Although much of the hype that garnered around 3D TV in 2010 has quietened down, the fact remains that the 3D ecosystem continues to grow. In March 2012, the IHS Western Europe TV Price and Specifications Tracker showed that the average price of a 3D TV set available at retail across France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the UK was now under €1,000, at  €922 ($1,218), while household penetration of 3D TV technology has continued to grow, accounting for 3.5 per cent of Western European households by the end of 2011. Yet the question remains one of content - 3D channels are still scarce, and with bandwidth costs broadly equivalent to that of HD, and production costs higher, broadcasters and pay TV operators are hesitant to push 3D as a technology.

With this in mind, it is perhaps not surprising that Consumer Electronics manufacturers have taken up the mantle of aggregating 3D content themselves - after all, the original push behind in-home 3D came from the hardware side, following the early success of 3D film at the cinema. The 3D World portal from LG stands alongside other similar entrants, such as Samsung's 3D Explore app or Sony's 3D experience app. Yet numerous brands' creating numerous 3D aggregation portals is unlikely to help any one brand build momentum around its proprietary IETV content platform. Given that inidividual 3D portals are by most meaningful measures largely undifferentiated, and in large part supplemental to the TV purchase itself, it will be difficult to position these 3D applications as a major driver for 3D TV and Smart TV sales - and, as a consequence, for any one manufacturer's proprietary content platform.