Why No One Is Buying 3D TVs

Every five years (for at least the last five decades) 3D is touted as the "hot" new tech. Every five years it flops. Every five years people act surprised. Don't look at me either, I'm still upset that 3D never took off after Jaws 3D, Amityville Horror 3D and Friday the 13th 3D. In 2010, consumers purchased a paltry 1.1 million 3D TV units, and although sales have grown in the two years since, the widespread 3D fervor that TV manufacturers were anticipating never took root. According to a January Display Search report, just more than 23 million 3D TVs were shipped in 2011 worldwide, with only 3.6 million shipped in the U.S. Display Search analyst Paul Gagnon says that U.S. household penetration for 3D TVs is at about 3 percent.