Now that we’re considering a 3D TV, it seems like every other day there’s a new article about them. Domingo found one about a commercially available 55 inch 3D TV in Europe. This is much sooner (and bigger) than the previous article we found, and making me question whether now is the right time to get any 3D TV. The Toshiba is listed at $11,400, and only available in Europe. My guess is it will be available in the states for the same price as the first flat panels by 2012’s holiday season. My concern is that if we buy a TV that requires glasses, and glasses become passé within a year, we’ll be stuck if the glasses break. Our rear projection TV lasted 10 years. Yes, it’s antiquated, but it still works! I want our next TV to function for at a while too.

There’s no way we’re not spending $11,000 on a new TV. Not even close. I can already find 3D ready TVs for under a thousand before the shopping season really gets under way. Then there are the periphery costs to consider. In order to utilize the 3D we’ll need a 3d ready DVD player (an extra $150-200), 3d glasses ($300) we’ll want to upgrade our cable and DVR capabilities to support at least HD, ($10-25 per month). We’re talking about an extra $600-750 the first year alone. In fairness, we’ll need many of those things if we get an HDTV anyway. I have been thinking of canceling Cable in favor of Netflix and Hulu, but it looks like Comcast is the only player in town with 3D content. At least for now.

Of course, the HDTV deals have already started this past labor day, 2.5 months before black Friday. And it’s no wonder. According to one report, only 13% of households are considering a new TV in the next 12 months. Yet, retailers don’t seem to be able to make up their mind whether this is going to be a boom or bust shopping year. Extra stock and fewer customers usually means better deals.

We still have time to make up our mind. Given the amount of money we’re going to have to spend on the “extras” in order to utilize the 3D technology, it’s going to have to be a really good deal to get me to pull the trigger.

Posted in Family Life | Tags: Consumer Research