Third Magazine

3D TV Technology vs. Cinema Technology

Posted on 26. Dec, 2009 by The James in Industry, Televisions, Theaters

A few days ago Home Media Magazine released results from a 3D patent study done by Thomson Reuters.  The results are pretty much as expected.  In the last year there were a larger number of patents filed for 3D television technologies than cinema technology.  The conclusion drawn by these results  doesn’t seem to be quite on mark, in my opinion.  Television technology is growing faster for two main reasons.  First of all, it is currently non existant as a 3D media viewing platform.  So it isn’t surpassing 3D cinema, it is attempting to catch up.  The cinematic experience has already found a solid foothold and has introduced some pretty successful viewing methodologies.  Television is still in the beta phase.  The second reason for the difference in patent filings is the how the technology reaches the public.  With cinema, there is no electronic product to sell to the consumer.  The goal is merely getting people in the seats.  The technology is largely limited to sale to theater companies, comprising of a limited market when compared to general consumers.  With television, the goal is to get consumers to by actual products and peripherals and continue to upgrade as often as possible.  For this reason, it is only natural for the number of patent filings in TV tech to far outweight the number of patents in cinema tech.  In cinema, you have only a couple big players, RealD, Xpand and IMAX.  In home electronics, you have an unlimited number of companies in a range of sizes competing for consumer dollars.  So in my opinion, the number of patent filings says little about the competitivenes of the 3D home market versus the cinema market.  We will have to wait and see how the box office numbers level after another year as compared to 3D blu-ray and broadcast before any real assesment can be made.