3D Televisions: Performance Test

By Christine Park
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) — The hottest trend in movies is making its way to the small screen. Big-name manufacturers like Panasonic and Samsung have started selling 3D TVs. But should you dish out more cash for a new home entertainment experience?

Among the dazzling displays of big screen TVs at Fresno’s Best Buy store, some really stand out. Shoppers pause … and wonder if they’re seeing straight. Then a pair of glasses opens a whole new world.

3-Dimensional High Definition Televisions are the latest product sweeping the home entertainment market.

Manufacturers can thank recent 3D big screen blockbusters like Avatar, Alice and Wonderland, and Toy Story 3 for that.

The concept of 3D has been around for decades; remember those funky blue and red glasses in the theater? Well, these have active shutter lenses. The technology’s come a long way.

Nick Liscano with Best Buy explains, “So there’s lenses inside opening and closing very fast so that code is specific to the glasses they’ve been sent to. The important thing is that the glasses have to be the same brand as the television. So you can’t take a pair of Panasonic glasses and use them for a Sony television. It’s not gonna work that way.”

Consumer Reports has been busy testing the first 3D TVs – Panasonic’s 50-inch plasma and 46-inch LCDs from Samsung, including the newly released Samsung 8000 series.

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