People used to ask, “What’s going to win, the PC or the TV?” The answer, clearly, is “both.” Gone are the days of trying to do the Web on TV. There is no single-box solution, because consumers don’t want it.

I talk daily with young people about how they are consuming media. They never sit down to watch TV without a laptop on their lap or a smartphone in their hand. Never. That’s because multitasking is the norm, and different devices are better at different things. If we understand consumer desires, we should be celebrating the differences, rather than trying to combine devices to the point of mediocrity.

Nonetheless, connected TVs and TV-connected-devices are a reality. In our Anytime/Anywhere Content Lab at the USC School of Cinematic Arts’ Entertainment Technology Center, we have a slew of devices — TVs, Blu-ray players, game consoles, smartphones and the like — that all connect seamlessly to the Net. Twenty-five percent of TVs shipping today have Internet connections, and soon enough the figure will be close to 100%.

This doesn’t mean that people will want to browse the Web on TV; it means that smart content creators and distributors are going to use those connections in new ways to link content to consumers to information to social networks.

The next big battleground is how companies will connect consumers with content and with each other around content. It’s trending in that direction in a big way, and we’re working with all the major players to understand the implications and lay the groundwork for shared success.

Single companies can innovate, but they often win the battle and lose the war. What we need to do is to work across industry lines to raise the water level for everyone. It will take a village.

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If the success of “Avatar” and the 3-D television sets hitting the market are any indication, we’re in the midst of a 3-D wave, as documented in Amy Chozik’s WSJ article today.Though these movies have been around since the 1920s, the technology is now starting to permeate the video-game and television industries. The question is: Will this last?

On one end of the spectrum, David Wertheimer, CEO and executive director of the Entertainment Technology Center at the University of Southern California, predicts better audience experiences made possible with new technologies will make 3-D a staple of the entertainment industry. And on the other end, Daniel Symmes, co-author of “Amazing 3-D” and president of 3-D Film Preservation Fund, argues the current wave of 3-D is likely a fad and that audiences will grow bored. In separate interviews, the two spoke about the technology and its lasting impact.

Transforming the industry

Mr. Wertheimer said the trajectory in 3-D technology drastically shifted when digital cinema was introduced in 2000. This has led to the recent proliferation of 3-D, as seen with movies such as “Alice in Wonderland,” “Toy Story 3″ and yes, “Avatar.”

With the advent of digital cinema, movies no longer needed two perfectly aligned projectors simultaneously broadcasting two parts of the film for each eye.“Because it’s digital you can align it perfectly,” he said. “It’s a fundamental shift.”

The 3-D experience in the ’50s and ’60s was more of a novelty, he said. If the projectors were off by a little, it would strain the eyes of the audience who could also become nauseated and dizzy.

“The imagery was hard to watch for extended periods of time,” he said. This is why Mr. Wertheimer said 3-D came and went. But because digital cinema doesn’t require two projectors to achieve the 3-D effect, Mr. Wertheimer said the current wave of popularity is here to stay.

“As you see 3-D [today], you overcome this objection from the 3-D you saw back in the ’70s and ’80s,” he said. “That’s why today’s fundamentally different than before.”

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