Stereo Exchange Reconfigures Showroom for 3D Demos

When you are located in the heart of Greenwich Village, you need to know how to be avant-garde.

That’s why David Wasserman, president of Stereo Exchange, reconfigured his Manhattan showroom floor to showcase 3D technologies, anticipating a potentially strong interest from both cutting-edge consumers and general clientele in 2010.

"I really don’t have a sense for it yet, but I think the increasing amount of content and gaming will start to drive more interest," Wasserman says.

Stereo Exchange set up three separate 3D demo areas in its showroom as part of a pre-CES tour by the Home Theater Specialists of America, of which Stereo Exchange is a member. With his store's 2-channel audio history, Wasserman says that anyone can do this if he can, jokingly calling himself "the oldest 3D dealer in New York City."

3D Demos

Wasserman carved out three portions of his showroom for 3D demos:

An 82-inch Mitsubishi WD-82837 rear-projection DLP with a 3D converter. According to David Naranjo, director of business development at Mitsubishi, it's the largest 3D display on the market. He says the $5,000 price tag will be coming down.

A 65-inch Mitsubishi WD-65837 rear projection DLP with a 3D converter. Customers could watch a three-minute loop of “Coraline,” some live action skydiving sequences, and some NASCAR and Tomb Raider video games using a special stand that Mitsubishi has developed for showrooms.

A Digital Projection International (DPI) TITAN Reference 1080p 3D dual projector. DPI showed the animated films “Battle for Terra” and “G Force” trailers (clearly, 3D is better suited for animated films). DPI, which has been doing 3D for more than three years, will soon be offering dealers a showroom package that includes a Dimension Server (a "souped-up" media server from Mechdyne) with 3D content for demos.

The Future of 3D

According to George Walter, vice president of home cinema at DPI, 3D will force film directors to change the way movies are edited and shot. He cited studies that find the human eye takes three to four seconds to take in a 3D scene vs. just one to two seconds for a 2D image. This is because your eye is moving all around the scene trying to take in the 3D effects, he says.

“So fast cuts and fast pans do not work well in 3D movies,” he adds.

David Berman, director of training and public relations for HTSA, believes 3D is on the way to being mainstream. He says the establishment of the 3D Blu-ray spec will encourage more TV manufacturers to jump into the market.

"If you are a dealer right now, 3D is where should you ‘camp out’ in terms of being ready to take advantage of new technology, along with energy management and control,” he says. “For the early adopters, 3D is primarily going to be purchased through the custom channel. Studies are showing that kids love 3D … they think the glasses are cool.”

Berman says the increasing amount of 3D movies and video games will increase attention. He says there are currently only a few 3D Blu-rays available, but he expects another 100 or so movies to be shot in 3D in 2010. James Cameron's "Avatar" alone could be a major driver for 3D adoption.

"By 2011, 3D will be mainstream,” Berman predicts. A recent study supports his prediction, finding that half of consumers say they want 3D home theaters.