3D is the current ‘next big thing’ in media. Even though 3D has been around for ages (in tech terms), it’s only really becoming widely available to consumers in their own homes at this point in time. Part of the issue, in the early days at least, was that 3D tended to exist as either content or display technology, but rarely both.
But luckily for all fans of multiple dimensions, 3D is a resilient and self-sustaining beast. The release of more (and better) 3D content has spurred the development of better displays, and vice versa.
In addition, the increased volume of 3D video content has had a significant impact on its overall popularity, which has led to the emergence of several 3D channels over the past few years. An increasing number of movies are being released in 3D, and content producers across genres are looking for ways to incorporate the novel technology into their products.
All this activity surrounding the technology is leading to a projected CAGR of 26.8% from 2015-2019 in the global 3D display market.
Lack of interoperability and standardization are the major hurdles for 3D
We’ve already talked about how the availability of content is pretty instrumental to the success of 3D displays, but it turns out the people producing the content and those building the technology aren’t always in agreement of how things should work. The lack of interoperability among the stakeholders—which include content owners, flat panel manufacturers, broadcasters, satellite operators, and platform operators—in the 3D content delivery value chain works against an increase in 3D video content, and against overall market growth.
On top of that, 3D display technology isn’t standardized yet. This is seriously reducing the adoption of the technology among consumers, since standardization is pretty essential to avoiding confusion among potential buyers and to avoid burdening them with too many options.
Advertising sector will be a major adopter of 3D displays
So the reception of 3D technology among consumers is still lukewarm, but the novel value of 3D has made these displays pretty popular with advertisers.
These agencies have employed autostereoscopic 3D technology for advertising on billboards. TriLite Technologies, for instance, has developed 3D billboard that work without the geeky glasses, which will soon be taking over Times Square.
Adoption in advertising, as well as slow and steady growth on the consumer side of things will be key trends that foster growth in the global 3D display market over the projected period.
