Seeing is believing in 3D television, but danger lurks

• Before going out to buy one of these, think about price and the ad-ons and note the health effects it can have

If you are one of those people who must have the newest high-tech device as soon as it hits the market, and a sports fan to boot, you are probably considering buying the latest tech toy for your home theatre — the 3D TV set.

The 3D TV experience is cinematic. You can almost guarantee yourself neighbourhood star status with the purchase of one of these TVs.

They bring the action on sports fields and battlefields right into your lounge, with footballs and fighter jets seeming to fly right out of the screen at you.

The only hitch is, should you invite friends over to watch, you need to make provision for their goggles since you cannot get the 3D experience on naked eyes.

The big players in the television production business are all getting involved in the 3D market. Samsung continues to be a leader in television technology.

All the Samsung 3D TV sets are equipped to convert 2D programmes into 3D ones, which is one of its biggest advantages for there is no limit to what you can watch.

Panasonic has also thrown itself head first into the 3D market with its ultra sleek and visually appealing sets.

LG on the other hand, is known for its high-end TVs and does not disappoint with its LX series. But this TV lacks the option of converting 2D programmes into 3Ds as offered by Samsung and Sony.

Sony’s Bravia line has most technologically advanced features including the motion.

These features lead to some of the smoothest, most fluid pictures seen on the current first generation 3D televisions.

But before heading to your favourite electronics shop to upgrade your home theatre, think about price carefully.

Getting a 3D TV in this early phase might be fraught with difficulties that go beyond spending too much on new technology just because you do not have the patience to wait for the prices to settle at a lower level.

2D TVs in most Kenyans homes were bought at less than Sh20,000. 3D TV sets retail at between Sh150,000 and Sh250,000, which is 10 times higher than their 2D counterparts.

Naked eyes

Since you cannot watch 3D TV on naked eyes currently, they usually come with two sets of goggles to wear when watching. Given that many homes have more than two people watching TV at the same time, additional goggles are required. A pair costs about Sh2,000.

Manufactures are working on producing sets that will enable you to watch the third dimension TVs without goggles, but that is in the future.

You also need to read the fine print on the TV box before taking it home. It turns out that the eyes of some people simply cannot process something called stereoscopic imagery and you therefore need to check with your ophthalmologist whether you are in this category or not.

If you belong to this minority, do not despair. The 3D-blindness condition is treatable in some (but not all) cases — that is, if you don’t mind paying for the medical bill over and above the cost of a 3D TV.