[Streaming Media]
Does the wow-factor of 3D extend to online video? In this drama in five acts, we talk to the people working to make 3D streaming an attractive option for consumers.
To 3D or not to 3D? For streaming media content producers, providers, and distributors, that is indeed the question.
There’s no doubt that 3D streaming video offers a wow factor — something that should compel people to watch. But is the extra bandwidth, equipment, and cost really worth the expense — especially for streaming content to computer desktops and laptops? As William Shakespeare himself might say, there’s the rub: When it comes to cost-benefit analyses, the payoff from 3D streaming video is hard to quantify.
Act 1: Setting the Stage
3D video is making inroads into the consumer electronics marketplace. Major television manufacturers such as Sony, Panasonic, Toshiba, and LG are all selling 3DTVs. Meanwhile, monitor makers such as Asus, Samsung, and Viewsonic are selling 3D- capable displays, which work with 3D graphics processors and glasses such as NVIDIA’s 3D Vision system.
Despite the relatively small amount of available 3D content (assorted 3D movies, broadcast content such as ESPN 3D’s sports programming, and NVIDIA’s own 3D streaming of the 2010 Masters Tournament and NASCAR racing), consumers are buying this technology. “According to CEA’s recently published [‘13th Annual CE Ownership and Market Potential Study,’] 3DTVs are now owned by 3% of US households,” writes Shawn DuBravac, the Consumer Electronics Association’s (CEA) chief economist and director of research (as posted to his blog, Two Opinions, at www.shawn dubravac.com). “More, given the rate at which 3DTVs are currently selling — the household ownership rates for 3DTV will increase significantly in 2011 (compared to 2010).”
Read the full 5-part post here: http://www.streamingmedia.com/Articles/Editorial/Featured-Articles/Online-Video-To-3D-or-Not-to-3D-78131.aspx