3D TV has been a promise stretching back into the 1950s, known as the Golden Age of 3D, when Disney, Paramount and Universal all had 3D film offerings and at the time felt the technology was the way of the future for video content. What killed that vision was the eye strain and headaches that usually resulted from an evening of viewing a 3D movie.

Fast forward a few technology cycles later, and 3D has come around again. For the past few years we've been seeing fledgling attempts at 3D TV from various manufacturers, but it seems like 2009 is the year all the majors are debuting versions of their own 3D technologies. We had a chance to get our oculars on Sony's working prototype and found the tech to be getting surprisingly close to prime time. 

We're still not totally sold on 3D as the true next step of video content, but the clarity and depth of the trailers we saw were rather impressive. Gone are the ghosting and trail effects we've seen in the recent past, and the footage is no longer afflicted with errant afterimages and shadow outlines prominent especially during high motion sequences. The 3D content we saw on Sony's set was crystal clear and immersive.

We can't say we were entirely free of adverse effects after about 8 minutes of viewing. However, it's hard to say how much the 3D content versus a long couple of days of trade show coverage on little sleep was to blame. It definitely seems that the 3D trend is in full swing with Sony, Samsung, LG, Mitsubishi, Panasonic and Philips all showing off 3D displays on the show floor this year; many of them claim the technology will be in consumer homes as early as next year.