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Samsung 3D VOD service debuts in Korea

Consumers in Korea now can access 3D video on demand from Dreamworks, via the Samsung Apps marketplace on the company's HDTVs. Service for the U.S. and Europe is in the works.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
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Don Reisinger
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Samsung is bringing 3D video on demand to its apps marketplace.
Samsung is bringing 3D video on demand to its apps marketplace. Samsung

Samsung is launching a 3D video-on-demand service in Korea, the company announced today.

The service is debuting with content from film studio DreamWorks. It will offer 3D films, movie trailers, and music videos. It will also include children's content. Users access the service via Samsung Apps, the marketplace that the consumer electronics giant makes available on some of its HDTVs.

The Samsung marketplace, which allows users to access apps from the likes of Hulu Plus, Netflix, Facebook, and Blockbuster, is off to a good start. In December, about nine months after the marketplace opened up, Samsung announced that consumers had downloaded 1 million applications. Less than two months later, the company said that its store had hit 2 million downloads.

Samsung seems to be sitting at the forefront of what could be an explosion in 3D programming.

Research firm In-Stat released a study today saying that over 100 3D channels will be available to consumers around the world by 2014. Channels delivering sports, movies, documentaries, and music will quickly jump on the 3D bandwagon. The research firm believes they will be followed by traditional channels. In-Stat believes 3D production costs will decline over the next several years, which should help to spur growth in that sector.

Whether consumers will be happy to see that, however, is another story. In a study released in September, Deloitte found that 31 percent of consumers do not believe that 3D can "enhance their entertainment experience." Even worse, 13 percent of respondents to the Deloitte study said they get "physically ill [or] uncomfortable after watching 3D programming."

Even so, that isn't stopping Samsung from bringing its 3D service to other places around the world. The company said that it will be launching its service to the U.S. and Europe soon, though it didn't offer a specific date.