For the TV's themselves, 3DTVs are currently in what I'd call the "premium price range"--i.e., the tier of models with the "new cool thing." Last year, for the same price, you would get a 2D TV with 240Hz refresh rates and internet functionality. The year before that, it was 120Hz; and so on.
So 3D is simply part of the premium feature cycle--a new reason for manufacturers to keep releasing new models for $2000-$3000+. Eventually something else will be the "cool new thing" and 3D capability will trickle down to the middle of the line. Eventually it won't even be a choice--if you buy a 40" or larger screen, you'll get 3D capability whether you like it or not, whether you'll use it or not. The technological leap really isn't that far up--just the ability to process twice as much information (left and right eye images), display them alternately at 240Hz, and an infrared emitter to sync up the glasses.
The glasses retail for upwards of $100-$150-$200 here; depending on whether one wants rechargeable glasses or replaceable batteries. But if you shop around--like on eBay--one can pick glasses up for a fraction of the price. Cheapest I've found for my TV were $65 each. And, as it goes with technology, prices will eventually fall.
3D Blu-ray players are remarkably cheap at about $175--it's not like they came in at the $500-$1000 entry point that Blu-ray debuted with in 2006; again, Blu-ray 3D isn't so much a "new format" as it is an expansion of the format. And if you already own a PS3, then you've already got a 3D Blu-ray player.
Personally, it cost me less than $2000 to move up to 3D: $1350 on a non-LED LCD TV, $170 on a 3D Blu-ray player (the PS3 3D firmware update was not yet out at the time), $300 on glasses, and the cost of joining DirecTV. In comparison, four years earlier I spent $2500 on a DLP TV (not even a flat panel screen), $500 on an HD-DVD player, and another $500 on a PS3 to go from SD to HD.
As for content--sure, when I got my setup this past summer, pickings were slim: Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Monsters vs. Aliens that came with my "3D starter kit," and the two free and one PPV channel in 3D on DirecTV. I also have one of those TVs that can fake a 3D effect with existing 2D footage, so while it doesn't work perfectly, it's still fun to use.
Nowadays, it's a little annoying with all the exclusive deals going around (Avatar with Panasonic, Alice with Sony, Shrek and How to Train Your Dragon with Samsung), but there's quite a bit more nonexclusive content out there. Some retailers mark them up ridiculously, but if you shop around, you'll find them for little more than the price of a regular Blu-ray. And if you haven't noticed, every other blockbuster movie nowadays is getting the 3D treatment, so there's plenty of content around the corner. (And pssst...thanks to this thing called the internet, and the fact that many 3D TVs have the capacity to play back media files over one's network or on USB drives, I've got plenty of content for my TV, including all the "exclusives"). Again, the story is much the same as it was with four years ago: while broadcast TV did already offer plenty of HD content at the time, I remember when you could count the number of Blu-ray titles available on your hands.
Here's the thing to keep in mind: THIS IS EARLY ADOPTER TERRITORY. If you're not the guy who sprung for a $3000 rear projection HDTV in 2005 or $600 for a Blu-ray player in 2006, or $600 for an iPad this year, if you're not the guy who shrugged off having bought an HD-DVD player months before the format went under, if you're not the guy who's already gone through six Blu-ray players and three set-top box media players, then MAYBE YOU SHOULDN'T INVEST IN A 3D TV SETUP YET. If you're going to balk and gripe about the price of the equipment and the limited content, then it's not your time. Stop bitching about it when you know you're not going to get it, and let those who are stupid/well-off/foolhardy enough to be on the "bleeding edge" of technology take the risk, and let those people determine which is going to be the next Blu-ray/DVD/Playstation/VHS and which is going to be the next HD-DVD/Laserdisc/Dreamcast/Beta. Then, when the dust all settles and the prices have dropped, THEN you're welcome to go ahead and come in and reap the benefits of the same technology at a more reasonable price and with lots more available content. That's how it's always been with technology, and it irritates me how some people whine and complain about these things when clearly they're simply not the right type of consumer, nor are they the ones that the industry is realistically expecting to run out to the stores and buy the fancy new stuff.
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