Some have previously dismissed 3D television as a “gimmick,” the kind of thing that could never really carry a medium. Indeed, some might have wondered if the 3D rush was over before it really caught on, with a handful of movies taking advantage of the film technique in order to make images pop even further than normal. But 3doo, along with Samsung (News - Alert), is showing that 3D is hardly dead yet thanks to the release of 3doo's 3-D Player App, now available for download on Samsung Smart TV systems and a wide array of Samsung Blu-ray players.

Thanks to the addition of Samsung's line of hardware, 3doo's maximum reach is now projected to reach over 65 million households with 3D televisions in over 150 countries, all by the fourth quarter of 2013. But the addition of the 3doo Player App to Samsung televisions isn't just good for 3doo, it's also good for Samsung. Now, Samsung can actively demonstrate 3D content on the set thanks to the lineup of free-to-view 3D content available via 3doo's Player App, giving the 3D television more credence than it had previously.

3doo allows content providers to distribute 3D content from a single platform, and thanks to not only the newly-minted alliance with Samsung, but also the previously-established alliances with LG and Panasonic, gives that platform a lot of range to work with. Better yet, thanks to the wide array of products that 3doo's platform can reach, a level of targeting by geography can be brought to bear, allowing advertisers to use 3D video on a specific area to promote a specific line of goods or services. Since the 3doo Player App is, at last report, free for content providers to use, the value in offering up such services is at least somewhat clear.

One of the biggest obstacles in terms of wide acceptance of 3D television is still the overall lack of content in the field. Why buy a 3D television, many believe, if there's just not that much 3D content to watch on such devices? It's not as if there's never been any content, but just in terms of new releases—particularly home media like DVD and Blu-ray, 3D is seldom part of the equation. Streaming video commonly offers even less in the way of 3D content. But with 3doo involved, it may be that 3D video is starting to catch on, and the more of it that can be offered, the more likely people will be to buy the necessary hardware to run 3D video in the first place, especially as the costs attached with same come down in the face of increasing incursions of 4K video.

3doo's 3-D Player App may not by itself fuel a new renaissance in 3D video, but it certainly will help the value proposition posed by 3D televisions by adding a new source of content. It may well be the start of something much bigger, however, and only time will tell just how far it all goes.