Panasonic and Sony Ready for 3-D TVs and Blu-ray

One of the possible impacts Avatar will have is on home entertainment, believe it or not. James Cameron has already begun working with Panasonic on 3-D televisions, and now the first wave of those TVs is ready to hit the Japanese market. But be prepared to pay out the nose for one. MarketSaw has the price points for the 50 and 54" flat panel Viera Plasma 3DTVs and Sony's new S3DHD Blu-ray players. If you want the 50" Panasonic, it's going to set you back $4,800, and the 54" will retail for $5,900. The Blu-ray player is only $250, and that's not too bad at all for all you get. The Sony BDP-S570 includes built in Wi-Fi and Gracenote technology, all the playback options you'd expect, upscaling, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD audio decoding, and more. Of course, if it's a 3-D player, you'll need the 3-D set for it to really work, but hell, if you're spending $5K on the TV, what's an extra couple hundred bucks? Both of these snazzy new items go on sale in April, but it's probably worth waiting at least a year to pick them up. For one thing, the prices will start to come down, and the available titles that will make the technology relevant will increase. I'm fine with the HD and Blu-ray, but if you're one of those who has to have it, it'll be out there.

Comments

[Vince]

I just bought myself a new LCD 32" 1080p TV after having a dinky 15" computer monitor as my main gaming screen for 6 years. So thanks, but no thanks Panasonic and Sony. Call me when you grow out of this "3D" phase you have, then we'll talk.

[El Doucheo Bago]

You are crazy if you think 3D is just a phase, its the future. There is no turning back now.

[Honz Brix]

Hey Vince...the reason you can afford that LCD TV now is because of the new sets that are coming out. I have a 42" plasma and a 30" HDTV. Both are Samsung and they are only 720p. The 30" was $1500 and the 42" was $2000 when i bought them. Now you can get a 1080p 46" LCD for like $700. Be thankful you waited a couple years before getting yours. The point is there is people who will pay the price to be the first people to have the new ones. In a few years people who can't afford them now will get them when the price comes down. I'm just hoping that the 3D TV's will bring the price of the LED's down so i can get me a nice 46" Samsung 1080p. The picture on thos LED's is incredible. Makes my Plasma look like a black and white from the 80's