Industry Officials Say ‘Glasses-Free’ LCD TVs Need More R&D
MAKUHARI, Japan -- A year after 3D splashed across CEATEC, the 2010 show has been a study in refinements and breakthroughs, both requiring more R&D if the technology is to gain wide-spread consumer acceptance, industry officials said here. While Toshiba unveiled “glasses free” 12-inch and 20-inch 3D LCD TVs, improvements are needed in resolution, brightness and viewing angle if the technology is to expand to larger sizes, Yuji Motomura, chief specialist in the company’s TV marketing group, told us.
The 1.2 GHz Cell processor at the heart of the 20-inch model will likely need to become faster to increase the resolution beyond the current 1,280x720p, and “many other aspects” must be considered, including revamping the semicircular lenticular sheet that contains a lens array to improve the image, Motomura said. And while a 30-degree viewing angle is adequate for an individual, it will need to be widened “significantly” if glasses-free TVs are to become a consumer staple, Motomura said. Motomura declined to comment on how much wider the viewing angle can and needs to be but conceded that the technology used to “calculate those different aspects” needs further improvement.
In the smaller sizes, Sharp demonstrated 3.8- and 10.6-inch 3D displays, but production of them along third- and four-generation LCD panel lines at the company’s Mie Prefecture plant is small, said spokesman Miyuki Nakayama. The 3.8-inch display was demonstrated in a smartphone application and Sharp is said to be supplying a 3.4-inch 3D LCD for Nintendo’s 3DS scheduled to ship in February. The 10.6-inch LCD had the clearest 3D effect and a better viewing angle -- less than 20 degrees -- than the 3.8 inch version. But both displays are looking straight at the device from close range. “These components will need to be adjusted for each application, but for a mobile handset you won’t need to have as wide a viewing angle” as for large-screen TV, Nakayama said. Sharp has shifted “some production lines around” to accommodate the new displays, she said. “We haven’t start volume production yet, but we are quite busy technologywise,” Nakayama said.
Mitsubishi demonstrated a new line of MDR1 40- ($2,000), 46- ($2,500) and 55-inch ($3,500) 3D-capable LCD TVs requiring glasses that start sales Oct. 21 in Japan, a company spokesman said. The LED edge-lit 1080p sets, which used Samsung-sourced panels, feature 240 Hz panels and a Diamond 3D Engine. The TVs also appeared to feature built-in 2D/3D conversion that could be activated with a button on the set’s remote control. The 55-inch model also contains a Blu-ray player and a 1 terabyte DVR. U.S. plans for the TVs haven’t been finalized, the company spokesman said. Mitsubishi demonstrated 3D LCD TVs at CES in January.
CEATEC Japan Notebook
The first products featuring DTS’s Neo X post-processing technology appear headed for shipment in 2011, a company spokesman said. The technology, first demonstrated at CES in January 2009, was expected to arrive in products this year. It adds two front-height channels to 5.1- and 7.1-channel surround systems but can also combine the two front-height speakers with two additional horizontal-plane surround channels to create an 11.1-channel surround system. DTS was giving private demonstrations to potential customers at a hotel near the convention center. DTS completed Neo X development and “now it’s in the IC stage,” when the technology is being added to chips that drive AV receivers and other products, the spokesman said. The 11.1-channel system will be available only in new receivers and can’t be added as a firmware upgrade of existing product, the spokesman said. One implementation of the Neo X could include six surround speakers arrayed on the left and right, one each at 90, 120 and 150 degrees from the listener. DTS also was showing a new suite of products targeting cellphones. Yamaha fields a flagship 11-channel AV receiver that already supports two front height and two rear height channels using its proprietary technology. DTS also was showing a suite of mobile technology aimed at cellphones. In addition to virtual surround, the applications include DTS Boost, designed to increase volume levels up to 4 dB in smartphones for viewing movies and other video programming, the spokesman said. DTS could be activated on a smartphone using a button on the its keypad, but the final design is up to customers, the spokesman said.