Sony’s 3D TV Launch Event Claims Technology Edge Over Rivals

CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Trailing Panasonic and Samsung to introduction in the nascent 3D TV category, Sony is taking a holistic marketing approach touting its content, production, distribution and hardware expertise as an advantage over its rivals, senior executives said Wednesday at the company’s official 3D TV launch event at Sony Pictures Studios (CED June 10 p6). The company plans to lead the industry in bringing the best 3D experience to consumers through its focus on quality from the camera to the display with the promotional tagline, “Getting 3D Right,” Sony Electronics President Stan Glasgow told reporters. “Other manufacturers may share that goal, but only Sony can achieve it by marrying content expertise with our hardware innovations,” Glasgow said.

Sony’s PS3 is expected to play a significant role in the rollout of Sony’s 3D TV efforts, said Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. Referencing PlayStation 2’s role in the growth of the DVD and PS3’s role in the growth of the Blu-ray Disc format, Tretton said, “What PS3 did for Blu-ray, we're now prepared to do for 3D. 3D gaming is the most anticipated technology for the home to arrive in the market this year."

Tretton said the processing power, storage capacity, and graphics of the PS3 make it the “perfect vehicle for 3D delivery, distribution and content.” He said 35 million PS3s are in homes and that number is expected to reach 50 million by March of next year. A recent survey showed that 63 percent of PS3 owners are aware of 3D gaming and 71 percent believe 3D gaming is important. More than half surveyed said they would use PS3 more because of 3D movies and gaming, he said. Sony will release twenty 3D stereoscopic titles in the current fiscal year, Tretton said, saying the titles are being created in 3D, not converted from 2D. Sony’s Move motion-control platform will play a major role in the company’s 3D plans, he said. “Gamers will not only be able to enjoy the game or be surrounded by the game, but they'll be in the game.” More detail on Sony’s 3D gaming plans will be released next week at E3, he said.

At retail, one of the differentiating points Sony hopes to make with 3D involves the company’s emitter technology and Sony’s active-shutter glasses, which Glasgow said block ambient light and deliver a clearer picture with better color fidelity than other models. “We offer a wider viewing area than the competition thanks to a stronger infrared transmitter and a more stable signal,” he said. He said Sony 3D sets precisely control the LED backlight, boosting brightness at the exact time the synched 3D glasses open shutters for each eye. The closed design of the RealD glasses, he said, result in fewer distractions from ambient light and surroundings. He said the glasses will also work flicker-free in areas outside North America that utilize the 50 Hz TV standard.

Presiding over a side-by-side demo of Sony’s KDL-40HX800 3D TV with Samsung’s C-7000 3D TV, a Sony executive took a camera phone and pressed the shutter to highlight the 15-emitter array on the front of the TV, contrasting the array with the Samsung TV’s single emitter. He said the 15 emitters cover a broader segment of the viewing area, enabling more viewers to experience a quality 3D image from anywhere in the room. At the same time, he said the emitters are based on infrared transmission and the signal could be blocked by someone sitting in front of a viewer.

Sony will offer two pairs of adult-sized glasses with the XBR-LX900 series of Bravia 3D TVs. As with the Panasonic 3D demo last week (CED June 3 p1), we found the supplied glasses too large and had to hold on to the rim to keep them in proper position. Sony will offer a smaller size, suitable for smaller faces and children, but those are only available as an accessory purchase for $149. They come in light blue and dark pink to appeal to a younger crowd. The Bravia KDL-HX800 series 3D-ready TVs don’t come with glasses or emitters. Emitters are sold as an accessory for $49 and plug into a nine-pin port on the side of the TV.

Demos were held in Studio 7 at Sony Pictures, where the company has set up a 3D Tech Center to help broadcasters, filmmakers, producers and technicians learn the techniques necessary to produce high-quality 3D. According to Sony CEO Howard Stringer, who attended the briefing, “it’s critical that content creators are permitted to produce high-quality films, TV programs and games and equally imperative that 3D content is displayed on the best devices in theaters and the home.” Good 3D, he said, “is immersive, not jarring, fuels the imagination and is easy to watch.” Sony has taken the charge on 3D production education because “Imageworks has more experience in modern 3D than any other studio,” Stringer said, referring to the Sony Pictures visual effects and animation subsidiary. The three-day Tech Center class is free to production professionals and directors inside and outside of Sony, with Sony funding the initiative with the hope of raising the bar of 3D production techniques industry wide.

Sony Pictures is working on 2D-to-3D conversions of Men in Black and Spider-Man and will release them in theaters summer 2012, executives said. They didn’t comment on their eventual release onto Blu-ray 3D. “We're doing the conversion in a very careful way,” said Sony Pictures Technologies President Chris Cookson, who told us none of the automated conversion methods he has seen has stood the test of quality. Human judgment is still essential to ensure the best results, he said. “The greatest challenge is that this is the beginning of something big. The tools and the techniques it takes to do are still being developed. So when we're working with directors and cinematographers each one has to find his best way to tell the story. The technical collection of tools isn’t the same for everybody. People have different desires, so trying to match them up with the technology is what we're trying to do today.”