The Death of 3D TV

Remember that time you watched a 3D movie on Blu-ray and said to yourself, "Wow, this 3D effect brings a lot to the movie, I can see why so many people love it"? No? Well, you’re not alone. Outside of a small group of enthusiasts, 3D never really caught on. Even those who enjoyed the medium (myself included) will tell you that part of the problem with the 3D renaissance of the 2000s is that it suffered severe over-exposure from film studios and consumer electronics companies. The hype predictably lead to trouble for the standard and before you knew it, what should rightly have been no more than an added feature for certain films, suddenly became the laughing stock of recent film history. Only a handful of movies used 3D visuals effectively, but that didn’t stop a flood of movies with faux 3D effects overlaid onto a film that was shot in 2D. By 2015, the market was overwhelmed with overly dark, hazy movies with terrible 3D effects nobody wanted to sit through. To add insult to visual injury, movie theaters and Blu-ray discs got away with charging a premium for making movies worse.

It should be no surprise that the inevitable has finally happened… the last 3D TV manufacturers, LG and Sony, have disclosed that they will end production on 3D sets for 2018. It’s a sad end to a visual format that occasionally was implemented impeccably by the likes of James Cameron and others who put time and effort into making movies and shooting visual effects specifically for 3D.

The Long Demise of 3D TV

In the early days of 2010, when manufacturers were hoping 3D TV would give sales a shot in the arm, the warning signs of its demise were already there. Studios were ramping up the volume of second-rate 3D movies, and theaters were charging a premium for them at the box office. The Blu-ray disc aberrations would cost you extra too. Between premium priced ticket sales, downstream revenue for 3D titles on Blu-ray and new hardware (TVs, Blu-ray players) to reproduce 3D at home, studios and consumer electronics manufacturers were all complicit in smothering their 3D baby in its crib. 

But it didn’t have to be that way! Movies in 3D could be beautiful - like James Cameron’s Avatar, which elevated the form by shooting in 3D and building scenes specifically designed for 3D immersion. But those solid efforts were drowned by the tide of junk, and the result was the perception that 3D was just another price gouge and an excuse to get people to buy a new TV they didn’t need.

The Experts Agreed - 3D TV Wasn't Selling

Audioholics was among those who forecasted 3D TV as a flop. Today, our prediction has come to fruition, and the story of 3D TV is now the stuff of cautionary tales for industry analysts like Ben Arnold at NPD.

"...that Sony and LG dropped 3D says that consumers have moved on to other purchase motivators for TV," Executive Director at NPD Ben Arnold says. "Things like 4K/UHD, HDR and even smart have become the key features along with screen size that consumers are buying on."

According to NPD, 3D TV sales have declined every year since 2012. In 2016, 3D TV made up only 8-percent of TV sales. That figure was down from 16-percent in 2015.

LG's Director of New Product Development Tim Alessi said of his company’s decision to drop 3D:

“3D capability was never really universally embraced in the industry for home use, and it's just not a key buying factor when selecting a new TV," he said. "Purchase process research showed it's not a top buying consideration, and anecdotal information indicated that actual usage was not high. We decided to drop 3D support for 2017 in order to focus our efforts on new capabilities such as HDR, which has much more universal appeal."

Clunky Glasses = Existential Deficit

Why were consumers so ambivalent toward home 3D? There's more to it than just pricey sub-par 3D movies.

The effect required people to wear clunky glasses, and if you're asking them to do that, you'd better have a great payoff for making people wear hardware on their face. This is especially true for viewers who would have to put them on over their existing frames. But in a majority of cases, there was no payoff. Poor 3D effects created a further deficit for the viewer by darkening the picture. Virtual reality can get away with the bulky headset because it creates a completely new experience - something that's a giant leap from watching a screen. On your flat panel TV, 3D isn’t bringing anything new. The basic framework of 3D perception on a 2D canvas has been around since 15th century painters first created perspective. At best, 3D is a fun feature once in awhile, but it brings nothing new to the storytelling medium of film.

Possibly one of the biggest contributors to the demise of 3D was the simultaneous rise of streaming. While studios and consumer electronics manufacturers were hoping to keep you buying 3D Blu-ray discs, consumers were turning Netflix into a distribution revolution that seriously changed the TV game. Netflix didn’t need to add 3D, and the few content providers that dabbled in it - including ESPN and DirecTV - dropped it in short order.

It's safe to say most consumers quickly saw 3D TV as a gimmick. But if you’re one of the few who love the 3D format so much that we’d have to pull your copy of Gravity on Blu-ray from your cold dead hands… there is hope. A change.org petition wants to get LG to revive 3D for its 2018 OLED TV. It never hurts to dream - especially in 3D.

Good luck, and visit Change.org to see the petition to LG to bring back 3DTV.