3-D TV: Not if, but How and When

Just when you thought your brand-new 48-inch flat-screen HD TV set would stay put long enough to collect a fine layer of dust, get ready for 3-D TV! The technology exists; but as with any new format, the device is useless without the content. One analyst believes European consumers, at least, will have access to a cornucopia of 3-D programming by 2011.

Fat chance, says a rival market analyst, who challenged the former analyst's claim in a recent article by edgy U.K. tech journal The Register. Not that 3-D sets aren't available — they are — but first the competing manufacturers must sit down and amicably decide on a standard so that broadcasters have an incentive to create 3-D content in the first place (see also HD DVD and Betamax).

Once that's sorted out, broadcasters and content producers still need the reassurance that a critical mass of viewers actually has 3-D-capable TV sets and are interested in using the technology. Game developers, naturally, are giddy about the prospect of 3-D games and already are giving demonstrations at trade shows.

As for 3-D versions of our favorite TV shows — imagine Iron Chef America, with twirling knives and flames seemingly inches from your nose — it probably will take a while longer. And when that happens, look for all those plasma screen TVs piled up next to the discarded Christmas trees.