Dubai: Panasonic on Tuesday announced it would start selling 3D televisions in the UAE in June, making it the third company to introduce the new technology in the region.
"With 3D, there is already an excitement you can feel in the market," said Kamran Birjees Khan, deputy managing director for Panasonic.
Ram Modak, manager for Samsung's digital media business, said his company will begin selling 3D televisions in mid-May, while Neil D'Sylva of Sony said the company is looking to launch its range of 3D televisions in June or July.
These televisions will coincide with the Fifa World Cup in South Aftrica in June. Shehab Al Hashemi, director of Abu Dhabi Media, the sole distributor of Al Jazeera Sports Channel cards in the UAE, said that there will be a channel available to broadcast the Fifa World Cup live in 3D.
Al Hashemi said that the fact that there will be a 3D Sports Channel for the World Cup will most probably push manufacturers to introduce 3D TV screens on the market before the big event kicks off.
"It's a new technology and it may be pricy but it'll be what the customers want to see," he said.
However, the drive behind 3-D television after the World Cup might still be hampered by the lack of content, with Khan estimating that only about 30 titles will be available when the products launch.
"I strongly believe that the moment that 3D TVs are in mass scale production and available world-wide this will put pressure [on content providers] to product more," he said.
According to Modak, more titles will be available around Christmas.
Khan said Panasonic has been working with local content providers such as etisalat and du about providing local 3D content.
