3D TV Any Good?

[Viva La Grinch]

So, this year, I thought i would treat myself to a new television with some of my tax refund. I already have a 60 inch plasma for my main viewing, but thinking of the other rooms in the house. My options are a 58 inch 3D for the bedroom(no jokes about what I would watch in 3D in the bedroom) or a regular 58 plasma and then another 50 inch plasma for the office.

 

The price is around the same, just wondering what peoples thoughts are on the future of 3D television. I think its kinda a fad but don't want to limit myself since I hope this is the final television purchase for a long time. I am not a person who buys DVD's, just burn and flip, but I am a hardcore gamer when I have time. Is there $500-600 worth of value in the long run with 3D?

[JimH5]

I have a 3D tv that I never watch in 3D. It looks spectacular in 2D, but I'm never going to put on those glasses.

 

If 3D is going to work for me, it will have to be presented directly on screen.

 

Mine is the 40-inch Samsung LED that was at the top of their US product line last summer.

 

I'm happy with it.

[Invader3K]

I think 3D is just a big gimmick. I've seen the demos in places like Best Buy, and don't find it that compelling. I wouldn't pay extra for a 3D television right now, especially since there isn't all that much 3D content out there yet. Just my opinion.

[Schlitz001]

I have a 3D tv that I never watch in 3D.

Just curious, why did you buy a 3D TV if you are never going to use the 3D? Doesn't the 3D feature make the TV a lot more expensive?

[JimH5]

It was bundled with a BlueRay, and it had the best HD picture.

 

We only have 1 tv, so I wanted to get the best one for the space in our smallish apartment.

 

I don't remember how much the bundle cost, but it wasn't out of reach, so we went for it. My daughter might watch a 3D movie once in awhile, so while it was maybe a couple hundred more than a different one, I wasn't going to stress too much about it.

[twobrewers]

When we were getting U-Verse installed, I talked to the technician about 3D television. He had installed U-Verse at hundreds of houses and hadn't seen one with a 3D television - so I would expect the programming to take off any time soon.

[adamb100]

I think the technology for 3D TV needs to improve before it picks up steam. They need go the Nintendo 3DS route and not require glasses.

[danzig6767]

I don't have a 3D TV, but except for a select few movies, it seems like watching anything else in 3D would be more distracting than enjoyable.

[Invader3K]

Another point: Does your TV provider carry any 3D channels? I have Charter, and I don't expect them to have any 3D for a very long time (if ever). So having a 3D set would be relatively pointless for me as I don't even own any 3D blu-ray movies.

[mtrebs]

When I first heard of 3D TV's I thought that they would be very gimmicky...where you'd watch a show and they'd have things leap out at you (like 3D movies back in the day). I was pleasantly surprised at how cool it really is. When I've watched the 3D TV set up at my local Best Buy, the various movies they've shown had a great visual depth to them. In my opinion this was cooler than the "stuff flying at you" effects. I've seen parts of a couple different digitally animated films there...Monster vs. Aliens, Avatar, and some other Pixar-type film and all were great in 3D. The best was the one weekend they had an ESPN 3D broadcast (which I believe is available on DirectTV). There was a college football game on and it was amazing. You have to see it to appreciate how cool it was.

That being said, I'm sure I'll wait to get a 3D TV until my current 62" DLP TV dies, or when the next generation gaming consoles come out and most games for them will hopefully be 3D-capable. I guess PS3's are 3D-capable but the number of games is limited.

[LouisEly]

I don't have a 3D TV, but except for a select few movies, it seems like watching anything else in 3D would be more distracting than enjoyable.

I thought that too, until I heard that Sports Illustrated is coming out with their swimsuit issue video in 3D. If that industry starts putting out product in 3D that could be what really launches that technology.

[nate82]

That being said, I'm sure I'll wait to get a 3D TV until my current 62" DLP TV dies, or when the next generation gaming consoles come out and most games for them will hopefully be 3D-capable. I guess PS3's are 3D-capable but the number of games is limited.

Not really. Almost all of the new titles are 3D-capable. I don't use it all that much but it was just an extra option I got when I bought my TV in November plus I got all of the 3D stuff for free from Sony so there really wasn't any added extra cost other than I had to settle for a bigger TV because they didn't have the smaller TV in stock. The TV I have is to big for my room but I think I can live with that.