My first 3D demo, the good and bad

[ADWyatt]

Just yesterday a Best Buy 50 miles south of where I live got hooked up for a complete 3D demo, using the Samsung 7000 and their new blu-ray player and glasses. Since I'm addicted to 3D, for no sensible reason, I just had to make the journey to see this thing. Here's what I experienced, positively and negatively...

The Picture--Impressive. Very impressive indeed. The sales manager bypassed the demo disc and put in 'Monsters vs. Aliens' in its entirety, giving me the chance to fully appraise the picture over a long period, and I judged it as being a little better than when the movie played in the theater. It was slightly sharper, brighter and more saturated. Of course, this was an animated movie, which always looks good, but it was nevertheless top drawer. I saw no flickering whatever, and only one small slightly-ghosted image for a fraction of a second. I have to believe that this display quality will be quite similar for all brands of 3DTVS, so I see it as a big selling point for the technology.

The Glasses--I watched the movie for about forty minutes and never thought about the glasses. I would venture to guess that your Home Theater experience will mirror your experience in the theater, good or bad. By the way, I wear regular glasses, and have never had a problem putting these things over them. It's a non-issue for me.

Part of my negative impression has to do not with the technology, but with the Samsung 7000 itself. For one thing, it's edge-lit, and I most definitely could see the edge lighting effect. And for that reason alone, I myself wouldn't buy this TV. The good news, apparently, is that the 8000 series is coming in April or May, and it's back-lit. The BB electronics sales manager told me that the display on the 8000 will be even better, and it's supposed to only cost about $200 more. We'll see.

And on this series of TVs the chrome stand looks really bad to me, like a throwback to Early American Mobile Home. If ever a TV needed to be wall-mounted, this is it. As for overall styling, I get the feeling that Sony's slick design will make the Samsung look like a sick design. As for 3D (and 2D) display quality in an LED, though, I'd buy Samsung and wouldn't even bother looking at any of the others. Just my preference.

I would imagine that most of us who want 3D won't buy into it until at least the Holiday season, and then not until we compare various technologies. But if what I saw from the BB demonstration is any indication, 3D for the home is certainly going to catch on with consumers, and I believe that by the fourth quarter of 2011 it's going to be very big indeed.