20 hot technologies to watch in 2010: 3D Games and TV

Nvidia has already launched its 3D Vision home entertainment kit, introducing many PC users to the active shutter technology that works more comfortably than existing polarised display kits from firms such as Zalman.

But in 2010, the leap in take-up could be even greater.

Whether it's driven by Hollywood - see James Cameron's Christmas blockbuster movie Avatar, for example - or, as many believe more likely, by live sporting events, 3D is soon to make the move from the cinema into our living rooms.

Not only can gamers already take advantage of 3D, but it's also here for watching movies, as the Acer 3D laptop on page 39 demonstrates.

Panasonic has produced a modified Blu-ray player that can play full 1080p footage in 3D, using the same active shutter glasses that Nvidia uses.

All the major TV manufacturers are producing big-screen 3D TV sets in anticipation, and the public is increasingly exposed to 3D by a steady stream of (mostly family) movies.

It didn't take long for the early adopting minority to grow into the mainstream when HD technology first arrived; the only question remains, is it too soon after that overhaul for 3D TV to snowball at the same rate?

If you liked this, other titles in the series also include:

Number 20:  Better WiFi  
Number 19:  Hybrid-cars
Number 18:  DSLR Movies
Number 17:  Wireless Power
Number 16:  IPTV/ video on demand
Number 15: GPS on your phone
Number 14: Cloud computing
Number 13: Ebooks
Number 12: 100 megabit broadband
Number 11: The GPU/CPU