Few things were more a-buzz than some of the 3D demonstrations being conducted at CEDIA. Panasonic, Mitsubishi, JVC, Digital Projection Inc. (DPI), and others were all touting their flavors of three-dimensional viewing for the home. Many of these demos have been seen before, but this year there is actually promise of delivery, some as early as this fall. Now the trick will be selling it to the consumer.

One of the first 3D home offerings will happen in the luxury market. DPI, a high-end projector company, teamed up with Mechdyne Corporation to offer full 3D home theater packages. “The Total 3D Experience Systems,” as they are named, will be sold and delivered by Digital Projection through its manufacturer’s rep network to any of its authorized dealers. Customer support will come from both companies, with DPI supporting the projection displays and Mechdyne providing support on the balance of this advanced system.

The packages include a DPI TITAN or LIGHTNING 1080p 3D display, a Dimension 3D server, a graphics adapter capable of rendering 1080p gaming and HD content at frame rates up to 120 Hz, a Blu-ray storage drive, active 3D glasses and infrared emitters to synchronize the server, projector and 3D glasses, as well as a pre-programmed Crestron touch-screen controller.

These two packages (that should be available to ship by press time) are being offered at prices points of $43,995 and $59,995. The difference of the two systems includes how many users can be supported (eight vs. 12), the size of the storage drive (1TB vs. 2TB), and other hardware upgrades. The projector, however, is not included in the price point. Michael Bridwell, marketing communications director for DPI, says the reason is because, “Choosing a projector has numerous parameters that need to be analyzed before selecting an appropriate display, including room size, ambient light in the room, screen size, etc.”

Interest within the rest of the industry also seems high, both in the commercial and consumer market. Recently, JP Morgan announced new financing of up 15,000 3D screens for the commercial market, and vendors are itching to deliver 3D capable televisions for the home market. Mitsubishi already is selling $1,200 “3D-capable” sets, and JVC just announced a television that comes with 3D glasses (priced at around $9,000). A Panasonic representative told us his company would have three models on the market in 2010, and that up to 50 3D Blu-ray titles will be on the market next year.

But will consumers buy into the technology? Good promotion will be required. Commercial films are finding that with 3D movies such as Up, Partly Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs and the anticipated success of James Cameron’s Avatar, it may take more effort to capture the attention of the home market. To that aim, both Panasonic and Mitsubishi are separately rolling out tractor-trailer tours to promote 3D with live demos—noble effort, but it didn’t work for HD DVD.

Perhaps the best selling point will be sports content. If there was one demo at CEDIA that outshined all others, it was Panasonic’s sports related content, much of which was captured at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. With the upcoming Olympics in Vancouver, Canada, the timing may be perfect to start broadcasting sports in 3D. Before that can happen, broadcasters need to agree on a standard and cable companies will have to cater to the technology. Until then, 3D will be relegated to pre-recorded media.