3D-TV Costs Will Plummet

3D-TVs are pretty rare just now. Samsung has a model at $2500 in the US, while Sony and Panasonic are just a few weeks away from releasing their 3D sets. But prices are set to tumble, say two new reports.

Insight Media, in a 126-page study just released, says that 3D television will quickly grow from sales of about 3.4m sets this year, to 49.6m by 2015 and by then representing about 20% of all sales. Another report from iSupply places forecasts at an even higher level, and talks about 78m 3D sets (worldwide) being sold by 2015 and valuing the 3D market at being worth $64.4bn.

“Many TV brands announced their product lines, which included nearly 20 models for 2010,” says the Insight study. “Major content creators like Discovery, DirecTV and ESPN announced plans to roll out 3D channels and services in 2010 and 2011. Cable operators are aggressively evaluating the roll out of services in 2010 too, while 3D movies in theatres are a huge hit. All of the key ingredients for a 3DTV infrastructure and consumer service are in place, or about to be in place. 2010 will see significant excitement around 3D and the use of this content on TVs in the home. Therefore, a report that fully evaluates this space to provide a comprehensive and authoritative 3DTV forecast is needed by many players in the full 3DTV ecosystem.”

Annual 3D sales will be (says Insight):
2010: 3.3m
2011: 9.87m
2012: 17.23m
2014: 35.99m
2015: 49.64m

iSupply, in its study, suggests typical selling prices for 3D sets will tumble from around $1770 this year to just $825 by 2015.

By Chris Forrester, Rapid TV News