‘A Good Solution Today’

Nationwide Dealers: Passive 3D TVs Could Help Boost Sales With Their Lower Prices

February 24, 2011 by Mark Seavy|Top News

LAS VEGAS -- The arrival of passive 3D TVs this spring along with wider availability of content could provide a sales boost for the technology, but active sets’ better feature packages will likely continue to win over the all-important early adopters, dealers we polled at the Nationwide Marketing Group meeting said.

The scarcity of content coupled with the high price of glasses resulted in disappointing 3D TV sales in 2010 that fell short of 2 million units, about half the amount forecast by Samsung and others. But, with the arrival of passive 3D that promises glasses priced less than $100, industry officials are projecting a rise in sales to 6 million units. “I think passive is going to make people feel good because they are going to recognize that the glasses are dirt cheap, there are no batteries and need for recharging and if you want to have that special occasion for 3D, you can throw on these cheap glasses and enjoy it,” said Nathan Tawil, general manager at The Source in San Antonio. “It’s not like the whole rigmarole of active glasses."

LG and Toshiba pitched dealers here on 47-, 55- and 65-inch passive 3D LCD TVs based on LG Display’s film patterned retarder (FPR) technology, which can be paired with passive polarized glasses. FPR, which LG began developing in 2010 based on patents issued the past several years, is being applied to 26-, 32-, 37-, 42-, 47- and 55-inch LCDs, with a goal of cutting total 3D TV costs 20 percent.

In LG’s spatial multiplexing approach, an FPR corresponds to an LCD’s odd and even lines and converts left or right circular polarization that, seen through polarized glasses as left and right images, produces 3D. Unlike time multiplexing used in active-shutter glasses, the entire frame time generates a single frame, so lower liquid crystal images don’t produce ghosting or double images. But, at least in first-generation FPR panels, 3D images appear at half-HD resolution, with 540 pixels delivered to each eye.

Toshiba unveiled plans for 32-, 42-, 47-, 55- and 65-inch Internet-capable 3D LCD TV that will feature 240 Hz panels, edge-lit LED, Wi-Fi, 4 HDMI and 2 USB ports and Tri-vector 2D/3D conversion based on algorithms developed for its Cell processor. Toshiba dropped plans last year for cell processor-based TVs, but is spreading the technology across its line. Pricing for the Cinema Series TL515 line hasn’t been set, a spokeswoman said. “The passive is of good quality, but it’s for that customer that wants 3D in their home and they don’t want to have to spend $150 for every pair of glasses,” the spokeswoman said. “When you get into active it will be more for the videophile type of person."

Those added features in active-=shutter 3D TVs include 480 Hz panels and direct-backlit LEDs, said LG Regional Training Manager Bob Lawton. LG’s LW9500 3D 47-, 55- , and 65-inch LCD TVs will be limited to regional dealers, featuring built-in 2D/3D conversion, 480 Hz panels, THX certification and the Smart TV Internet-capable Netcast Entertain Access platform for Vudu, Netflix and others. LG’s LW6500 47- ($1,699), 55- ($2,399) and 65-inch ($4,499) passive Internet-capable 3D LCD TVs will feature 1080p resolution, edge-lit LEDs, 240 Hz panels and built-in 2D/3D conversion. LG will package the sets with four pairs of glasses, Lawton said. The sets ship in April, he said.

"The active-shutter TVs are going to be our highest performance models [with] backlit LED and with nano technology,” Lawton said. “If somebody is looking for the dedicated home theater experience they are going to go for the more expensive full-array backlit LED models."

While many Nationwide dealers and buying group executives were receptive to the passive 3D TV strategies, some expected active shutter to win out as the price gap between the technologies narrows. Among the strongest proponents of active-shutter 3D LCD TVs is Samsung, which has said it has no plans for passive models this year. “Active is so much more efficient and quality-driven and passive is done for one reason and that is to take out cost, said Michael Decker, senior vice president of electronics merchandising at Nationwide. “Passive is a good solution today, but as active comes down in price and squeezes it,” the market will change.

Nationwide Meeting Notebook

Rent-a-Center’s RAC Acceptance expects to double to 600 by June the number of retail stores featuring its customer-credit business including Conn’s, Rooms to Go, Big Sandy Electronics and Value City, said Business Development Sales Manager Michael Olson. RAC Acceptance operates within a retail store offering 12-month to 36-month financing contracts to customers turned down for credit reasons. RAC has a desk and sales manager separate in a store from the retailer, Olson said. It buys from the dealer the CE, appliances or furniture the customer was trying to purchase, Olson said. RAC focuses on stores getting a minimum of 30 customers turned down for credit per month, Olson said. In some regions, such as southern Texas along the border with Mexico, that number can reach 100 monthly turn downs, said Business Development Sales Manager Sherri Hammett. It takes RAC 100-150 days to set up a location, Olson said. RAC boosted its presence with the acquisition of The Rental Store and 154 locations in December for $75 million.

Klipsch’s top management signed new five-year employment contracts with new owner Audiovox, underscoring that the sale won’t bring much change to the speaker company (CED Feb 7 p4), Rick Huggins, western territory sales manager, said. Klipsch, and its Energy, Jamo, Mirage and other brands will operate as an Audiovox division designed to deliver better profit margins for the new owner, Huggins said. Audiovox signed an agreement in January to buy Klipsch for $166 million (CED Jan 12 p4). Klipsch’s move came as 71-year-old Chairman Fred Klipsch prepared for retirement and investors who owned 49 percent of the company also sought a sale, Huggins said. “He wanted to make sure he had the right company” to acquire Klipsch, Huggins said. The identity of the investors wasn’t immediately clear, but VantagePoint Partners bought a minority stake in Klipsch in 2005 (CED April 16/05 p1). Audiovox’s interest was in Klipsch’s expertise in wireless speaker technology, Huggins said. At the same time, Audiovox gives Klipsch access to electronics technology it lacks, he said. Klipsch has sought to break into the hardware business in the past, including introducing a home-theater-in-a-box single disc universal DVD player in 2004 (CED Nov 30/04 p3). Among Klipsch’s projects this year is an overhaul of the Mirage speakers, which haven’t had a significant redesign in 5-6 years, Huggins said. Audiovox is expected to keep Klipsch’s speaker factory in Hope, Ark., as well as distribution centers in Indianapolis, where the company has its headquarters, and Buena Vista Park, Calif., Huggins said.

Mitsubishi will carry over its 75-inch laser-based LaserVue rear projection TV with some cosmetic changes and a new user interface, but hopes to eventually spread the technology across its line, Retail Specialist Jon Morris said. Earlier, Mitsubishi had indicated it might broaden the line (CED Jan 6 p3). With production of the LaserVue sets running 130-160 units per month, Mitsubishi needs to increase volume to lower the cost of the TV’s light engine, Morris said. “Eventually we want to replace all lamp-based DLP with laser, but we just have to get the light engine price down a little bit,” Morris said. “Even though it is our own technology, we have to get just a little bit further down in cost to make it more viable for other sizes.” Mitsubishi will “do what we can” to hit a lower retail for LaserVue, which at $5,999 provides a 40 percent margin for retailers, Morris said. Retailers selling LaserVue at $4,999 are getting 30 percent margins, he said. Mitsubishi also fielded a 65-inch model last year, but appeared to be closing it out at $2,999 last fall. LaserVue will remain part of Mitsubishi’s Diamond TV line. Mitsubishi is increasing the number of DLP-based rear projection TVs this year to 11 models from 9 in 2010 with the addition of a 92-inch model that will sell for less than $6,000, Morris said. Most of the line will be 3D-capable, have a built-in 3D emitter and continue with an 0.65-inch DLP chip with 1080p resolution and 180-watt lamp, Morris said. The sets also will continue with Mitsubishi’s building in the 3D emitter this year, Mitsubishi will likely field a 3D adapter ($99) for previous models and a starter kit, the content of which hasn’t been finalized, Morris said. Immersive Sound Technology (IST) is featuring 12-, 16-, and 18-speaker arrays delivering 24, 32 and 52 watts, Morris said. It will continue with the same 60-, 65-, 73-, 82-inch sizes in addition to the 92-inch model, he said. Pricing for the line hasn’t been set, but sales of the 82-inch are expected to increase with the introduction of screen size above it, Morris said. When the 82-inch was launched last year, sales of the 73-inch model tripled, Morris said. The U.S. rear projection TV market has annual sales of about 500,000 units. Mitsubishi is the last rear projection TV supplier. Mitsubishi also will ship its first two 3D-capable LCD TVs in 46- and 55-inch sizes featuring 240 Hz panels, its Stream TV Internet service, edge-lit LEDs and IST.

Paradigm Electronics’ Anthem wants to self off the last of its front projectors based on JVC’s D-ILA microdisplays, as it awaits plans for a new model, Western Region Sales Manager Rob Sample said. Anthem has one model of the LTX-300 front projector left that’s being offered with a 20 percent dealer cost discount ($2,800), Sample said. The LTX-300 ($5,500) and LTX-700 ($7,500) were introduced two years ago (CED March 26/09 p3) as rebadged versions of JVC’s DLA-HD350 and DLA-HD750. JVC unveiled the DLA-X9 ($11,999), DLA-X7 ($7,999) and DLA-X3 ($4,495) 3D-capable front projectors in September featuring a single 0.7-inch D-ILA chip with 1080p resolution, 1,300 lumens and a 220-watt lamp (CED Sept 24 p2). “We haven’t heard when we might be able to get access to those products and we're getting questions from dealers,” Sample said. Anthem is developing a new IP-based Statement D3 platform, but won’t have it available for 18 months, Sample said. The work on the D3 technology forced Anthem to push back delivery of the high-end MRX900 9.2-channel, 140-watt receiver two years because it’s based on the platform, Sample said. The 3D-capable MRX900, which had seven 1.4a HDMI connectors, anchored a line of four models, three of which featured an all-digital connector for an iPod dock. The MRX300, MRX500 and MRX700 are all available. The MDX-1 ($129) iPod dock is expected to ship in 1-2 months, Sample said.