CES 2012: TV Wars Go High-Tech
Phil Lelyveld
Entertainment Technology Center
[Market News]
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The Evolution of 3D
While 3D hasn’t been a major hit in the market, it has appeal; and the technology continues to improve. Some of the improvements are incremental, as in active-shutter glasses getting lighter and more comfortable.
The holy grail of 3D is glasses-free viewing. Toshiba already has glasses-free 3D notebooks, and at its exhibit demonstrated full-blown 3D HDTVs. The company says it will ship glasses-free 47″ and 55″ 4K2K displays this year. At CES, I didn’t find the 3D effects as compelling as sets that use glasses (active or passive).
Sony showed a prototype glasses-free 3D VAIO notebook that uses face-tracking to converge the 3D image for the viewer. It will arrive in Canada “some time this year,” Sony of Canada’s Brent de Wall told Marketnews. Sony also had two prototype glasses-free 3D televisions: a 24″ HD model and a 46″ 4K2K screen. These have evolved beyond the glasses-free prototypes Sony showed at CES 2011, with a broader sweet spot and less rolling of the 3D image.
As many have pointed out, many of the features that make for good 3D imagery, such as fast panel response, also improve the 2D experience. But here’s an additional twist: two-person games in which the two players see a different image. LG demonstrated this capability at its exhibit. ….
“Now we no longer have to crowd around same TV to experience it together,” said Myspace Co-owner Justin Timberlake during his appearance at Panasonic’s pre-CES press conference. It will be interesting to see what kind of adoption this gets. …
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