Glasses for watching 3D TV could cost $300 a pair, according to US analysts iSuppli, adding an unsupportable cost to the current price of $,1700 for a 3D TV.
'Some quarters surmise that the glasses could be as much as $300 a pair-which would prove prohibitive for an average family to afford', says iSuppli.
Nonetheless the company expects over 4m 3D TVs to be sold this year and believes the annual unit sale will reach 78m by 2015.
3D TVs will generate sales revenues of $64.3m in 2015, says the company, up by nearly a factor of nine from $7.4m in 2010.
Meanwhile the ASP of 3D TVs will drop to $825 by 2015, less than half the $1,768 ASP in 2010.
"While 3-D television has been all the rage in the consumer electronics industry, the market so far has been more talk than action," says Riddhi Patel, director of television system research at iSuppli, "however, announcements made before and after the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in January indicate that 3-D TV is becoming a reality. At the event, top television brands including Sony, LG, Panasonic and Samsung showcased upcoming offerings of full-featured 3-D TVs in the home. Furthermore, consumer electronics makers at CES announced 3-D Blu-ray players and home theater systems, providing critical support that will help 3-D to move beyond a niche market and enter the mainstream in the coming years."
iSuppli' expects initial 3-D TVs will become available in Q1.Many of the initial 3-D TV sets, designed to test the waters of the market and gauge consumer interest, will command a price premium of $600 to $700 compared to 2D LCD-TVs using Light Emitting Diode (LED) backlighting.
Early adopters will make up the 2010 and 2011 markets but, by 2012 and beyond, sales will spread to a wider audience as content availability increases and prices drop, reckons iSupplii.
Content is starting to become available this year from ESPN, DirecTV, BSkyB, SkyLife and other broadcasters and providers. ESPN, for example, will be broadcasting 85 games in 3-D this year. Moreover 40 to 50 gaming titles in 3-D are expected to be issued in 2010.
One concern for the television industry is that special glasses are required for consumers to actually see 3-D images.
These glasses raise a number of questions. Will eyewear be compatible with other sets, either from the same or from different brands? Do consumers want to wear the glasses for extended periods-or will extended wearing be uncomfortable? And beyond the price of the 3-D set, how much will the glasses cost? One way that some OEMs are working around this issue is by including two pairs of glasses with their 3-D sets.