There is no doubt that 3D TV divides people. Some see it as gimmicky and a fad that will soon pass so they can get back to enjoying all the big blockbuster films. Then there are those who see it as the only way cinema can progress, and a way for the medium to engage a new audience, who expect something more than they can easily get on pretty much any HD TV at home.

One of the major bugbears for the naysayers is the requirement that you wear 3D glasses. No matter how cool or trendy you make them look, just like normal glasses required for people who are long or short sighted, there will be those who don’t want to wear them. So what are the alternatives? Contact lenses? Not for the foreseeable future due to the technology involved. The hope to resolving this particular issue is to produce auto-stereoscopic images, that is 3D images which don’t require glasses.

Nintendo are already headed down this path to show it is possible on a small screen with the Nintendo 3DS. Of course, that is a very small screen, and unless you are the one playing the game, you probably won’t be able to sit in the ‘sweet spot’ to get the 3D effect. Of course in theory, a bigger display would have a bigger sweet spot. Various companies have already shown off autostereoscopic televisions in various stages of development, but Sony took centre stage at this year’s SIGGRAPH 2010 to show off their own auto-stereoscopic 3D display that produces a 360 degree image with a resolution of 96 x 128, and 24bits of colour.

Reuters have reported that the Nikkei Business Daily Paper in Japan has advised Panasonic are going to launch the world’s first television capable of recording and playing 3D images, whilst also making 3D a standard feature across their flat panel TVs.

According to Panasonic’s Executive Office, Shiro Nishiguchi:

“Panasonic expects Japanese demand for 1 million 3-D TV sets this fiscal, and is hoping to have a 50% market share by new launches”

The latest additions to the Viera RT2B 3D TV series packs either a 42 or 46 inch screen as well as, somehow, stuffing its slim frame fit to burst with not only an internal 500GB HDD, but also an integrated Blu-Ray recorder, allowing you to record TV programmes before later burning them to disk.

The new Panasonic 3D Viera TH-P46RT2B and TH-P42RT2B will start shipping in August for sale in Japan. It is not known yet whether or not they will bring integrated 3D TVs to territories outside of Japan, but you would think it is only a matter of time.

Samsung has officially launched their new C9000 3D TV with the world’s first touch screen remote control. The 9000 is said to be the perfect union between elegant design and high-end technology.

Designed to be as visually stunning as the images you’ll view on the television the C9000 is 55″ across but just 7.98mm thick, making it the world’s sleekest TV, and crafted with a stainless steel bezel. This design is complimented by details such as speakers embedded in the stand, and an auto sliding touchpad supported by a translucent stem, and will fit in to any home either wall mounted or standing.

The C9000 uses an 800 Clear Motion Rate through its 3D Hyper Real Engine to produce sharper and more life-like images, and to help tide you over until 3D content becomes common place its embedded 2D-to-3D engine can process and convert 2D HD high resolution broadcasts into 3D images in real time and when not in 3D mode viewers can still experience one of the best quality full feature HD TVs on the market, with a push of a button switching effortlessly between modes.

Of course, in the modern household connectivity is key, and the C9000 produces on this front as well, giving users easier accessibility and making content more convenient. Samsung’s Internet@TV feature users are able access content online to view videos through apps such as You Tube. Samsung’s Allshare also allows the television to share multimedia content wirelessly with all DNLA compatible devices. Alternatively you could always use the traditional USB port to connect a thumb drive or digital camera quickly and directly.

One feature that really helps the C9000 take home entertainment to the next level is the touch screen remote control. A world first the remote features a 3 inch full colour display as well as the touch screen. This display features a live feed of the channel currently being watched, or even another channel whilst watching a DVD or Blu-Ray title. The remote control is designed to resemble a smart phone and allow quick and easy navigation. It even features a headphone jack for instances when a user wishes to watch content different to that being displayed on the television itself.

“With the introduction of the C9000 3D LED TV, Samsung reinforces its position as the only manufacturer with a full range of 3D TVs in the Singapore market, as well as its undisputed TV market leadership here”

said Mr. Moon Sung Hyun, Managing Director, Samsung Asia.

In possibly one of the more stand out 3D TV related announcements of late, Sharp have announced that their new Aquos Quattron 3D LV model television will go on sale around July 30th.

The model will be available in four different sizes, but what makes this exciting, and immediately different to most other 3D releases at the moment is the use of Quattron technology. What this means is that instead of using the standard three primary colours of red, blue and green as all other televisions do, the Quattron adds yellow, working instead with a quartet of base colours, which allows more faithful reproduction of colours.

The company has also stated that its new 3D-capable Blu-Ray player will be released at the same time. With plenty of other 3D television releases scheduled for this summer, Sharp will certainly be hoping that the addition of Quattron technology will help their models stand out from the crowd. Personally they could well be on to a winner here as surely all consumers, no matter how technologically inclined (or not) will realise that four base colours must be better than three?

With more manufacturers gradually entering the 3D TV market, a real melee is set to break out with the various manufacturers competing for consumers. Of course this will only be a good thing as it should signal both an upturn in quality, not that there isn’t quality at the moment but more competition means manufacturers having to outdo each other, and the technology progressing at a quicker pace. The other upside is that of course the new TVs will have to be price competitive, so there will always be a good deal out there.

On Monday Sharp and Mitsubishi both announced plans to release their 3D TV ranges this summer. This will see them join the ranks of the likes of Sony, Panasonic and LG who have all already made clear their intent to assault this particular market, and the future importance it may hold. With all the big boys backing the 3D revolution it looks like it’s here to stay!

At the Society for Information Display (SID) 2010 LG unveiled the world’s largest Ultra High Definition (UHD) 3D panel. At a massive 84 inches and with a resolution of 3840×2160 it has four times the resolution of previous full HD panels.

Of course as well as this monster television LG are also displaying a range of more home and budget friendly models at around the 47 inch mark. Interestingly they will also be showing off their new 47 inch ‘liquid lens’ 3DTV. Although there are no details on just how this works at the moment, it does do away with the need for any sort of special eye wear, enabling the viewer to get a stereoscopic effect just by watching it.

With every 3D movie release doing well in cinemas, how will the content and technology transfer to the home market, will it be as effective, and the image quality as good on a smaller scale? Well, the future looks bright for home 3D as Consumer Reports found that the first available 3D TVs indeed presented “compelling” 3D pictures that live up to the hype surrounding the technology.

This will no doubt come as welcome news to the likes of Hollywood and Sky who have been investing vast amounts in both producing and distributing 3D content to home users. Of course this particular publication has a heavy consumer slant and is thus advising people not to rush out and buy a 3D-compatible HDTV now, as once there is more competition the prices for televisions and compatible 3D Blu-ray players are sure to drop. However they are still not ludicrously expensive at the moment and don’t have that much of a premium over new HD TVs. It should also be remembered that every new 3D TV is also a top of the range standard 2D Hi-definition TV.

Indeed if you are one of those who likes being at the cutting edge of new technology this report would suggest to us that there is no reason for you not to go ahead, provided of course price isn’t an issue.

If you are thinking about investing in a 3D TV you may be concerned that, currently at least and until the flow of 3D Blu-ray discs and 3D television programming becomes more common, there isn’t going to be a massive amount of content for you to display in three glorious dimensions on your brand new hi-tech television.

Toshiba obviously had this thought in mind when developing their forthcoming ZX900 Cell TV range. Due to be available in September in 55 and 65 inch screen sizes this TV not only displays 3D images, but has the ability to convert 2D displays into 3D ones. Using innovative new technology called Trivector you will be able to view all manner of games, sports, and other TV programmes in 3D. The conversion works using the Frame Sequential System that changes the refresh rate in 3D to 120Hz for your right eye, and 120Hz for your left eye.

Of course the ZX900 also packs in all the features you would expect from a top of the range television, but with the Trivector technology it would seem to have an added ace up its sleeve.

So the first 3D TV is available to buy in the shops here in the UK, but what do reviewers think of the Samsung UE40C7000?

Well, the lucky folks over at Tech Radar have managed to get hold of a set to review, so just what did they make of Samsung’s first 3D offering?

First glance shows immediately that they have rated the set as four stars out of a possible 5, so that has to mean it’s pretty good. Right? Well, that certainly is the case. It’s always hard reviewing something new, a product that does something not seen before and so it’s the case with this 3D television. The first on the UK market available to consumers so it sets a benchmark. But just how high is this benchmark?

The reviewers are very quick to point out that even without the 3D aspect this is a great TV. Packing plenty of features, which is a good thing considering the price-tag. Wireless internet capability, PVR, Freeview HD compatibility, and a long list of other features, as well as its proportionally small size make this TV attractive and impressive.

As for the 3D aspect of this TV, which is the whole point really, its somewhat hard to quantify just how good this is. Sure the reviewers have probably seen a few demonstration models in action at various shows and expos, but all of these would have been seen under ideal conditions, so how does this TV perform in a normal everyday environment? The only point they make here is that they feel in this instance that bigger is better, and something more than a 40 inch set would give a better stereoscopic effect. This makes sense in that ideally you want the 3D image to take up most of, if not all, of your field of vision as anything else, even in the periphery of your vision can distract and indeed detract from the experience.

Is it worth taking the leap to be one of the first adopters of 3DTV in the UK with the Samsung C7000? Well, as the reviewers say in their final statement:

“It’s beautifully light and slim, and has a fancy remote control handset which will look good on your coffee table. If it’s in your price-bracket, even if the 3D glasses end up gathering dust on a shelf, we don’t reckon you’ll be sorry you bought this Samsung.”

Samsung aren’t normally a company that does things by half and so it goes that at a press conference in Korea they have unveiled what is described as “the world’s thinnest 3D TV”. At just 7.98mm the 9000 series is certainly thin. Of course looks are only skin deep but this TV also looks set to deliver more than looks featuring the Smart Control; a touch sensitive panel that is designed for easy use. There is also the addition of Wi-Fi for easier connectivity.

This TV seems like it could be the ideal choice for anyone wanting something different as it certainly stands out with its show of stainless steel instead of the usual black plastic covers that are common place amongst products in the high-definition television market.

If you needed any further convincing that Samsung are confident, they have set themselves some serious sales targets aiming for their 3D TV sales to match the sales of LED TVs in 2009 which means they are predicting selling a massive 2 million 3D TVs in 2010.