Opinion: 3D TV’s Deserves a Comeback. The Time’s Opportune.
3D TV’s promised a lot to its early adopters, from live sports to a dream cinematic experience, its time for companies to reincarnate its offering.
The first movie theatres were not only black and white, but they did not even have sound. The screenings relied on sub-titles or live narrators at the cinema House. Then came the era of movies with synchronized sound or as they were popularly called the ‘Talkies’. They were heralded as a new era in entertainment, and some of the initial movies like Alam-Ara in India became so popular that they are still remembered as a part of history and even taught to school children. The same impact was created in the society by the first full-length color film the documentary “Our Queen and King in India”. As the movie was shot for the British royals it normalized the idea of movie-going for the affluent class.
The introduction of each new display technology has, not only heralded a new era in entertainment but has also brought significant cultural changes with it. All the innovation in Display and Sound Technology finally trickled down into the living room, with the Television. 3D display technology existed even before the color film. It has seen significant ups and downs in its lifecycle, with a sudden surge in popularity followed by a downtrend.
Adaptation of 3D display technology peaked with the smash hit release of James Cameroon’s Avatar in 2010. Due to this, the demand to the see the movies in 3D increased the 3D capable cinema screen’s across the globe. Soon, the idea trickled down to the Living Room with the Introduction of 3D TV’s. The days of the new technology were short and by 2015, the focus had shifted back to the higher resolution conventional Tv’s or the 4K standard. Looks like its a time for a comeback, read along to know why.
Why did they fail in the first place?
One of the key reason for the failure of the 3D Tv’s was its prohibitive cost. As an emerging technology they were marketed as a premium television product, in an effort to increase the average selling price of the television set. As with all new technology it meant a few people could actually afford it. It set it in a chicken and egg problem, from where it spiraled downward.
While selling a new display technology calls for a higher cost from the end-user, It is doom for Content Creation. Unlike manufacturers who can sell to a niche segment at exorbitant prices, Content creators need a significant audience and distribution to be able to profit from their investments in new technology.
In the 2010’s era we did not have 4G or 5G networks, fiber connections were uncommon in the consumer space and streaming service was still a niche market, dominated by Netflix. It meant 3D could not be distributed over the said platforms due to lack of effective bandwidth. Adding to the trouble was the fact that most Tv’s including the 3D ones were dumb screens and not Smart Tv’s that we have now. DTH players were still struggling to get people to adapt to HD (They still are in India!) and cared little for 3D.
While the challenges were many in the professional front, they were equally numerous in for amateur’s. For recording in 3D required you to have two set of camera’s for creating the perception of depth called stereoscopy. It required a purchase of new equipment which was again cost prohibitive. Each member of the family required their own 3D enabled, spectacles to enjoy the show. These glasses were not only costly but also cumbersome to use for the everyday use.
Part of the blame, is also on the content creators, and filmmakers that tried to cash on the 3D boom, using shabby 2D to3D up conversion techniques, that did not exploit any of the technology’s advantages for a cinematic experience but rather, created a dizzy and eye-soring experience for the audience.
“Hollywood has done 3D a disservice by embracing post-conversion.’’
-James Cameron
This leads to only one reliable alternate for the end-consumer, Blu ray disks. These Blu-ray discs offered the best possible experience but not only the content available on it was limited to A- list movies, they were expensive too! A blu-ray disc title seldom cost as much as 3 months of DTH or an entire year of streaming service. It was clear that the technology even though brilliant was too ahead of its time then.
Fast-Forward 2020
The year of the pandemic has changed a lot of things for us, many of our new habits are going to stay with us for a lot of duration in the near future. For one we are consuming a lot of content through streaming services, even movies are being released on streaming platforms. This has led to an increased appetite from consumers to buy Larger TV’s, Projectors, Streaming Devices, Home Theatre Systems, and other peripherals to create a movie-like experience at home.
Also, in the last decade the availability of the internet, its penetration, and speed have increased significantly globally and especially in India. All this can be attributed to the rise in 4G and Fiber line adaptations throughout the country.
Similarly, streaming devices and smart TVs have also become extremely popular in the world in the past 5 years with customers not only, buying but also using the services efficiently. The low pricing structure of the annual subscriptions of these streaming services has also been a key driving factor in the adaption and use of the Internet.
The failure of 4K
4k TV’s though a rage in consumer marketing, it isn’t finding much use.
No matter what marketing or a sales-person tells you, 4K TVs haven’t been successful either. People are buying 4K television but their use is severely limited by the lack of content and high cost associated with it.
A 4K streaming device usually sells at a 25–50% premium compared to an HD capable streaming device. Also, there are no TV channels that broadcast in 4K available in the country, except during the cricket world cup. An average 4K stream on the Internet requires you to have a broadband connection with at least 25 Mbps of speed. Most of the internet users in the country, do not have access to stable internet connections that give a download speed of 25 Mbps.
Most of the high-speed broadband data connections come with a data Cap. Ex the 850 Rs. JioFiber offers 200GB of data (without promotions). Viewing 4K content for an hour consumes 15GB of your data. This means an average consumer can only watch 12 hours of TV on their device, before exhausting their data pack. Also, they will probably require a Netflix subscription in 4K that also costs 800 Rs. a month. Other streaming services do not have a significant 4K video library hence they have not been considered in this example.
While a 4K video does offer a superior viewing experience, it is only possible if you are planning to sit very near to your TV (Bad idea for your eyes)to be able to discern the fine details. Otherwise, you ought to have a really large screen 65 inches or above the minimum, to be able to enjoy the 4K in a large living room. Even if you can afford all of the above, there isn’t any significant difference between an HD TV or a 4K TV if you are viewing the content from a safe viewing distance.
This is because the human eye is incapable of discerning the fine details that 4K brings with it from a distance. A case on point can be made by Apple’s Retina display, which focuses on vibrant colors rather than high-resolution screens as Apple understands that they do not offer much advantage for low screen size devices (iPhones) to adapt 4K technology. Most iPhones are not even equipped with a full HD + screen yet do not see any major impact on sales.
4K has been a failure but manufacturers are too fatigued to try anything new at this point. Most 4K TV’s are being wasted away by Saas-Bahu TV Sops, and subpar quality signal. (Dabba hai Dabba, Uncle ka TV Dabba ! )
3D TV consumer Value Point.
For consumers, 3D technology has become more accessible than ever. For
- To stream in HD 3D, it requires only 8–12 Mbps of network speed that is accessible to a lot more people than 25Mbps required by 4K. Also, data consumed by an hour of 3D streaming is less than 5 GB.
- All HD DTH set-top boxes and streaming devices are capable to stream in 3D or can be made to do so, via an OTA update.
- 3D TV’s come with a high 120Hz or 240Hz refresh rate. High refresh rates make sports and Games amazing to watch on TV, thus also enhancing the non-3D viewing experience. (4K TV’s can only stream in 60Hz generally)
- More Content is available in 3D than in 4K, as 3D movies are being made since the 2000s.
Also, initially recording for 3D required two different cameras together that were not very accessible in 2010’s. Nowadays, most smartphones come with more than one camera on the rear, which can easily capture the depth information to create a 3D image. While many people loath the 3D effect in theatre as they usually employ an inferior passive 3D technology, because the glasses are cheaper to replace and less prone breakage.
However, 3D TV’s generally ship with Active 3D glasses that require batteries to operate. Active 3D is loads better than Passive 3D technology, and most 3D TVs give a significantly better viewing experience than the movie theatres. A few 3D TVs also support glass-free 3D viewing already, the biggest bottleneck in the adaption of this technology.
Manufacturer’s view point
Television market for long was the forte of the big 3 brands, Sony, Samsung, and LG, while OEM’s like SHARP have also have had their fair share in multiple markets. However, this dominance is now increasingly threatened by new entrants in the television space like, OnePlus, Xiaomi, Vu, iFlacon, Nokia, and other budget TV brands.
These brands undercut the heavyweights significantly. For, example a 65 inch 4K television from Sony may cost you 1,80,000 Rs. but the same can be purchased from Nokia at 65,000 Rs. a third of what Sony charges for its product. At this point, the premium TV manufacturers desperately need a differentiator to defend their high price point.
3D TV’s can easily fill into this role. For the Manufacturer it would incentivize the customer for buying a 3D capable TV at a better price point, that can save their profits. They can then try to sell a whole ecosystem of products around 3D capabilities. The budget TV makers will take time to catch-up, as these manufacturers rely on sourcing panels and other tech from an OEM and employ contract Manufacturer’s to bring down costs. 3D technology will require budget players to do R&D that will take time and resources.
Many of the core 3D technology especially those involving glass-free 3D or newer standards like RealD3D or IMAX which are IP protected or need licensing and certification. The added cost associated with this will also discourage budget Manufacturers.
High Refresh Rate Displays are already a rage in smartphones and Gaming Monitor Market. 3D TV’s require high refresh rates to operate, they can jump into the hype around the high refresh rate, for sports and gaming. Even if 3D fails mass-market adaptation again, high refresh rate TV’s will definitely survive. Also, it’s an opportune time to introduce a High Refresh rate TV with a newer generation of powerful Gaming consoles like the PS5 and Xbox series X can bring the Ultimate gaming experience to the large screen.
Conclusion
The high refresh rate 3D TV does not only provide value to the consumer but also a much-needed differentiator to the Manufacturers. It’s a win-win situation for everyone and can revive many ailing segments like DTH and expand the existing ones to options of more premium offerings and add-ons. It’s definitely worth a try.
