With Avatar in the theaters, talk of a 3D cable channel, and ESPN announcing a 3D network, watching in a 3rd dimension is about to become normal. Maybe the new HD? The USA Today is visiting the Consumer Electronic Show and they say 2010 will be the year of 3D. It appears that in the early phases it will cost a couple of thousand dollars to get a big 3D tv (there isn’t likely to be a market for small 3D sets initially).

Edward C. Baig of the USA Today writes,

The flat, familiar, two-dimensional television image at the center of your home theater is about to take on the lifelike illusion of depth. At least that’s the way the future looks through the spectacles of Hollywood studios, TV networks and consumer electronics manufacturers as they prepare to launch a massive effort to bring 3D from the silver screen into your living room.

“2010 will be the year in which 3D is brought to the home,” DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg says. He’s so bullish on the technology that he’s committed his studio to make 3D versions of all of its future movies.

This week, ESPN announced plans to launch an all-sports 3D network on June 11, starting with World Cup soccer and eventually including the Summer X Games (extreme sports) and college basketball and college football. ESPN 3D will have at least 85 live 3D sporting events, the Disney-owned network promises.