine most will watch one or two films, but this tech will, ultimately, fade to obscurity. Hopefully...!
Thing is, it'll become more common that buying a new TV or Blu-Ray player means you get 3D TV capability with it without really any choice in the matter. And no doubt if you have this, you'll buy a few 3D TV discs just to see what it's like. Same with Blu-Ray players - there's no point in buying a new DVD player these days when you can pick up a Blu-Ray player for �50 - �60. So all this talk of hardware sales showing how popular the formats are should be taken with a pinch of salt.
The true test will be the software sales i.e. Blu-Rays and 3D Blu-Rays. A number of people say they still buy DVDs to play on their Blu-Ray players because they don't see the need to pay the extra for the Blu-Ray except for a few of their favourite films. I personally don't buy anything apart from Blu-Rays now, but I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority when it comes to this.
Personally speaking 3D doesn't float my boat. I have seen various demonstrations and found either the glasses uncomfortable, or the images headache inducing. I am currently contemplating upgrading my existing Panasonic Blu ray player but 3D capable is not a priority.
think i'll wait for the 'glasses free' 3d technology to become mainstream.
i got mines free with samsung 3d tv package
i have only seen two 3d movies on blu ray
and very good they were too,and waiting for more movies
and will buy more as they become availible
i have seen skys 3dtv films the kids love the 3d tv films
they have seen, so it a thumbs up from me to 3d tv.
The prices for 3D TV's are still far too high and the little content available is not gonna change sales anytime soon. Yes there seems to be a few more titles on the way but not nearly enought to make people splash out on a new TV and Blu ray player. Every film can be shown in HD but not every film is in 3D,so even at it's peak 3D Blu ray is gonna have significantly less titles to buy.