What's the hype and what's the reality? There's always a catch, right? As the retail stores, television manufacturers, and movie studios begin their 3D blitz tomorrow as they sell their first sets in Canada, I offer up these five straight points for those seeking refuge from the marketing and who just want the down-and-dirty facts. 

1. There Are Five Pieces Of Equipment Involved

You cannot watch a 3D movie without:

a 3D television

a transmitter

at least one pair of 3D glasses

a 3D blu-ray player

and a 3D blu-ray movie disc

2. Samsung 3D Glasses Will Not Work On A Panasonic 3D Television

This year Samsung, Panasonic, and Sony are all launching their own 3D television models and accessories. While you can interchange the televisions with the different brand of Blu-ray players and movie discs, the 3D glasses, which range from $150 - $250 each, are brand specific. Samsung’s glasses will not work on a Panasonic television. Sony’s glasses will not work on a Samsung television. There will be a number of no-name brand companies offer glasses that will apparently work on any model, but the quality may not be the same.

3. Some Televisions Are “3D Ready” or “3D Capable”

Whether you plan to use it or not, all televisions will eventually include the technology to play 3D content. You don’t want 3D? Tough. The idea is that these televisions will also play normal, 2D content so they will take the place of today’s televisions in the same way that HD televisions have taken the place of televisions before it. You may not want a camera in your cellphone, but try to buy one without it. Same idea. For those who are not interested in 3D, models will be available that do not include a transmitter or glasses, so at least you don’t have to pay for these items. However, expect marketing campaigns to later remind you that you’ve already bought 3D and that it will only cost $350 to add those components later.

4. 3D Quality Will Vary, But Can Be Better Than The Theatres

The best quality in 3D will come from movies that were filmed using 3D cameras, Avatar for example. Only a handful of these will be released on 3D Blu-ray this year.

The next best thing will be movies that have been carefully converted into 3D. Toy Story 1 and 2, for example. Only a small selection of these titles will be available this year.

After that there will be televisions broadcasts which will be shot using 3D cameras, but may be broadcasted at a lower resolution than Blu-ray. An even smaller number of shows have been announced for this option this year.

Finally, some 3D televisions and players will include the option to convert normal 2D movies and television broadcasts into 3D. These will be of the lowest and most questionable quality.

In each case, you will be using Active Shutter 3D glasses, which is an improvement over the glasses used in most movie theatres. Active Shutter glasses have small, battery-powered LCD lenses that open and close rapidly like little shutters allow for a more accurate a clear 3D image than the ones offered by movie theatre glasses which used polarized lenses.

5. There will be 3D video games

Sony will be releasing a free download for the PlayStation 3 that will convert its Blu-ray drive into a 3D Blu-ray drive. This means that it will be able to play both 3D Blu-ray movies and 3D Blu-ray video games, although just like the movies the selection will be limited at first and will include small, arcade-style games from their online store before including their full-featured titles. It’s expected this download will be available in May, shortly before Sony’s own 3D LCD sets launch in stores.