After 7 years, 3D TV is dead

3D TVs have not had the big impact that advertisers previously advertised.

Sometimes, consumer electronics companies try to sell technologies that consumers completely reject. As a result, they are killed off by the market and the manufacturers try to justify their failure by labeling them as “ahead of their time.”

3D TV is one example. This product category is effectively dead. At the recent CES, not a single manufacturer introduced a 3D TV.

3D TV has become increasingly unfamiliar to ordinary users in recent years. Photo: AP.

The last two TV manufacturers with 3D capabilities, LG and Sony, will no longer develop any TV models capable of displaying 3D movies and TV shows, according to Cnet. Previously, a series of manufacturers including Vizio, Sharp, and TCL have all discontinued this product line.

In 2010, shortly after the success of Avatar—the first 3D blockbuster—TV companies began to massively shift engineers and pour money into marketing 3D technology. Seven years later, 3D has never been popular enough in the industry, nor has it become a major factor when consumers choose a TV, LG's product manager told CNET.

Currently, the TV industry is mainly focused on 4K, HDR and smart features to encourage users to upgrade their TVs. In 2012, 3D TVs accounted for about 23% of sales, according to NPD Group. Until now, 3D TVs have mainly been used to test technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality and smart wearables.

There are a few reasons why 3D TVs haven't caught on, according to Business Insider, such as not having enough content, 3D glasses being too heavy and uncomfortable for users, 3D TVs need to be specifically calibrated and can cause eye strain.

The most important thing is that manufacturers have hyped its capabilities. The 3D effects have never been truly impressive or completely changed the user's viewing experience.

According to Zing