About Electronics

What HiFi: Was 3D the hit the manufacturers wanted? How are music streaming products selling compared to classic hi-fi separates? Are we still going headphone crazy?

Stand by for a snapshot of what has – and hasn’t – caught the attention and loosened the purse strings of the tech-buying UK public in the past 12 months.

Stats whizzes at GfK have been crunching the numbers they get from retailers great and small (both online and High Street), and it provides a fascinating insight into our buying habits.

Snow caps a tough year

The appalling weather in December saw consumer electronics sales dip by 16% year-on-year – contributing to a year when overall consumer electronics sales fell by 7.6%.

With 2010 being a World Cup year, it was expected that 10 million TVs would be sold in the UK – topping even 2009′s record flatscreen sales. But despite a higher-than average buying TV buying frenzy just before the football kicked off, England’s early exit and a long hot summer conspired to see television sales miss that sales goal.

In fact UK TV sales fell by 4 percent last year – though that still means 9.479m sets were sold (down from 9.847m in 2009), with a market value of £3.6 billion (down from £3.8bn).

The UK was the only country in Europe where TV sales fell – but then we have the highest penetration of flatscreen sales; many UK households are now upgrading their older flatscreens (and adding sets to other rooms), rather than making the plunge for the first time.

What size set? Plasma or LCD?

This upgrade move is backed up by the more detailed stats on the UK’s favourite screen sizes. The fastest-growing size sectors are  the 20-25in bracket (up 25% to 1.8m sets sold) and 37in+ sets (up 18% to 2.88m sets). The biggest sales (just) still come in the 26-32in sector, where 2.9m sets were sold (down 10% on 2010), while sales of the smallest, sub-19in sets have fallen to 1.8m (down 31%).

That rise in larger-set sales has also been boosted by technology factors – LED backlit LCDs (up to 60% of LCD TVs sold in December), Smart TVs (internet connectivity is now available on more than a third of sets sold, on average), Freeview HD (a must-have for most buyers of 37in+ sets) and 3D (of which more shortly).

The shift upwards in size and feature-set also helped plasma to a sales renaissance – although LCD continues to grab the dominant share of the TV market.

Comparing December 2010 to December 2009, 19% more plasma TVs were sold, whlie LCD TV sales shrunk by 13%. This wasn’t just down to cost-cutting, either: LCD TV prices fell by almost 15% on average, while plasma TV prices rose by 9.4% as tech-packed premium models tempted buyers.

3D or not 3D?

So, onto 3D TVs. Of those 9.5m TV sales in the UK last year, a mere 125,000 were 3D or 3D-ready sets.

This peaks in December with 39,000 sales at an average price of £1376 – boosted by cut-price 3D plasma deals. Average selling prices of sets when 3D TVs launched last Spring were over £2000. We’d expect prices to fall still further as more 3D sets – including smaller screen sizes – emerge in 2011.

With 3D sets accounting for just 1.3% of all TVs sold, it’s certainly a slow take-up for the technology – but the acceleration of sales towards the end of the year (while general TV sales were falling) gives manufacturers hope, as do sales of compatible products. 

3D Blu-ray boost

For example,  116,000 3D Blu-ray players were sold in the UK last year – a sizeable chunk of the 840,000 HD disc players sold. By December, more than a quarter of all BD player sales were of 3D-capable players (such as the Award-winning Sony BDP-S570 above), with an average selling price of £165.

Blu-ray in general had a decent year – seasonal sales were up 21% on the previous year, while the market value fell by only 2.2%, despite the prevalance of sub-£100 deals.

Receivers

Home cinema amplifiers and receivers is another area where 3D capability was key to boosting market figures – giving users yet another technical reason (along with enhanced network/streaming support) to upgrade their surround sound.

No less than 104,600 new receivers were sold in the UK in 2010 (3% up from 2009), at an average price of £426. The market is now worth £44.5m – slightly down from last year’s £45m, due to the increased popularly of sub-£500 receivers.

Headphones, docks and clocks

Another sector bucking the CE sales decline were accessories for the booming Smartphone/Tablet market. While sales of dedicated portable media players (PMPs) fell by 23% (and market value dropped by 16%), sales of devices like the iPhone and iPad have soared – and are poised to sell even more in 2011 as Android-based tablets take off.

Add in the fact that more than 5 million PMPs were sold last year and it’s easy to see why everything from headphones to docking stations and even the (dock-equipped) clock radio market is looking healthily – we can’t bear to be parted from our devices, even at bedtime…

Headphones continue to break sales records: 8 million pairs were bought in the UK last year; more than a million additional pairs compared to 2009. And we spent more than 10% extra on them,too, with (literally) the biggest growth area being traditional over-ear ‘hi-fi’ headphones – up 32% in volume and 41% in value.

Just shy of a million pairs of headphones were sold in December 2010 alone – defying the general seasonal sales dip. 665,000 were in-ear designs; 156,000 smaller over-ear models (eg folding/portable) and142,000 pairs of the larger, over-ear headphones.

The market for docking products of all shapes, sizes and prices continues to grow (up 4.3% YoY) and outsell the entire hi-fi separates market (including speakers) by some margin.

The higher-end speaker docks – such as B&W’s Zeppelin (above) – are up in value, too. More than 140,000 docks were sold costing £150+, making this a £37m sector last year.

More traditional systems, meanwhile, had a tough year, with hi-fi systems sales down 10% and home cinema systems down 2.6%.

Music streaming boosts hi-fi

However, new technologies helped the hi-fi market outperform the average CE decline – though the sector fell 2% further in 2010, shrinking from £188m to £185m.

The market for music-streaming products – from the Logitech Squeezeboxes and Sonos products to systems such as the Naim Uniti – rose from £19m to £23m, boosted by significant growth in both the sub-£500 sector (where sales rose 37%) and £1000+ market (up 46%).

Internet radio sales also rose, by 19%, with 127,000 units sold in 2010 – most of them portable.

Moving across to video streaming, sales rose (from a very small base!) no less than 12,000%. Products like the Asus O! Play and Apple TV reached sales of 118,000 units, making this new market worth £9.4m.

CD player sales slump

It’s a less happy tale for traditional separates sales. CD players were unsurprisingly hardest hit, with almost 30% less units sold in 2010 than in 2009. A mere 36,600 CD players were sold last year, at an average price of £339 – making the market worth £12.4m. Sales of high-end players were particularly badly hit; £1000+ players now account for 15% of sales – that figure was 31% in 2009.

And while AV amps flourished, stereo amplifiers also fell – sales dropped 13% to 62,000 units, at an average price of £335. The stereo amp market is now worth £20.7m.

Speaker stats

Speakers and speaker packages, meanwhile, continue to dominate the separates sector. Sales rose by 3% in volume and 5% in value – that translates into 407 million units sold and a £97.1m market.

The average selling price of a pair of speakers is £240 – almost spot-on the price of our 2010 speaker Product of the Year, the Monitor Audio Bronze BX2 (above).

Where did we buy?

Finally, a quick look at where we bought all these goodies. Supermarkets – selling both in-store and online- had a bumper year, doing particularly well in the World Cup build-up, with consumers seemingly chucking a TV or two into their trollies alongside their matchday beer supplies.

Online sales of consumer electronics did increase in 2010 – up from 16.4% to 18%, peaking at almost 20% of all sales in December – but online ordering (well, specifically delivery of those orders) was badly hit by the poor weather conditions, and it’s unclear whether consumers will put as much faith in online ordering come this Christmas.

So, that’s the stats summary. Does it reflect your buying, or are you bucking the trends?

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msnbc.com: The economic woes and innovation sparseness that brought a pall to the Consumer Electronics Show in 2009 and 2010 seemed to have been forgotten, and overall there was a more upbeat spirit in Vegas this month. Tech companies actually had something to talk about that meant something to consumers, after years trying to drum up excitement for products that nobody really cares about. (more…)

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What HiFi: We’ve just come from Loewe’s press conference, where the company has announced a whole raft of new products and services for the end of 2010 and first quarter of 2011. We’ll be going hands-on with the kit tomorrow, so will add updates (including pricing, with any luck) then, but scroll down now for the early details and pics.

The big news is that Loewe is introducing its first 3D TV, ingeniously titled ‘Loewe 3D TV’. This will be an active shutter model with 400Hz and LED backlighting. It will also be available with an integrated hard disk recorder, which will be compatible with 3D content.

The 3D TV is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2011, along with the 3D Blu-ray player in the picture above.

Interestingly, the company is also doing previews of glassless 3D – more on that later.

The Art range of tellies is also being updated to Art LED, with the biggest new feature being, you guessed it, LED backlighting. As the name suggests, the Art TVs are designed to be very stylish, so edge lighting keeps the profile slim, and there’s a new ‘Mocha’ colour option, as you can see from the pic.

The Art LED will be available in 32in and 40in sizes later this year, with a 46in version following in early 2011. The 40in and 46in models have 200Hz processing, and all have USB inputs for accessing videos, pictures and music via the MediaHome menu. You can also specify a DR+ version, which will add hard disk recording and MediaNet (more on that later).

As with the Art range, the Connect models are also being upgraded to Connect LED. Again, these are edge-lit models, and are available in 32in and 40in sizes, with the bigger of the two getting 200Hz processing. DR+ is standard here, and as well as recording TV, the Connect LED can act as a network server and client, distributing and accessing media right through the home.

Finally on the telly front is news that the Individual range is being expanded with the addition of 32in and 55in models, which flank the current 40in and 46in options. LED backlighting again features here, and while the 32in model has ‘just’ 100Hz processing, the 55in ‘Individual Compose’ boasts 400Hz.

The 55in comes with the 250GB DR+ hard disk, which can also be specified as an optional extra on the 32in, and there are loads of colour options (including custom colour matching for the insets) for you to configure your new telly.

Loewe is also going big on internet content with its MediaNet service, which has been developed in collaboration with Philips and Sharp. The web portal will contain a selection of internet sites that have been edited and optimised for large screens with CE-HTML.

You can expect video on demand (including BBC iPlayer), internet radio and information services to be included, and you can also access the full-fat internet using the Opera internet browser. MediaNet launches in November.

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T3: We give you all the latest IFA news from 3DTVs to the latest smartphones in this special edition of the News@8.

Samsung releases Galaxy Tab: The hype has finally ended as the Samsung Galaxy Tab was unveiled this morning at IFA. All eyes were on the stage as Samsung ran the press through the Tab’s many (already leaked) features, for the full experience check out T3’s hands-on images. Next on its agenda was the Samsung UN65C8000 the world’s largest 3D LEDTV which was also released today boasting a near £5000 price tag. Ouch. Finally Samsung have also released its HD HMX-T10 1080p camcorder with a 20-degree lens angle which is designed to making shooting that glorious HD footage less strenuous.

Philips gives customers the ‘cinema’ experience: Philips today announced its Cinema 21:9 Platinum 3D TV, which although having a very long name, is actually incredibly cool. Boasting a cinema-esque 21:9 aspect ratio and Full HD 3D this TV was the flagship among Philips many 3D releases of the day.

Loewe enters the 3D market: German company Loewe has unveiled its 3D concept TV at IFA, and what a concept it is. Looking quite simply like a piece of high art rather than a LED HD 3DTV the concept was just one of three new products launched by Loewe.

Sharp adds a pixel to 3D: Sharp’s HD Quattron series has been given the 3D treatment in the form of their first 3D HDTV the Sharp 3D Quattron TV. Utilising an extra yellow pixel Sharp is able to make images seem brighter and clearer, which can only be a good thing in terms of 3D. We like.

Toshiba launches iPad rival: Toshiba has released the Folio 100 Tablet which it hopes will give it a firm stake in the tablet market. Running Android 2.2 and measuring 10.1 inches the Folio is larger than the other Tablet rival the Samsung Galaxy Tab. Toshiba has also released another first for the company in the form of the REGZA WL 3D series; its first 3D HD LEDTV. REGZA series also now includes the VL range which is a high-end HD LED range based around the WL 3D TV’s but without 3D compatability, instead aiming for high spec 1080p display quality.

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The Guardian: 3D television has dominated the early agenda at IFA, Europe’s largest consumer electronics show, with Panasonic and Sony both announcing flurries of new products and initiatives.

Panasonic showed off what it claimed was the first genuine 3D consumer video camera, the HDC-SDT750. This will allow users to shoot their own footage in 3D. Makoto Nagura, director of Panasonic’s video camera business unit, said this would put 3D firmly into the hands of consumers.

“There is still one thing missing [today]…That is to keep your precious moments in 3D,” Nagura said.

The SDT750 will go on sale in October. UK pricing was not available but it is expected to be priced at $1,399 (£908) in the US.

Most of Panasonic’s press conference in Berlin was devoted to 3D – one indication of how keen the electronics industry is to persuade consumers that they should embrace the new technology, and spend considerable sums of money upgrading their home electronics set-up.

Alongside new 3D televisons and Blu-ray players, Panasonic also announced a new service to deliver 3D movies and films directly to users’ living rooms. This could fix one of factors that is holding back 3D – a lack of content. Panasonic said that around 2,000 films would be available to be downloaded over a broadband connection to one of its TVs or Blu-ray players. News, sport and music channels would also be supported.

Hirotoshi Uehara, who runs Panasonic’s TV business, told IFA that this 3D IPTV service would help to propel 3D into the mass market.

However, hefty price tags may continue to hold the technology back. One of the Panasonic TVs unveiled at IFA, the 42in TX-P42GT20, is available for pre-order at £1,499.

Epson also cast a cloud over the 3D euphoria in Berlin when it failed to show off a 3D projector. It took a much more cautious line than Panasonic, saying that the technology was not yet ready for mass adoption.

“When the market is ready, when the content is ready and when the technology is ready we’ll be there,” Jean-Marie Lacroix, commerical director of Epson Europe, told journalists.

Sony, though, took a very different view as it beat the 3D drum with considerable gusto. It claims to be the only end-to-end 3D provider, as it produces movies shot in 3D, the cameras that are used to film them, and TVs that people can watch them on.

Unlike Epson, Sony did announce a 3D video projector. The WV-90 will let consumers project a 3D film onto a wall, which could give a cinema-style experience.

The Japanese giant also had a prototype model of its first 3D-capable laptop, which chief executive Sir Howard Stringer said would be commercially available next year.

Like Panasonic, Sony is trying to increase the amount of 3D content on the market with a new television service. Stringer, who cited James Cameron’s Avatar as a crucial factor in driving 3D forward, cautioned that film-makers should not rely on 3D at the expense of storyline.

“A hit is still a hit, is still a hit, except that in 3D it’s a bigger hit.”

Sony’s entire press conference was filmed live in 3D and broadcast on a large screen. This, however, highlighted one of the other drawbacks to 3D broadcasting – that viewers need to wear special glasses.

Stringer, who described Sony as the “biggest engine” in the 3D train, also argued that the technology could be about more than just films and sport, and demonstrated this with footage of a performance by Chinese pianist Lang Lang.

Lang Lang himself then played live at IFA, telling the press conference that he was a fan of 3D as it let music lovers “get closer to us”.

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Techradar: 3D TVs and connected TV looks set to dominate IFA 2010 – the biggest consumer technology show in Europe.

Why does it matter? Because unlike Las Vegas’ CES, where the focus is on the US market, all the major launches at IFA 2010 are likely to make their UK release dates very soon.

Highlights will likely emanate from the showcase stands from the likes of Sony, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, Philips and Samsung. Each typically has a whole hall to themselves.

The show takes place at the huge Messe Berlin complex. There are a staggering 26 halls, plus other facilities, and it’s all taken over by IFA for the first week of September.

While the show is traditionally AV-centric – there will be more new 3D TVs – recent years have seen more computing wares debut at the show. Last year Samsung took the opportunity to drop several new laptop ranges, while Toshiba showed off new laptops and its Journe Touch tablet.

We’d expect some tablets to make their debut at IFA 2010 – perhaps even running Google’s new Chrome OS.

This year we’re expecting plenty more 3D TVs and associated kit, including universal glasses you’ll be able to use with 3D TVs from various brands.

Content providers may well get in on the act, too. We might hear some more news about Google TV, perhaps a LoveFilm tie-up or maybe even Hulu for Europe. Whatever the partnerships announced, connected TV will be big news.

As usual, IFA 2010 will attempt to cover the whole gamut of consumer electronics across its 121,000 square metres of showspace – mobile, home entertainment, computing, videogames, digital imaging, car audio and sat nav – as well as domestic appliances like high-tech cookers and fridges.

Nestled among the 1,164 exhibitor stands at IFA 2010 will be a brand new iZone, which will focus on the growing popularity of the Mac, iPhone, iPod and iPad with apps showcases and the latest iPhone 4 accessories – including Cinemizer glasses that will enable you to watch 3D movies anywhere.

Also new to IFA 2010 is the eLibrary – an area of the show dedicated to eBooks and tablet PCs, with content providers displaying their wares.

Last year there were also some new phone handsets, such as the Samsung Galaxy running Android. It’s wholly possible we might see some Windows Phone 7 handsets at the show – perhaps even the Samsung Cetus running Microsoft’s new mobile OS.

Like Las Vegas’ CES, IFA has an enviable record when it comes to breaking new technologies with past highlights including colour television (1967), MP3 (1991) and 3D TV (1998). We expect this year – the exhibition’s 50th – to be no different.

To make sure you stay up to date with all the brand new products, technologies and innovations being shown off at IFA 2010, make sure you follow TechRadar’s in-depth coverage of events, both in the run-up to the show and on the show floor itself – we’ll be there in force to bring you the very latest updates.

IFA 2010 runs from Friday 3 to Wednesday 8 September, though most of the major press conferences happen on Wednesday 1 and Thursday 2 September, so expect plenty of news right from the get-go.

You can find out more about the event and what’s being shown there by visiting the official IFA 2010 website.

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Techwatch: The arrival of 3D television has been fairly slow and it seems that at the moment there are those consumers that love it and those that hate it. But despite this slow take up and the lack of content available, production of the 240 Hz LCD TV panel, which is essential for 3D TV, is to go into production, as the market anticipates significant sales of 3D Ready TVs this year.

According to a digitimes.com report, the main players in 3D TV technology are expecting big sales for the 240 Hz based TV during this year, with Samsung being the most optimistic with 3.6 million units, Sony 2.2 million, Panasonic 1.1 million and LG 1 million. With half the year gone there is little time left for the market to drastically change.

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iPodNN: Monster Cable showed the first universal 3D glasses on Wednesday with the Monster Vision Max 3D. The shutter-system glasses will purportedly work with any brand of 3D TV and use 2.4GHz RF communication as opposed to the IR common to other 3D glasses. They have interference rejection software and sync correction, and can instantly react electro-chromatically.

At the same time, Monster Cable introduced the Clarity HD Modular in-ear headphones. With solid-metal construction, they will include the company’s signature ear hooks for a solid connection with a wearer’s ear, making them a better pick for runners. To properly block out noise, Monster includes 10 pairs of SuperTip composite foam eartips. An inline remote with a microphone gives iPhone and iPod touch users voice support.

The 3D glasses and a transmitter as a kit is due out in September, priced at $250. An additional set of eyeglasses will cost $170. The headphones are also coming in September in black-and-red and chrome-and-red version, with a $200 price tag.
 

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Cnet UK: HDMI has been a part of our life for a few years now. It enables HD video and audio to travel from an HD source, like Blu-ray to our high definition televisions. There have been several revisions, and the latest is known as HDMI 1.4. But what’s the big deal about this version?

The people most likely to care about HDMI 1.4 are those intending to buy a 3D TV and Blu-ray player. The new standard is intended to make 3D TVs a bit more user friendly by allowing televisions to auto-switch to the correct mode when they detect a 3D signal. All 3D TVs and Blu-ray players will support HDMI 1.4 from the outset, so TVs will only fail to auto-switch to 3D when being fed a signal from a Sky+HD or other set-top-box that’s essentially had 3D support added retrospectively.

HDMI 1.4 also features something known as an Audio Return Channel, or ARC. This is very handy for people who want to pass audio received by their TV back to an AV receiver. Normally, this would be accomplished with a coaxial or optical digital cable, or with a stereo RCA cable. Now, the TV can get over-the-air HD broadcasts from Freeview or freesat HD and send that Dolby Digital or LPCM audio back to your audio system.

Also present, is a full 100MB/s data capability, which will allow devices to share data with each other. In theory, this allows devices to share their internet connections with each other. So we might see AV receivers act as the only device in your entertainment system connected to an Ethernet router, and the other devices simply sharing its connection. There are other possibilities too, like devices transferring secure, HD video between each other, while still respecting copy protection.

For 3D and ARC you won’t need a new HDMI cable, although you might have trouble with low quality, cheap cables if they aren’t capable of transmitting enough data –3D is extremely data intensive, so cheap cables, that do 1080p okay, might not be able to cope with 1080p 3D. The networking functionality will definitely need a new cable though.

On the subject of HDMI 1.4 cables, everything does become a lot more confusing. With the new standard comes a total of five possible types of cable. These are standard, standard with Ethernet and standard automotive. Unless you want to connect a camcorder to your car with an HDMI cable, ignore the last one. Standard and standard with Ethernet are designed for video up 1080i, and depending on which you chose, the transmission of data. The chances are, you’ll never see a ‘standard’ cable, because it’s very unlikely to be of use to most people, and manufacturers will want to write “high speed” on their cables.

On the other hand, high speed cables will handle 1080p and up, including new formats like 4K video and 3D. There are two kinds, high speed and high speed with Ethernet. We think you can work out what the difference is.

There is also a new connector type that you may see appear. In addition to full size and mini HDMI there is now a ‘micro’ connector. Aimed at mobile phones and other tiny devices, it’s got all the functionality of its bigger brothers, but can be used where space is at a premium. Honestly, we can’t help but be annoyed that there are now three sizes of connector. This sort of thing is deeply annoying with USB cables, and it’s bound to cause problems with HDMI too.

Don’t panic, you aren’t going to need to rush out and replace all of your current cables and equipment. The advantages of HDMI 1.4 over 1.3 are significant if you’re buying new equipment, but don’t affect anyone with current hardware.

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T3: Samsung and Sony beware; the other big S in TVs is coming for the 3D crown. A new big-player entered the 3D TV market earlier this week as the Japanese electronics giant Sharp unveiled its inaugural line of LCD Aquos Quattron 3D TVs.

Sharp, who bucked the 3D trend earlier this year by instead unveiling its fourth colour (yellow) technology, has now entered the extra dimensional market with a range of four 3D TVs set to challenge the current 3D competitors, Samsung and Sony.

Sharp’s range will include 40, 46, 52 and 56-inch models that, thanks to the inclusion of Sharp’s LED backlight technology, are a staggering skinny 3.9mm thick.

Setting its new LV range of Quattron 3D TVs apart from those 3D models already on the market, Sharp are promoting its line as the world’s first four primary-colour 3D displays, adding yellow to the traditional red, green and blue for more brightly defined images.

Again setting itself apart from the competition and whilst Samsung are raving about their 2D to 3D image conversion, Sharp has flipped things on its head, boasting about its 3D to 2D conversion capabilities, presumably for when you want to get back to the good ol’ days.

Paired with AN-3DG10 glasses, expected to cost around £75 each, the 3D Quattron range has been launched alongside the arrival of the Aquos BD-HDW700 and BD-HDW730 3D Blu-ray players, both of which will lead double lives as hard-disk recorders capable of keeping hold of up to 2TB of data.

A UK release date for Sharp’s 3D range has yet to be announced but if we are honest, we can’t see the four-coloured 3D sets rocking up anytime soon.

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Engadget: Hope you’re ready to see the make believe world in a new dimension ’cause Samsung’s first Full HD 3D set is now shipping Stateside. Amazon shows a pair of 55-inch UN55C7000 TVs with 3D 240Hz motion technology in stock with a $3,299.99 price tag and free delivery.

Yeah, that’s a day earlier than expected but we doubt anyone’s complaining. Remember, you’ll still have to drop another $150 or so on the shutter glasses if you ever plan to flip the switch from 2D to 3D mode; something you might want to do when actual 3D content starts to arrive.

Update: Looks like Sears is shipping now as well, including the 46-inch UN46C7000 little brother for $2,600.

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TechRadar: Pay a visit to Steven Spielberg’s favourite cinema this summer and it won’t be the latest blockbuster that catches your eye. Walk through the foyer at the Bridge Theater in Los Angeles and you’ll be awe-struck at the sight of wall-mounted displays throwing out images in glorious 3D – and you won’t need to wear googly glasses to see them.

The professional displays are the work of Philips 3D Solutions, which is currently rolling them out worldwide, appearing in airports, shopping malls, casinos and, of course, cinemas. The best thing is that the technology Philips uses is fairly straightforward, promising great things for the TVs we’re used to having at home.

The Philips WOWvx uses a series of tiny lenticular lenses mounted in front of a regular high definition display. If lenticular sounds familiar then that’s because it is – Philips WOWVx uses a similar technique to the animated 3D postcards you can find at tourist traps the world over.

Of course, having a lenticular lens in itself isn’t enough – you also have to create a stereoscopic image to give the illusion of depth. Philips has two different formats for content creation – a standard version called 2D-plus-Depth, plus and an extended version it dubs Declipse.

2D-plus-Depth does exactly what it says on the tin. It takes a 2D image and then adds depth to give you a 3D representation. If a normal display has pixel information as ‘x’ and ‘y’ co-ordinates, then 2D-plus-Depth adds ‘z’ to describe how deep the image portrayed by that pixel should be.

The exciting thing for all of us, and for Hollywood, production studios and broadcasters, is that 2D-plus-Depth is backwards-compatible. Any movie, TV programme or music video you’ve ever watched can now be presented in 3D, adding a new whole dimension – literally – to your viewing experience.

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