Live From CES: Is The Next Big Thing 3D TV?

With cable and broadcast companies switching to HD television, TV makers have gotten a nice bump in sales as viewers upgrade to sets capable of doing the higher resolution video justice. But with the transition to all-digital broadcast television just 40 days away, TV makers are looking for the next big thing that will drive consumers to purchase a brand new TV. And they think they've found it -- 3D. Companies like LG and Panasonic are touting plans to develop standards and technology so that you can take advantage of the 3D content currently being made for IMAX 3D, and even watch live 3D TV for, say, sporting events. Panasonic in particular went so far as to have a taped testimonial about how awesome home 3D will be from director James Cameron (who was announced as the director of Titantic, but I prefer to remember him for The Terminator instead. Cameron was in Hollywood working on post-production of his sci-fi epic Avatar, which is being filmed in 3D.) The only thorn in this rosy picture is that all of the current 3D technologies still require viewers to wear glasses, albeit not the red-and-green cardboard ones of 50's b-movie fame. Modern glasses use LCD shutters to send different images to each eye, but it still remains an open question as to whether or not people will really want to dig out a set of 3D glasses when it comes time to watch the big game or a movie, either alone or with friends.