One of the biggest impediments to the adoption of 3D in the home is the cost of active-shutter glasses—typically around $150 a pop, making it prohibitively expensive to outfit an entire family, even after you account for the one or maybe two pairs included with some (but not all) 3D TVs. So when I read that Samsung will be offering active 3D glasses at less than $50 each, I sat up and took notice.

Not only that, all Samsung 3D TVs—LED LCDs and plasmas—will come with two pairs of the new glasses that are powered by a replaceable battery that provides up to 70 hours of use. Buyers of a 3D LED LCD in the D7000 line and above or a 3D plasma in the D6500 line and above will get Samsung's 3D Starter Kit, which includes promotional versions of all four Shrek movies on 3D Blu-ray and a voucher for Megamind on 3D Blu-ray in addition to two pairs of glasses.

I've always doubted that active glasses would drop significantly in price, but Samsung has proven me wrong. Of course, there's still no universal active-glasses standard, so the new Samsung glasses won't work with other brands of 3D TVs (except Mitsubishi), so I hope other manufacturers follow suit, bringing full-resolution 3D TV within reach of more consumers.