Washington, D.C. (September 15, 2008) -- DreamWorks CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg told an industry conference last night that 3-D HDTV is the future of the TV and movie industries.

That's according to an article by Broadcasting and Cable Magazine.

In a 3-D, HDTV satellite-delivered address from Los Angeles, Katzenberg told the IBC 2008 attendees in Amsterdam, Netherlands that the technology is "the most exciting thing to happen to the visual experience in 70 years."

DreamWorks and other studios have been dabbling with 3-D HDTV presentations of select movies in the theaters over the last year. Disney recently released a 3-D version of a Hannah Montana concert on Blu-ray disc.


Soon, TV and movie fans will watch their faves in 3-D.

B&C reports that Katzenberg entertained the audience with 3-D HDTV clips from the animated Kung Fu Panda, which has been released in theaters, and Monsters vs. Aliens, set for a spring 2009 release. (The audience wore 3-D glasses to capture the three-dimensional effects.)

“I believe this is the future,” Katzenberg said. “Not only my future, but all of our futures. It’s the most exciting thing to happen to the visual experience in 70 years, and I think it will be completely transformative.”

The DreamWorks CEO added that theater owners see 3-D as a new vehicle to get people out of the house, particularly in a down economy.

“The theater experience, in many ways, has been trumped by the home experience,” Katzenberg said, according to B&C. “This is a chance for them to leap back ahead, and make it a growth business again … It’s a chance to bring people back to movie theaters who stopped going.”

B&C reports there are now about 2,500-3,000 3-D-capable theaters in North America, but Katzenberg estimates that 75-80 percent of theater attendees will be able to see Shrek 4 in 3-D when it opens in 2010.

Katzenberg said video games will likely be the driver of early 3-D viewing in the home, but movies will soon follow.

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