Dick De Jong
January 14, 2011
HDTV Solutions

If last year's Consumers Electronics Show in Las Vegas was all about 3D TVs, the 140,000 attendees at this year's edition of CES seemed to be in a tablet tizzy. (I'll talk about this phenomenon in Part 3 of my CES Report.)

Even though tablets were setting fingers atwitterring, TVs were still in abundance. In 2010, the new kids on the block were 3D TVs. In 2011, 3D is becoming mainstream with many TV manufacturers offering a growing majority of their models with this stereoscopic feature.

For example, a Samsung representative stated that around 60% of their new TV offerings would be 3D.

Before we begin our discussion about what's new in 3D technology, here's a quick 3D refresher.

To distill the 3D TV system to its basics, you need a source that delivers 3D content to a TV that can display it and, in most setups, glasses that allow you to process the display.

Without being too technical, there definitely is more than one way of creating the binocular, three dimensional illusion on a TV screen. Almost every 3D TV available in 2010 employed the method of rapidly displaying alternate frames (left eye and then right eye) on the TV.

To complete the process, you, as the viewer, must wear active shutter glasses that block the left lens or right lens in sync with the display.

Your optic system and your brain then meld the two images together to simulate 3D.

When it comes to 3D TVs, CES 2011 was like the sequel to Jaws. Just when you thought it was safe to dive into the 3D waters... Though the shark in this scenario is a good news / bad news creature.

The good news is that 3D TV makers are trying to address the aversion that people have for those expensive (over $100 a pair) and often eye-straining, active shutter glasses that are necessary to view the first generation of 3D TVs.

The solution was to adopt a technique for displaying the 3D image that requires the thinner, cheaper, batteries-free, polarizing glasses, like the kind used at movie theaters.

At their press conference, LG Display, (not to be confused with LG Electronics), touted the advantages of their Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) 3D panel, which is one passive glasses system.

They claimed a number of advantages over the active shutter glasses method of displaying 3D including higher image brightness and flicker free viewing.

Of course, the next day in a roundtable discussion with the press, Samsung executives were singing the praises of their active shutter glasses displays.

Their main contention was that FPR technology cuts the resolution of a 1080p screen in half. In their eyes, less resolution equates to poorer picture quality.

Even though I had a chance to view both techniques, I am withholding my judgement until I can get a few of the passive glasses TVs in for review.

On first blush, I admit that for me the 3D illusion was more pronounced with the passive glasses system. But I want to examine how good the 2D performance is on these TVs.

I will say one thing now. This active vs. passive skirmish does introduce a bit of uncertainty into the 3D marketplace. But I'm not sure that this tussle is all bad news for the consumer.

I think that 3D TVs are still in their infancy. There will be some growing pains until 3D develops into a mature technology. In a few short years, 3D will become just another feature in every TV.

Until then, a little competition between rival display methods seems to be pushing everyone to a higher quality solution.

Of course for many, the best 3D solution will include not needing any glasses to enjoy the 3D experience.

I have read that James Cameron (Director of the ultimate 3D movie, Avatar) recently stated that "3D will explode like crazy," when the TV experience is glassless.

At CES, I saw at least three or four prototypes of 3D TVs that did not require glasses. None of them impressed me with their 3Dness.

When standing in front of some of the displays, I felt like yelling, "The king has no clothes. Where's the 3D?"

When will we see a high quality and affordable glassless 3D TV? I've heard a number of estimates from those in the know. Most think it will be at least five years.

Until then, manufacturers are trying to slim down the active shutter glasses. Samsung was displaying some that are extremely light and can be charged wirelessly.

On the passive side, LG Display was heralding the improved optics of their curved lens polarized glasses, which they stated you could double duty as sunglasses.

And for those of you with children with kid-sized craniums, companies like Xpand are beginning to offer better fitting 3D spectacles. I did ask one of Xpand's representatives how old that they thought a child should be to watch 3D TV. The answer was not definitive, but at least three years old was the suggestion.

Visiting the VIZIO showroom at CES is always a refreshing experience. They choose to set up their products in a big meeting room in the Wynn, which is peacefully away from the hustle, bustle and din of the monstrous Las Vegas Convention Center halls.

In the last couple of years, VIZIO has begun to expand beyond the traditional HDTV mold. Last year they were previewing a prototype of a 21:9 TV. In 2011, they will be introducing two new models that sport a 2560 x 1080 resolution that VIZIO labels, Cinema Display.

These 50" and 58" Edge Lit LED with Smart Dimming models can display the wider format movies full screen without black bars.

In the showroom, wide-screen Blu-ray movies were upconverted to fill the higher resolution TV. The VIZIO rep thought that someday streaming movie providers might offer wide-screen movies in a full 2560 x 1080 format.

And by the way, these Cinema Display models are 3D TVs that employ passive glasses. As a teaser, they also were showing off a 71" direct-lit LED 3D version.

Not to be outdone, Mitsubishi, who has been producing 3D DLP rear projection TVs for years, upped the ante with its new 92" - yes, that's almost eight feet diagonally - active shutter glasses 3D model.

It's a 16 x 9 format, but at that scale, I believe that Mits has every right to label it a theater-sized 3D Home Cinema TV. If 92" is a wee bit expansive for your sitting room, Mitsubishi also offers rear projection TVs ranging from 60 to 82 inches.

If your eyes are pining for more resolution, I have been talking about 4K x 2K (3840 by 2160 pixels, which is four times the resolution of a 1080p HDTV) displays for a couple of years. And they seem to be popping up at this CES in booths across the convention floor.

No one wants to commit to when there actually might be a model in production or hazard a guess at a price point. But the timetable might be accelerated because some TV designers are figuring that this extra resolution may be the answer to those who are worried about the "half resolution" slight against passive glasses 3D techniques.

The logic goes, if polarizers only display half the 1080p resolution to each eye, then let's begin with a higher resolution screen. Enter 4K x 2K.

I left CES with a number of thoughts about 3D TVs.

First, let me go on record that I am not a huge 3D TV fan. And even after seeing this new wave of more impressive 3D models, I am still not a convert.

Not withstanding my penchant, 3D has become a force in the marketplace, and will only become more omnipresent in the next few years.

A number of factors are fueling the progress. First was the advent of 3D Blu-ray players, (which you can now often find for under $150). But 2010 only churned out about 20 3D Blu-ray movies.

I have heard estimates that there will be over 1000 hours of new 3D content available in 2011. In fact, at CES, Vudu announced that they will soon be streaming 3D movies. (They have already rolled out a limited number of titles for select TVs.)

Then there's ESPN broadcasting must-see events in 3D like the BCS Championship game. And Sony is partnering with IMAX and Discovery Communications to launch a full-time 3D network called 3Net.

I'm sure that not all the programming will be great examples of 3D. Very few of the movies will rival Avatar's standard. It will take time for filmmakers to explore and understand the medium. Baby steps.

More importantly to our still fragile pocketbooks, the entry price of 3D TVs is dropping. Last year, manufacturers were hoping to increase their thinning profit margins by charging a premium for 3D. The strategy wasn't a smashing success.

I've also heard TV reps admit that the extra cost of making a 3D TV (especially an active shutter type) is not that great. The rub for consumers is that shutter glasses are still expensive.

In 2010, 3D models were relegated to the high end. This year, you should be able to find many more choices in the mid-range, which translates to a larger selection of more affordable 3D TVs. And if this pace keeps up, probably by 2014 most TVs for sale in the U.S. will be capable of playing 3D content.

And I'm OK with that - as long as the advancements in 2D picture quality stride alongside.

Finally, one last comment about the current state of 3D TVs. As I was touring the Technicolor booth at CES, I had a particularly enlightening behind-the-curtain look at some of the post-production challenges of editing and mastering 3D movies and Blu-rays, (a field in which Technicolor is intimately involved).

One of the Technicolor representatives was demonstrating how in the editing room the left eye and the right eye images can get switched or out of sync in a shot. And when you view the finished product, your eyes and brain to do a double take.

He also stated that at this time, the process for converting content originally shot in 2D to faux 3D is more an art than a science. The algorithms to determine foreground from background are not sophisticated enough to get it right without some human oversight.

And if the formulas were flawless, the processing power of a 3D Blu-ray player or a 3D TV is not robust enough to perform the calculations in real-time. Which means that the 2D to 3D conversion offered by current models - to give it a positive spin - could be better. In other words, don't expect a magical transformation.

Though someone sitting at that demonstration thought his company had a better 2D to 3D process.

As I said, we're just in the beginning of this 3D product cycle.

Stay tuned.

Part 2 of my CES report discusses Connected TVs.