MUMBAI: At one stage it was touted as the future of television. Thanks to the stupendous success that James Cameron’s 3D version of Avatar achieved at the box office with its spectacular 3D graphics and colors. A rash of manufacturers rushed in rolling out 3D TV sets which could be watched with either wearables or with a screen to make the images jump out at viewers. 3D channels by DirectTV, Sky, ESPN, Comcast, Sony and other players in different parts of the world were launched.

But 2017 will be the year when 3D TV was given a quite burial or cremation if you so like. The world’s largest manufacturers of TVs – LG, Sony – informed CNET last week that they were going to stop integrating 3D capabilities into the TV sets they manufacture from 2017.

The reason: the technology required viewers to sit stationary and view the programming from a specific angle. Which consumers did not buy into at all.

The channels that were launched were shuttered quickly but 3D TV capabilities continued to be offered by manufacturers. Until this year, that is.

"3D capability was never really universally embraced in the industry for home use, and it's just not a key buying factor when selecting a new TV,” said LG’s director of new product development Tim Alessi, to CNET. "Purchase process research showed it's not a top buying consideration, and anecdotal information indicated that actual usage was not high. We decided to drop 3D support for 2017.”

Manufacturers will now be focusing on 4K, UHD, HDR and smart TV features going forward.