The International 3D Society & 3D@Home - two organisations with a combined membership of 60 companies and 500 professionals that merged in August - released trends and forecast for key segments of the worldwide 3D industry.

The Society forecasts that more than 40 3D features will be released in 2013, including The Hobbit, The Great Gatsby, and Jurassic Park. "8 of the top 10 box office movies of all time have been either released in 3D, or re-released in 3D. With an estimated 35,000+ 3D screens worldwide, we now have the infrastructure to show those movies to fans everywhere," says Jim Chabin, President of the organization.

The Society also anticipates rapid growth rates in 3DTV based on figures from several market tracking organizations. The Consumer Electronics Association projects 2012 US unit sales of 5.5 million 3DTVs - more than double 2011 sales of 2.7 million units. The CEA data also predicts 8.7 million 3DTVs will be sold in 2013 in the US, anticipating a cumulative total of over 60 million in the US by 2016. NPD Group forecasts more than 200 million units in the worldwide marketplace by 2019.

When it comes to TV channels, 40 networks now programming 3D content worldwide, and 10 are planned in China. In the US, two-year-old 3net - a joint venture of Discovery, Sony and IMAX - has assembled the largest made-for-TV library of native original 3D programming in the world, and airs 24-hours a day. ESPN 3D - also a 24-hour network - is airing live college football games every Saturday this Fall, and will broadcast the BCS College Championship game in January.

ESPN's lineup also includes: college basketball games, the ACC tournament, the Winter X Games from Aspen Colorado, and the Summer X Games from Los Angeles. Past 3D telecasts have included the World Cup, Wimbledon, the Masters golf tour, and the NBA finals.

3D video-on-demand and 3D cable services are available from Comcast, Time Warner, DirecTV, Verizon Fios, Bright House, CableVision, Google Fiber, and others. Advertisers have created 3D commercials for General Motors, AT&T, BMW, Coca-Cola, Sony, Mars, Best Buy, motion picture studios, and others. Even the adult entertainment industry provides a variety of content on 3D Blu-Ray and online.

More than 200 3D Blu-ray titles are now available in 3D. More than 5 million Nintendo 3DS game devices have been sold in the US alone, as of July 2012. YouTube3D now offers 20,000+ 3D videos available to fans everywhere, any time.

Even NASA's Mars Rover 'Curiosity' carries two 3D cameras, which allows us all to see and learn more about the surface of Mars in 3D from home.

2012 also saw the premiere of 'Transformers 3D,' the new 3D ride at Universal Studios, Hollywood. 'Transformers 3D' joins the park?s other major attraction, 'King Kong 3D.'

"Disruptive new technologies can take time to work their way into our lives. The digital revolution is never unanimous. But, in a very short period of time, 3D screens are populating a vast array of devices which will bring the world and everything in it up-close-and-personal to the viewer," said Ray Zone, Society Historian and author of 3D Revolution. "From medicine, to the military, to education, to entertainment, 3D is an established and growing new medium."

Story filed 05.10.12