Sony officially revealed last week 3D capable television sets and other gadgets that will soon be available in the Kingdom.
Addressing a crowded press conference, Prince Mohamed bin Khaled Al-Abdullah Al-Faisal, president and chief executive of Al-Faisaliah Group, said, "The company is looking at 3D as the driver for new TV sales."
Osamu Miura, Sony's managing director for Gulf countries, and Taro Kimura, Sony's chief representative in Saudi Arabia, also briefed journalists about the new technology, the demand for 3D products in the Saudi market and the whole array of 3D entertainment.
Prince Mohamed said that consumers would be able to enjoy 3D with Bravia TV sets, PlayStations, blu-ray disc products and digital still cameras. "The Modern Electronics Company in cooperation with Sony do not only have the products to bring 3D to the home, we also have a complete line up of professional products suitable for production of high-quality 3D content for both movie makers and broadcasters," he said.
"We are hence able to offer a complete Sony solution from the lens to the living room," said the prince. In the 3D space, "Sony is very uniquely positioned compared to other consumer electronics makers because we are not only going to sell 3D compatible consumer hardware, but also ensure that there is an adequate variety of 3D content that consumers can enjoy," said Sony Managing Director Miura.
"Modern Electronics Company, the sole dealer of Sony in Saudi Arabia, expects to sell 700,000 units of LCD screen TV sets including 3D sets," predicted Kimura, when asked about the market size of 3D TV sets in Saudi Arabia. He said that Sony stopped the production of box TVs some two years back, which shows the fast pace of technological growth. The Avatar (a 3D popular film) effect has possibly pushed this forward faster than many might have expected, he added.
Kimura said that Sony would introduce a range of 3D compatible consumer electronics products this year including 3D compatible Bravia LCD TVs, Blu-ray 3D compatible Blu-ray Disc players, and Blu-ray 3D compatible home theater systems. He said that the cable television service providers such as ORBIT and Showtime as well as broadcasters such as Al-Jazeera are upgrading their bouquet to provide the latest in entertainment technology. They are also in active discussion with companies to bring 3D to Middle Eastern homes in 2010.
