The future's bright...the future's 3D

This is 3D Week on Channel 4. They are running a series of programmes (including a Derren Brown Special and Friday the 13th) in glorious 3-Dimensions.

Coupled with the fact that there is not a single kid's movie released at the moment that doesn't have a 3D version (Pixar's recent 'Up', Disney's new version of "A Christmas Carol", "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", "Coraline" etc) 3D is making a comeback and will dominate technology talk in 2010.

Things have changed since the old lo-fi red/blue glasses that were a part of the last 3D revolution in the 1980s. Modern 3D cinema uses new polarised 'clear' lenses for a greater sense of realism and depth (plus they are infinitely easier on the eyes). A real test of the power of 3D will be this Christmas with the launch of James Cameron's new film 'Avatar'. This is Cameron's first movie since 'Titanic' and promises to take 3D to a new level. Reports from early previews suggest that this pre-billing may not simply be hype and that the audience actually feels transported into the set of the movie.

But 3D is not going to be confined to the big screen. Recent 3D movies are also getting their release on Blu-Ray and DVD and next year Sky launches Europe's first 3D service via it's High Definition platform and showed some demonstrations at this year's Edinburgh Festival. The result is, apparently, very effective - and initial content will cover movies, entertainment and sport.

So what's next for marketeers? The advent of 3D TV clearly points to an opportunity for 3D advertising - not simply 3D versions of existing ads, but rather creating bespoke, engaging experiences that drive consumer cut through and maximise awareness. Such executions could exist both on broadcast TV but also, more interactively, on the web in glorious 3D.

But 3D took off in both the 1950s and 1980s and in both cases was only a short term fad. Are things different now?

Certainly the technology is much improved both in terms of the 3D effect itself and the comfort levels of the glasses users need to wear. Home entertainment manufacturers, such as Samsung and Sony, are also pushing forward even more sophisticated technology for LED/LCD televisions that limit the amount of blur seen in 3D movies. These more modern TVs use 'active shutter glasses' that synchronize with the picture from TV and allow the left/right hand images from the screen to be alternately received into the users left/right eye respectively - thus giving the impression of depth.

However, 3D will only truly become mainstream when users no longer require any form of glasses (what is often referred to as 'autostereoscopic' or 'glassless' 3D). This technology is available today for digital signage and advertising but requires 50 times the number of pixels than even current high-def TVs.

With the advent of ultra high-definition TVs around 2015 this may well be possible, however until then 3D is still some way off from being the standard viewing experience in the home.