2010 saw the arrival of 3D TV on to the scene, with impressive retail TV sales figures for the latter half of the year in particular showing that consumers were ready and enthusiastic about bringing 3D TV in to their homes. This success was predictable considering the prior popularity of a string of 3D blockbuster movies experiencing box office success in the cinemas. However, for the long term success of home 3D TV to be sustained consumers are going to demand more mainstream and more readily available 3D content to become available instead of the sparse range of 3D home viewing that is currently available.

This is something that Samsung the electronics giant and one of the major driving forces behind 3D technology has recognised. As a result Samsung have released and new free 3D TV smart app that can be used on their range of 3D LED TVs. The smart app allows it’s viewer to stream free 3D video on demand to their television using the internet. The application was first released to the Korean public and has since been expanded to the UK. It is expected to be released in the US before the end of 2011.

The line-up of 3D content that is currently available is not particularly appealing to consumers as there is only a limited amount of movies, trailers, music videos and promotional content available using this free service. However, it is still in its infancy and the range of 3D content will become more extensive by the end of the year.

What the Samsung service does is demonstrate what can be achieved with Samsung’s range of internet capable 3D TVs. The introduction of 3DTV VOD by Samsung will likely start a domino effect with other manufactures developing their own versions of the application. If this happens, it may be just what is needed for broadcasters and productions companies to provide exactly what viewers want, and that is a mass of 3D content that is readily available for viewing at home.