I have spent the last few days wearing chunky black glasses.

Those of you who know me will be thinking what’s new, but I’m not referring to my normal eyewear of choice. I am, of course, talking about 3DTV.

This month, I was lucky enough to be invited to several key dealer events held by manufacturers at which they introduced their new product line-ups for the first half of the year.

Both Sony and Panasonic unveiled high-end 3DTVs and Blu-ray players that will come to market in 2010.

I had demonstrations and, in most cases; I was impressed by what I saw – particularly the brief film clips and video games.

I must admit, I haven’t seen a whole film in 3D yet (Avatar just doesn’t appeal to me, I’m afraid), but I am looking forward to when more content is available, so I can experience the full immersive effects of a 3D film.

I still have reservations – I struggle to watch football when it’s shown in 3D – my eyes just can’t deal with the fast-moving images and I am left feeling confused and slightly dizzy. Has anyone else had the same problem?

Mind you, as a long-suffering supporter of Southampton football club, I’m often confused while watching games, but that’s another story….

One thing is for certain – 3DTV will only take off if it is demonstrated correctly and explained to consumers.

At its dealer event in Gleneagles, Scotland, Sony announced that it is to introduce a new selective distribution policy, which will mean that only retailers that fulfil certain criteria will be allowed to sell high-end home entertainment products such as 3DTV (ERT Feb 26 2010).

These criteria include having a physical retail store, ensuring that products are switched on and that staff are well informed and able to offer a compelling demonstration.

Retailers will be mystery shopped and those that don’t make the grade will not stock the kit.

I applaud this move – it’s about time one of the heavyweight CE brands put a stake in the ground and injected some value into the sector. For too long, our industry has been selling on price and not selling up on features.

The move has also been welcomed by Retra and by several independent dealers.

I hope Sony’s latest strategy filters through into the rest of the industry – there are rumours that Panasonic is planning a similar scheme.

Well done, Sony.

So let’s raise our glasses – not the 3D ones.

Sean Hannam

seanhannam@ertgroup.co.uk