A survey of 4,199 Britons conducted by YouGov for Deloitte has found that only 89 of them are planning to upgrade to 3D TV within the next year. Unsurprisingly, it’s the younger generation who are most interested with those aged between 25 – 34 most likely to be planning to buy a set. Even so, only 5% of that age range are upgrading.
According to the survey there is very little interest in any future purchases of technology including Sky, Internet TV’s or Personal Video Recorders. Paul Lee, Deloitte’s media director, said:
It is remarkable how conservative people’s predictions for their own technology spending habits over the coming year were, They didn’t have to commit to buying anything during the research and yet still predicted very little spend on TV products moving forward. Belts have tightened after the economic downturn and with little understanding of what lies ahead, consumers are still being cautious.
The survey goes against sales figures from John Lewis who said that last month, 15% of the televisions sold were 3D units.
Source: Telegraph
Lesbie
3D is a good gimmick for a cinema trip, but do i want to wear the glasses all the time in my living room – NO !
Topov81
Agreed.
I’m not tightening my belt…. but I already have my PS3, 40″ LCD and HD cable TV, therefore don’t need to spend anything further as I’m sorted for HD gaming, HD TV channels and Blu-rays.
The article says only 7% of people will be upgrading to a HD TV over the next year…. this initially sounds low but without knowing what % of people already have one you can’t really draw any conclusions from it.
Andrew Wright
Have you seen 3D t.v? It is no gimmick, worth the money? well that depends on your personal situation, but it is not a gimmick.
Lesbie
there are only two 3D tv channels at the moment, so it does’nt look like the tv companies are taking 3D seriously
cc_star
For saying 3D hasn’t even launched yet (1st Oct) 2 channels is pretty good going.
there will be movie, sport, entertainment, and documentary channels by the time the year is out – plus a whole wealth of Blu-ray & games… there will probably be more 3D content than there was HD at the same stage of its lifecycle.
However as I mentioned I’m going to wait for the tech to mature a bit
benny boy
You can’t really say it’s a gimmick until you try out a 3D TV yourself and not just base it on what you’ve seen at the cinema. There are so many ways that 3D can enhance TV watching/gaming.
Just imagine PS Move with 3D. You’d be able to actually get some depth perception with what you are doing (one thing that I found really with games I played with the PS Eye). Films in 3D at home, documentaries in 3D and HD would be amazing – especially wildlife ones. Thrillers and shows like 24, Heroes and Sherlock would be amazing in 3D.
I think many people have the same opinion as you without having tried out the 3D TV yet. That’s why so few have said they are going to buy one. Those who were planning to get a regular HDTV sometime this year will probably go into a shop and try out some TVs and see how cool 3D is on a TV and the fact that it’s not massively more than regular TVs means that they would be more inclined to buy one.
DuffyBox
Good point about Move.
You go to a 3D screening at the cinema and you see children reaching out to try and fondle the Pixar lamp. Now they can go home and Move them around just like they imagined at the cinema… they’ll LOVE that and so will I :)
cc_star
Numerous sources report that flicker is quite bad on Sony sets with their active shutter glasses.
Most reviews I’ve read and comparisons also state there is flicker, which strangely they claim is more pronounced on Sony than it is on Samsung or Panasonic.
I understand passive TVs (which aren’t available commercially yet) are even more expensive
So I can say for sure I’m going to see how the tech matures and how much genuine 3D content is available.
To my knowledge the only genuine 3D content is Avatar, the Pixar & Dreamworks movies and a couple of footie matches broadcast by Sky, everything else is some psuedo 3D bullshit that does nothing to further the tech and exists purely to cash in
The lack of content, coupled with the reported flicker with Active Shutter tech means there is no way I’m going to fork out £800-£2500 on a new set just to play a few games on.
DJ-Katy
HD is still like this several years later… watched Eurosport “HD” or Discovery “HD” lately? It’s a joke.
beeje13
or itv1 HD the picture is as bad as whats on the channel
kevatron400
ITV 1 (SD) is like a YouTube video, quality-wise. It’s shockingly bad – if you pause it using Play TV (or equivalent) you can really see what I mean.
Uhyve
I picked up a 23″ 3D monitor for pretty cheap a few weeks ago, and while I know what you mean about flicker, I didn’t see it as a big deal at all. I’ve got to wonder if some of the impressions were made in poor conditions. In my experience, flicker is mainly caused by nearby florescent light bulbs, due to their slight flicker being amplified by the flicker of the glasses (which has the easy remedy of turning off the light). The same goes for if I have my other monitor on at the same time.
If they’re not talking about that kind I flicker, then I have no idea what problem people could be talking about. The only annoying thing I’ve really found with 3D, is that the shutter glasses cause a loss of brightness on screen (and off… I tried playing Guild Wars in 3D and I realized, I can’t see the keyboard)
cam the man
I looked into buying a 3D TV a few weeks back, checked review sites etc. The main conclusion was wait until the 2nd generation as the picture will be a lot sharper.
spek
I feel proud of being in the 2%. When i save enough money!! :)
DrNate86
I think I am going to upgrade when KZ3 is released, I’m not interested in it for movies or TV but the gaming side looks awesome.
Peter Rushton
If I were rich I’d buy it
Flaming Turkeys
I don’t need 3d tv’s I can already see in 3d
moshi
Am i the only one who is not surprised that the figure is so low
Lesbie
i’m surprised that its that high
bigdon_23
2% is alot of people. i dont think that many will be sold
cc_star
It’s not low
7% of respondents have said they’re going to be upgrading to HD in the next year, and HD isn’t expected to have widespread mainstream adoption till 2012 – The Olympics will be the breakthrough point.
I’d say 2% is massive considering 2015 is the point when 3D is expected to be widespread.
We’re at the same point in the 3D lifecycle as were were with HD in 2005, when the 360 was the first HD console and there wasn’t a whole lot of any other HD around.
No one could see the point in extra resolution, and even though I’m a bit of a HD buff – I have to say it adds very little. 3D is a whole dimension so could have a far bigger impact.
If things pan out, I’ll jump in – but I’m more interested in the rest of the eco-system than just playing a game, so I’ll wait and see
bunimomike
It’s a low figure when you look towards other surveys carried out recently. It’s bloody low in relative terms. Japanese are close to 30% with regards to entertaining an upgrade to 3DTV over the coming year. We’re on 2%. Seriously. Ouch!
Interesting that the naysayers speak about the glasses turning them off from the idea, regardless of nationality.
cc – does 3DTV have the same problem the cinema does with foot-lamberts (luminance)?
cc_star
I’d say a country, which in built up areas has 1gigbit broadband is completely, totally and 100% incomparable with this shit-hole.
You might as well say aliens from the planet zurgon have a 30% interest in upgrading to 3DTV.
The BBC set the pace of the mainstream of this country, early adopters have been HD’d up on Sky and games consoles for ages now.
Following on from the part-time BBCHD experiment which was a low risk approach to building up a wealth of HD content, we’ll finally see a full-time BBC HD channel launch later this year in the form of BBC1HD.
The BBC see 2012 as the time for a push to HD, seriously!
They’re going to be using the Olympics (and the entire digital switchover will be complete by then, meaning everyone will have access to Freeview HD) as the big HD push
The fact they’re lagging some 5-7 years behind us early adopting gamers is irrelevant for the mainstream.
They are only planning to explore 3D in the home after then, probably in the same manner of building a wealth of content on a part-time channel first, with a look to 2015 being the date they want step up the pace on it.
This is 5 years being Sky and 5 years behind the PS3 & 360 going big on 3D games… with this slow pace its hardly surprising some randoms surveyed had even heard of 3D nevermind showed a slight bit of interest in it.
bunimomike
I think the fact that we’re fifteen times less likely is very telling of how non-gadget centric we are compared to Japan. That doesn’t disguise the fact that manufacturers will be thinking “right, bit of an uphill battle but we can do it”. Ultimately, if it doesn’t gather momentum it won’t take.
Regardless of comparison, Sony still has assess things globally (even if you think it’s incomparable) as they ultimately have to sell enough of a particular product.
I’m not for it or against it. I’m just not interested. When/if it comes, it comes. If not, no probs. Life will still be as good. Just with less depth on the TV screen. :-)
Charmed_Fanatic
No wonder, the price is so high!
beeje13
£850 for a 40 inch samsung 3DTV? price may be steep but the value for money isn’t (yes I know you don’t get glasses with the sammy’s)
minerwilly
This has just reminded me that Avatar is back on in the cinemas , i only saw it on Blu Ray about a month ago and was still blown away and I was gutted that I never went to see it in 3-d .
I saw a footy match in the pub in 3-d at end of last season and that was great but Avatar must be out of this world .
minerwilly
I have a mate who paid nearly £2000 for a plasma when they first released , about 3 years later I paid £350 for an LCD screen which correct me if im wrong are better than plasmas .
I will wait till they are around the 500-600 price mark maybe 3-4 years from now.
bunimomike
Plasma is still regarded as being superior.
Gaztee
I thought the new LED tv’s were giving better blacks than plasma now?? Still wouldn’t get a Plasma for gaming – LCD/LED is the way to go for that!
aerobes
Just a small wondery-ment (that should totally be a new word!), bunimo, I’ve heard pro’s and con’s for both devices, I have an LCD and while I’m not totally anal about having the best of the best and what-not, I do like to get the best that my wage will allow.
If/and/or when I do upgrade/replace I was wondering what you figured was the best screen type and possibly why?
bunimomike
LCDs have pretty much caught up with plasma but it depends on budget. I’ve got an LCD (£1600 when I bought it) but plasma still gives you the edge for colours and deep blacks (although LED-backlit LCD TVs have gone a long way to rectify LCD’s inherent flaw with that one).
You then need to look at flicker, picture stability, movement on screen, etc. Like I said, it’d down to budget. If you’re after something in particular, crack open a forum thread to discuss.
DJ-Katy
The best plasmas are still better than the best LCDs, and you really should be choosing a plasma for gaming because they have lower latency.
bunimomike
I was reading about that not long ago. I didn’t realise plasma had such cohesive movement (great for games and great for action films, etc). My mate said he’d get a plasma like yours if his ever broke as it would replace his very nicely. He often looks for replacement sets, just in case, but rarely finds anything that much better.
cc_star
My big plasma costs a fortune to run… still, it looks nice and I can’t blame dying in games on display lag like you could on LCD based TVs
DJ-Katy
Like mine? Did you find out which TV I own? :P