A new report released today by Screen Digest the media analyst company predicts a massive growth in 3D home entertainment technology. At present to enjoy the superior 3D visual experience people mostly need to visit the cinema to watch 3D movies, wearing the rather peculiar 3D glasses that make the whole enhanced viewing experience possible. There is expected to be a growth in demand for 3D home entertainment in the very near future, however although the ability to release films in 3D for home entertainment is possible at present, there are a few factors that remain as stumbling blocks to a larger distribution of this service. The first is the need for specialist equipment including 3D glasses the second is the shortage of films released in a 3D format.
Screen Digest anticipates that the home entertainment 3D market will gradually increase due to the continued advancement in 3D technology namely the development of autostereoscopic systems – this technology will not require the use of special 3D glasses and the expectation of the end user to have sufficient content to warrant further expenditure for the new home entertainment 3FD technology. At present film studios are releasing only a very small quantity of films, in 2008 there were only seven 3D films released, in 200 there are expected to be seventeen new releases and in 2010 there is expected to be 28 films released. It is expected in the early development of the technology that the most releases will be from animated film companies as this technology is much easier to adapt than mainstream films.
The Screen Digest report also focuses on the need for a unified standard of home entertainment 3D technology so as to avert the possibility of any technology format wars, although they expect this to be via the high definition capabilities of the Blu-ray disc. The report also focuses on projected market distribution with an anticipated 10% of world markets by 2011 rising substantially to 16% in 2015 which equates to 2.8billion sales of 3D home entertainment equipment.