Samsung Calls LG Film-Pattern Retarder Passive 3D Technology Not Viable Long-Term

LAS VEGAS - LG’s film-pattern retarder technology is “not sustainable long-term" Samsung executives said at a display roundtable at CES last week. Among the “many obstacles” FPR presents are limited viewing angle and crosstalk resulting in interference between the left and right image, said Bong-Ku Kang, senior vice president, Samsung product marketing group. “That’s why Samsung, Sony and Panasonic” remain committed to active-shutter technology, he said, which is “full HD-capable.” Resolution in the LG FPR system is reduced by half, he said, resulting in image quality that’s “not full HD.”

Regarding whether 2K x 4K panels could provide a fix for the resolution issue and make passive 3D technology feasible, Hyo-Gun Lee, vice president, software group R&D team for Samsung, said it’s possible but the solution would come at too high a cost for a consumer product. “That might change in five years,” he said.

OLED remains on the company’s radar and in development, but costs are high for anything other than very small screen sizes, Kang said. The company is preparing an OLED TV, he said, but “we always chase the best value for TV” and production costs remain “very, very high.” Although he couldn’t say when, he said OLED “is coming soon."

"The most important thing for customers is image quality,” said Kevin Lee, vice president of smart TV partnerships for Samsung. With passive technology, “even if a consumer has a full-HD Blu-ray player, he can’t view full HD on the display,” Lee said. In addition to the “much narrower” viewing angle, passive technology reduces brightness, he said. Regarding whether different 3D display types will stunt 3D sales because of customer confusion, Lee said lower prices for the 3D feature in standard TVs should expand the market.

More than 60 percent of Samsung TVs in 2011 will have 3D, said John Revie, senior vice president of Samsung Electronics America, and seven in 10 will be “smart TVs.” Regarding Samsung’s plans for Google TV, Revie said, Google has been a “great partner” on the wireless side of the business so “we're constantly talking with them.” The company will come out with a Google set-top box and Blu-ray player, he said, but no announcements have been made regarding a TV.