Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 30, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Sony expects the prevalence and importance of 3D-capable television sets to grow sharply. In fiscal year 2012/2013 (beginning in April 2012), 3D TV sets are expected to account for between 30 and 50 per cent of the consumer-electronics giant’s television sales. The English trade magazine “Digital Arts” reports this, citing a Sony manager. These targets express Sony’s confidence in 3D entertainment even before the technology’s rollout next year, “Digital Arts” notes.
The Japanese group first made its 3D ambitions public in September, when Sony President and CEO Howard Stringer announced that his company would launch 3D-capable televisions from the “Bravia” range and corresponding Blu-ray players, as well as adding 3D to the PlayStation 3. The corresponding plans are now becoming clearer, the magazine states: the Blu-ray Disc Association is working on a 3D standard for the storage medium, while Sony intends to make every PlayStation 3 model 3D-capable through a firmware update. The televisions themselves are to be prepared for displaying 3D content with additional hardware, while continuing to serve as conventional TV sets, Sony manager Hiroshi Yoshioka explained in an interview. He did not provide details of the hardware, but said the associated additional production costs were only small.
According to “Digital Arts”, the largest expense involved in consuming 3D content will be the special glasses required to create a three-dimensional visual impression. They could cost around US$200, but would not necessarily have to be sold as part of a television package—selling them separately could allow Sony to keep its 3D-capable TV sets competitively priced, with only customers actually interested in 3D paying extra to buy the glasses. Yoshioka stressed that Sony had not yet decided on the surcharge for 3D-capable televisions or the question of bundling the glasses. Because the TV-set business may be the most price-sensitive of all Sony’s product areas, however, observers estimate that the company will most likely keep the additional costs low.
On the content side, Sony’s 3D plans revolve around games, films and sport. The relevant Sony divisions are already working on corresponding 3D offerings for games and cinema films, while sport is traditionally regarded as a field in which viewers are also willing to pay a little more for a better experience.
Sony’s relationships with television broadcasters through its in-house cinema unit Sony Pictures and as a supplier of broadcast equipment could promote the acceptance and distribution of 3D content. The group also wants to open another gateway: the PlayStation Network, until now aimed at gamers, is to expand beyond the games console to Sony’s Bravia televisions and Blu-ray players. Next year, a new distribution service using the company’s own servers will also deliver films, TV shows and other video content directly to televisions and Blu-ray players, “Digital Arts” reports.
Smaller trials have already begun in the United States, where Sony recently offered the film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” on internet-connected Bravia televisions before the DVD was released. According to Yoshioka, the response so far has been positive.
