With some of the big manufacturers planning to roll out a range of products, it is predicted that a fledgling 3D market will emerge in 2010.

At the recent 3D entertainment summit in Los Angeles, DreamWorks Animation boss Jeffrey Katzenberg said that while "it will be a number of years before you get to deep penetration, we still will see a robust market that will begin to emerge in 2010".

Overcoming a number of technical challenges, Panasonic are aiming to release a 3D Blu-ray deck some time in 2010. Their Universal City 3D labs have been working towards establishing a 3D Full HD (3D FHD) Blu-ray format. Panasonic also plan to develop a Plasma 3D Full HD home theater system (which was demonstrated in prototype form at CES 2009), a 3D-ready digital cinema projector (Theatrical Dolby 3-D system) with a 380-inch screen theater for 3D HD picture quality evaluation, and a 3-D ready MPEG-4 AVC High Profile encoder.

Sony are also planning to release a range of 3D products beginning in 2010, with their chief executive, Howard Stringer, indicating that consumers will be able to buy not only 3D Bravia Televisions but also Vaio Laptops, Blu-ray disc players and Playstation3 games consoles compatible with 3D technology.

JVC, Philips and LG have all been working on advanced 3D systems. Philips are calling their latest innovation in the field '2D-plus-depth' which can be enjoyed using stereoscopic (special glasses needed) or on auto-stereoscopic 3D displays, special glasses not required. Using 'lenticular' lenses, LG's code named M4200D 3D TV introduced this year does not require special glasses to achieve a 3D effect, but requires a 4m viewing distance. We have seen this TV, which works remarkably well as long as the 4m viewing distance is maintained.

Adding to the momentum of the new format, British Sky Broadcasting are planning to launch a 3D channel in 2010. Research conducted in conjunction with the 3D entertainment summit suggests that while just 2m 3D-capable TVs will be sold worldwide next year, that number will rise to around 6m in 2012, and 12m in 2013.

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