Samsung, Sony, and Panasonic 3D TV Pricing Announced

[Woochifer]

Samsung and Panasonic 3D TVs Available Now
Samsung and Panasonic will be first to introduce their 3D sets to the American market, with the Panasonic 3D sets debuting at Best Buy today and Samsung's 3D TVs already available for sale online and at select retail stores.

Comparing the pricing is somewhat tricky because at least during the initial introduction, the 3D feature will only be added to the higher line models. Obviously, the 3D sets will cost a lot more than the entry level sets, but for an apples-to-apples comparison, you have to compare the pricing with the midlevel and higher end models.

In that context, the Samsung and Panasonic 3D TVs seem to have a price premium of around $300-$400 for the 3D feature. This adds less than 20% to the price of the TV, and the TVs each come with one pair of 3D shutter glasses.

Samsung 46" B7000 HDTV ($2,350 on Amazon) vs. C7000 3D HDTV ($2,600 on Amazon)
Panasonic 50" TC-P50V10 HDTV ($2,100 MSRP) vs. Panasonic 50" TC-P50VT20 3D HDTV ($2,500 MSRP)

http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/patterso...-that-get-you/
http://www.twice.com/article/449975-...t_Best_Buy.php

Keep in mind that Samsung's 7000 series and Panasonic's V10/20 series are just a step below those companies' respective top-of-the-line series.

Sony 3D TVs Due Out in June
Sony is going to make its 3D debut in June with a 46" Bravia model costing roughly around $4,000. The posted article indicates that it's a 50% price premium over "existing HD prices," although I don't know which 2D Sony TV model the article is comparing to.

http://www.unthinkable.biz/home/arti...logy-delivery-

The Biggest Profits Might Actually Come From The 3D Glasses
As indicated in the Yahoo blog post, the common theme among the announced 3D TV models is that the TV prices are reasonable, when compared to their 2D equivalent models. Where the consumer really gets hit is with the cost of the 3D glasses -- about $150 each.

And this might be the more enduring trend as the 3D feature finds its way into the entry level HDTV lines, and TV prices continue to tumble over the next few years. The TVs will come with one or two pairs of 3D glasses, but a family of four would need to lay out another $300 to $450 for the extra glasses.

In much the same way that shavers and inkjet printers basically give away the hardware and recoup the revenue at the back end via blade and ink cartridge sales, I can see a scenario where the TV manufacturers eventually give away the 3D feature and make up for the revenue at the back end with the 3D glasses.

Consider that HDTVs in the 40" to 42" range already sell for around $500. At some point, the 3D feature will find its way into this price range. TVs at this price point do not have a very high profit margin. The margins for one or two pairs of 3D glasses might be much higher, since they likely have much lower material, transport, and inventory costs.

From my understanding, each manufacturer uses its own set of shutter glasses. Unless someone begins selling generic equivalents for these 3D glasses, consumers are stuck with the glasses sold by the manufacturer. That would be a potentially lucrative high margin accessory that can pad the bottomline for the manufacturers, but it would also potentially cut into the actual usage of the 3D feature.