Screen Sizes Small

Toshiba to Ship Glasses-Free LCD TVs in Japan in December

October 5, 2010 by Mark Seavy|Top News

MAKUHARI, Japan -- Toshiba made headlines Monday on the even of the CEATEC Japan show when it became the first CE maker to announce plans to deliver two models of glasses-free 3D LCD TVs in Japan in December. Still, the screen sizes are small, and analysts said the company faces stiff hurdles in adapting the glasses-free technology to larger sets, as the U.S. and other overseas markets will demand.

The Regza GL1 12- ($1,400) and 20-inch ($2,800) 3D TVs still must overcome the limited viewing angles and high cost that have hampered the glasses-free approach. As with the current crop of 3D TVs requiring glasses, the new Regza sets transmit slightly different images to the left and right eyes. Instead of glasses, the TVs employ a semicircular lenticular sheet containing an array of lenses that transmit images in the horizontal plane. The result is a 40-degree viewing angle -- 20 degrees on the left and right and recommended viewing distances of 2 and 3 feet for the 12- and 20-inch sets. Toshiba also demonstrated a 56-inch prototype 3D TV. It scrapped plans to introduce Cell processor-based TVs in the U.S. this year but said the technology would be used with 3D.

To handle 3D programming, a new Regza set combines a 3D-capable Cell broadband chip and multiparallax conversion LSI chips designed for the multimedia processing. The chips create nine parallax images from original content and convert it to 3D images with 1,280x720 resolution in the case of the 20-inch set. The TV also has a backlight with 1,440 LEDs, with each pixel capable of supporting red, green and blue. The lenticular sheet controls the image data transmitted by pixels, replicated nine times. The 12-inch TV has 466x350 resolution and 500:1 contrast ratio. The 20-inch TV has a 550:1 contrast ratio. Brightness levels weren’t disclosed. Toshiba officials weren’t available to say whether similar sets will be sold in the U.S.

Toshiba hasn’t “figured out how to offer larger-screen models,” but “we still consider this a fairly significant breakthrough,” CL King analyst Lawrence Harris said. “We believe a major impediment to the wide-scale adoption of 3D TV is the glasses requirement.” Discovery Communications, working with Sony, is expected to launch a 3D channel in early 2011, and HBO is said to be weighing an on-demand channel. Still, “the adoption cycle for 3D TV could easily take a number of years,” Harris said.

As Toshiba took the wraps off glasses-free 3D TVs, Sony was unveiling plans to release 3D-capable Vaio notebook PCs in spring 2011. The Vaio PC features a 16-inch, 240 Hz LCD and a button just above the keyboard for converting 2D content to 3D. The PC uses frame sequential 3D, requiring a pair of glasses and a transmitter built into the upper section of the LCD to view content. The notebook also has a 3D-compatible Blu-ray drive and an HDMI 1.4 connector for linking to a Sony Bravia TV. Sharp also is showing a prototype digital camera with two lenses that takes 3D still photos. The camera can display pictures on a 3.8 inch 3D stereoscopic LCD and connect to a TV via HDMI. Hitachi is demonstrating a 3D-capable CP-WX11000 LCD-based front projector expected to be available for business applications in “a few months,” a Hitachi spokesman said. The projector features 1,366x768 resolution, 6,500 lumens and 2,500:1 contrast ratio.

CEATEC Notebook

The Wireless High Definition Interface (WHDI) 2.0 spec will be completed by mid-2011, with full 3D support and Wi-Fi integration added, said Leslie Chard, president of WHDI LLC. The new spec also includes support for 4,096x2,160 resolution. Meanwhile, Hewlett-Packard will ship five new notebook PCs this month featuring WHDI-based Wireless TV Connect USB sticks that will be sold separately as a transmitter-receiver set at $199. The WHDI Stick plugs into a notebook’s HDMI connector and is powered by its USB port. It links to a TV through a WHDI receiver adapter that plugs into a set’s HDMI connector. The USB/HDMI approach uses Amimon’s second-generation IC and represents a change in strategy from Display Mini and PCI card WHDI modules unveiled for PCs last fall. Amimon is demonstrating t CEATEC this week the WHDI Stick product design based on its AMN2120 IC. The second-generation adapters bring a major price change for WHDI, whose first modules were sold in products that retailed for $800 or more. LG Electronics has been offering WHDI adapters as a $349 optional accessory with its LCD TVs this year and sales have “done fairly well,” said Tim Alessi, LG director of home entertainment new product development. “It’s disappointing to me that it hasn’t caught on as much and I think it has been another of the victims of the 3D trend that has received all the attention,” he said. “It seemed like a good solution that would have added a lot of value.” LG had previously backed WirelessHD technology in some LCD TVs.

Panasonic is shifting its Lumix digital camera brand to cellphones. At CEATEC, Panasonic is demonstrating a Lumix cellphone with a 13.2 megapixel CMOS image censor that also featured a 3.3-inch LCD with 800x480 resolution, WiFi/Digital Living Network Alliance support and a Micro SD/Micro SDHC slot.