We should point out that this wouldn’t be the first time 3D TV has tried to enter the mass market. However, this time, it’s a little different. Audio visual advancements and proprietary upgrades to the HDMI standard have made 3D presentations of late rather enjoyable to watch. Most notably, improvements in smoother frame rates, increased visual fidelity and higher screen resolutions make the 3D experience truly come alive like never before.

With James Cameron’s heavily praised use of 3D on AVATAR, this could be the push that 3D really needs to enter the mass market.

Improvements in 3D technology mean that you don't need to look like General Kala's Power Men from Flash Gordon

But at GBHDMI, we’re a little sceptical, 3D is undoubtedly great – but will it really compete with HDTV or merely become an attractive side addition to home theatre setups? We believe that 3D will eventually penetrate the home market, but it will be some time before the public are universally enjoying the benefits of 3D media in their home.    

Here’s two reasons why…

1. The use of glasses make it less accessible than watching standard or high-definition TV

Apart from autosteroscopic methods of 3D projection (which are known to give headaches), all other 3D technologies require the user to don some form of glasses. Misplacing one of these glasses or simply not having enough in your front room, pub or gallery means that it’s not universally accessible to all. It isn’t an entertainment format that can be enjoyed on the spur of the moment.

Think about watching a football match with your family in 3D at home and unexpectedly a mate pops over to enjoy it too?

2. 3D uptake will be slow as most consumers have already made the jump and upgraded their TVs to HD

A recent article from the BBC has identified that 56% of the UK has now replaced their standard definition TVs for HD ones. That’s pretty good news. However, only 9% of this group are actually consuming HD material from Blu-ray’s, satellite and cable broadcasters. What does this mean? Well, if the uptake for HD equipment and material has been this slow so far, what do you think it will mean for people to upgrade their TVs, 3D HDMI cabling and Blu-ray players in order to play this type of content? We don’t know for sure, but we can tell you that it will be a long, long time.

So who do we think will be the immediate winners?

One market that could potentially benefit is gaming. The large majority of games are enjoyed by a single person and are consumed almost primarily at home – fitting the profile perfectly for a 3D consumer. With developers striving for more realistic environments and better immersion in their games, 3D gaming seems to be a logical step.  

What is this mess? Why is the picture quality so bad – surly a console launched in 2006 should have better graphics than this?!

If you have experienced this horror recently, read on…

It is true to say that the Wii was never designed with its graphical ability as being its primary USP. But playing on the console on a large HDTV screen (say anything above 32”) and your are left with a pixelated, standard definition, mess.

Now this certainly isn’t a problem for a lot of gamers – simply staying a few steps further away from the TV should suffice for most. However, for some, this lack of graphical prowess can be a little bit of a disappointment.

There is a solution – what many don’t know is that the Wii can output at 480p – it’s just the standard composite cable that the Wii ships with that can’t. So what do you do, you say? Well simple. You buy a Nintendo Wii Component Cable!

The Wii Component Cable will allow you to take a 480p signal to your HDTV drastically improving the picture. Awesome!  

If you live in the UK – you can pretty much pick these up easily for under £10 with free delivery. I would recommend it!

The picture improvement is quite impressive. Gone are those blurry images leaving some real definition for you to oodle over.

Just image search for “wii composite vs component” and have a look at some of the results.

If you can’t be bothered searching for it yourself have a look at this for an example.

Audio Video AV Directory – Audio video (AV) suppliers and companies.