The 3D industry, it seems is the new hot thing right now with technology firms worldwide betting big on this segment. For them, the 3D future is not only bright but its something that has a whole new dimension added to it. All of this applies equally for the big names in consumer electronics based in Asia. So companies like Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, Sharp, Mitsubishi and Toshiba all have exciting 3D products lined up for a year 2010 release. Apart from 3D TVs, many have even ventured into offering 3D technology in the computing scene. So there also are 3D desktop computers and laptops coming our way.

Consumers electronics major Sony has an impressive line up of 3D TVs comprising of eight different models which they have made available in Japan and sport a starting price tag of 200,000 yen or about 2,200 dollars for a 40 inch screen sized 3D TV. They also have firmed up plans for the launch of 3D titles for its PlayStation 3 games console. For Akira Shimazu, who is the senior general manager at Sony overseeing the company’s 3D projects, 2010 is the year which he believes will be when the immersive viewing experience will finally come of age.

“In terms of technology, it was impossible for television sets and video players at consumers’ houses to play back 3D content appropriately,” he said while talking to AFP.

However, all of this, he says has changed with the arrival of the new high-speed LCD panel that is fully high definition 3D capable. Also, the Blu-ray discs can now store full-length HD-quality 3D movies.

The quality aspect of it has also undergone a vast transformation so that there now are processors that can make necessary changes to 3D images digitally in post-production, tools that users could only dream of when almost all the movies were made on film.

“Recently I saw a couple of very early 3D films created by Columbia Pictures in the 1950s,” says Shimazu.

“The difference is apparent if you have seen a recent 3D film – 3D is now being used as a strong tool of story-telling and being created to look natural and real.”

“Avatar,” the James Cameron blockbuster movie started a 3D craze in the film industry with other titles like the “Alice In Wonderland” or “Clash of the Titans” soon joining in the mega 3D party.

Also, the ongoing football World Cup being held in South Africa is the first that has being filmed and broadcast in 3D by Sony at six designated FIFA viewing sites in cities around the world.