Do Americans really need 3D TV?

It's the next big thing — but is immersive viewing too annoyingly impractical to catch on?

3D: A thing of the past... again?
(Image credit: Corbis)

The unprecedented box office returns for Avatar and Alice in Wonderland prove that the public has a strong appetite for immersive viewing. The only remaining question is whether — given the specialized glasses and occasional bouts of vertigo that come with it — they want 3D in their homes. Samsung and Panasonic, both of which have just brought 3D sets to market, are betting that they do. Are they right? (Watch an AP report about 3D TV)

3D is fine now and again, but every night? This is a naked bid to "keep couch potatoes paying for cable," says Mike Schuster on Minyanville. And while 3D is an enjoyable "gimmick," it's also a "once-in-a-while treat." If you watched it every day, it would lose its appeal — sort of like riding a "roller coaster to work." Not only would it get dull quickly, it would be "completely impractical."

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