Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week. This inaugurates what all TV makers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room.
Samsung, Panasonic start selling 3-D TVs
Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week, inaugurating what TV makers hope is the era of 3-D viewing in the living room.
Samsung Electronics Co. announced Tuesday that it is selling two 3-D sets. Combined with the required glasses and a 3-D Blu-ray player, the prices start at about $3,000 for a 46-inch screen.
Panasonic Corp. has said it will sell its first 3-D set Wednesday.
The push into the living room comes as moviegoers have shown considerable enthusiasm for the latest wave of 3-D fare in the theater. This weekend, “Alice in Wonderland” grossed an estimated $116.2 million at the box office, beating the first-weekend receipts of “Avatar,” the winter’s 3-D blockbuster.
Although it’s clear that 3-D sets for the home will appeal to technology and home-theater enthusiasts, it remains to be seen if the TVs will entice regular consumers to spend $500 or more above the price of a comparably sized standard TV and Blu-ray player.
The 3-D effect requires viewers to wear relatively bulky glasses that need to be recharged occasionally. They’re not like the cheap throwaways that have been used in theaters since the 1950s. When you’re wearing these 3-D TV glasses, room lights and computer screens may look like they’re flickering, making it difficult to combine 3-D viewing with other household activities.
And for now, there isn’t much to watch in 3-D. Samsung is including a 3-D copy of “Monsters vs. Aliens” on Blu-ray discs with its packages, in a deal with the studio, DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. Its CEO, Jeffrey Katzenberg, said that it would convert its “Shrek” movies to 3-D for Samsung TV buyers later this year.
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