Associated Press
LAS VEGAS -- This is supposedly the year 3-D television becomes the hot new thing: Updated sets and disc players are coming out, and 3-D cable channels are in the works. But it's not clear the idea will reach out and grab mainstream viewers.
Besides having to spring for expensive new TVs, people would have to put on awkward special glasses to give the picture the illusion of depth. That limits 3-D viewing to times when viewers can sit down and focus on a movie or show.
It's one thing to put on 3-D glasses in a theater, but "at home, you're with other people in the living room, running to the kitchen and doing other things," said Greg Ireland of the research firm IDC.
Unfazed by the potential hang-ups, the biggest TV makers began revealing their 3-D models Wednesday before the official opening of the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.
First up was LG Electronics Inc., which said it will introduce 47-inch and 55-inch flat-panel TVs with 3-D capabilities in May. LG plans a 3-D Blu-ray disc player sometime later.
LG didn't announce exact prices. But Tim Alessi, director of product development at LG Electronics USA, said 3-D models will likely cost $200 to $300 more than comparable flat-panel sets without 3-D capabilities, which already run more than $1,000.
Announcements of 3-D TV sets were also expected from Samsung Electronics Co., Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp.
On Tuesday, two major cable networks -- ESPN and Discovery -- said they plan to start beaming 3-D entertainment into homes for the first time.
Toshiba Corp. isn't waiting for 3-D programming: It plans to roll out a new line of five TVs this year that will take regular 2-D programming and convert it to 3-D using a separate box with a powerful processor similar to one used in the Sony PlayStation 3.
