Parks Associates analyst Pietro Macchiarella agrees, and said that, while there are a number of similarities between the launch of HDTV and that of 3D TV, the difference this time around is that everybody in the industry is looking at 3D as a must have. CE companies see it as a way to drive sales of new televisions and 3D-compatible devices; broadcasters, who bridled at the introduction of HD, are jumping into the new technology with both feet, because they see an opportunity to differentiate themselves; and content providers, looking at the successes of movies like "Avatar" last year, see a chance to charge more for content.

"All the stars are in place for this to happen," said Macchiarella.

"If they're in the market for a new TV, they might buy," he said. "But the lingering effects of the recession is an issue, the lack of content, price of devices, and lack of consumer education about 3D if holding buyers back a little bit."

"There's a problem on the marketing side because CE companies have a difficulty in explaining how 3D looks, they have to show consumers what it looks like and until buyers experience it for themselves, they're not going to jump onboard," he said. "I've had people tell me they went into a store to look at 3D televisions and put the 3D glasses on and couldn't see anything because the batteries were dead. There is a problem if the retailers are not showing the product in the right way, there needs to be a major investment in that side of the business."

"The differential cost to implement this feature is very low, or will be very low the more time passes," said Macchiarella. "If you buy a new TV and the feature only costs you $100 to buy 3DTV, won't you buy it?"

Parks research shows that consumers are most intrigued by the prospect of watching 3D movies (39 percent) and television shows (27 percent); a quarter of them are interested in seeing sports in 3D. "We think that 3D TV will most likely be more of an appointment-based experience," he said. "And sports is the most natural thing for appointment-based viewing. That's why broadcasters are betting on it to succeed."

From the article, "3D TV: Coming of age in the next five years" by Jim O'Neill

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