Who's watching? 3-D TV is no hit with viewers

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By RYAN NAKASHIMA, Associated Press



Orlins' problem is that fewer than 115,000 American homes are tuned into 3-D channels at any one time. That's less than a hundredth of the 20.2 million-strong audience that saw television's highest-rated show, "NCIS," this week. 3-D viewership is so tiny that The Nielsen Co.'s methods are unable to capture any meaningful data about viewers' programming preferences.


"Avatar" was supposed to change everything. Enthusiastic television executives expected the movie to spur 3-D's transition to American living rooms, boosting sales of TVs and, they hoped, getting people to pay for 3-D channels.

That never happened.

Only 2 percent of TVs in the U.S. are able to show 3-D programming, according to the most recent data from research firm IHS Screen Digest. That's about 6.9 million sets out of 331 million. After this year's Christmas buying rush, IHS expects the number of 3-D-capable televisions in homes to jump to 19.3 million, mostly because many new larger TVs automatically include the technology. If you're in the market for a big-screen TV, you're likely to wind up with 3-D, too. Even so, 3-D TVs will amount to fewer than 6 percent of all sets.


At movie theaters, 3-D has attracted lots of viewers. But not at home. There's a supply problem: 3-D TV is expensive to produce, so there's not a lot of it. Of the content out there, some isn't very good. There's an equipment problem: Some people find the special glasses required for 3-D TV uncomfortable. And there's a money problem: Many wonder if it's worth the extra cost.

"It was kind of fascinating to me, but it's not all there," said Tim Carter, a graphic designer in Sarasota, Fla., who bought a large 3-D TV with other high-end features last year for about $1,800.

Today, the average 42-inch 3-D television costs about $900, according to IHS — about $200 more than similar-sized, more basic models. A 3-D TV tends be more expensive because 3-D is one feature common to TVs with bigger screens. It is usually grouped with other upgrades that matter more to consumers, including motion-smoothing technology and light-emitting diodes that are more energy-efficient and display color contrast better than traditional liquid crystal display sets.

"There's very little direct consumer demand" for 3-D, said Tom Morrod, a TV technology analyst with IHS in London. "They don't see a value with it. Consumers associate value right now with screen size and very few other features."


Watching home movies on disc requires a 3-D Blu-ray player that can cost another $120, and each set of 3-D Blu-ray discs costs about $27, according to IHS.

TV distributors now don't charge specifically for channels like ESPN 3D. But 3-D channels are only "free" if you're already paying up for a pricey package. They're bundled with add-ons like HD service and high-definition digital video recorders. For a DirecTV subscriber, for example, that means a $200 high-definition digital video recorder and $10 per month for HD service.


Because of the cost, Carter said he's mainly sampled free 3-D movie trailers provided on-demand by his cable TV company. A trailer for the latest "Transformers" movie didn't make him more enthused. "One of the robots pops out at you, and it felt forced." He said that 3-D effects aren't noticeable much of the time. While he said he's not knocking the technology, he's disappointed with the way it's being used.







3-D TV is not a complete bust. While he wouldn't say if it's profitable, Burns said ESPN 3D is still a revenue-generating business that is "doing well," because of how the network accounts for revenue from distributors and advertisers. Burns and others expect that as more TVs are sold with the capability, the more viewership will grow, just like it did for high-definition sets and programs a few years ago.




Watching 3-D is a problem for about 6 percent of Americans with certain eye problems, according to Dr. Dominick Maino, a professor with the Illinois College of Optometry. They simply can't see in 3-D or suffer dizziness or nausea when watching.



