3D TELEVISION appears to have reached its peak development now that major TV brands are populating stores with their versions of 3D TV.
Recently, LG Electronics announced the availability of its 3D Cinema TV. The Korean electronics company claims that its version is better than other current 3D TV technologies because the sets require only the use of cheap, battery-free polarized glasses.
While other 3D TV makers like Samsung and Sony have opted to use shutter type glasses to enable 3D viewing on their 3D TVs, LG opted for another technology called FPR, or film-type patterned retarder, which uses a polarized film on the screen to deliver different images for the left and right eyes.
Shutter glasses
These images are then matched up with the polarized 3D glasses and the result is a 3D picture that is flicker-free, explained Cyd Montebon, head of product marketing at LG Philippines.
FPR technology is better than shutter glasses 3D, said Montebon.
With shutter glasses, left and right images appear alternately. When a TV displays a left eye image, the glasses block the signal of the right eye image by closing the shutter of the right lens. But with FPR 3D technology, both left-eye and right-eye images appear simultaneously, allowing viewers to watch clear 3D content at any angle.
LG’s Cinema 3D TV glasses are similar to the ones handed out in 3D theaters. They’re so cheap, every member of a family can easily have access to a pair, Montebon said.
Apart from being bulkier and costly, shutter glasses used by other 3D TVs can also cause eye fatigue, while the lightweight FPR glasses are free of electromagnetic waves since no energy will be needed to power them up, added Montebon. The glasses make for convenient and safe use.
LG’s Cinema 3D TV also has a Light Boost feature—a thin film that ensures 3D images are shown at their full brightness.
This feature also allows wide viewing angle and flexible viewing positions, enabling a whole group of people to watch a show while they are lying down.
Similar to other 3D TV brands, LG’s Cinema 3D TV can convert a 2D format movie into a 3D format. But LG’s 3D TV went further by allowing live shows streamed via cable TV to be converted into 3D format.
Home dashboard
Another good feature is the Home Dashboard and Magic Remote Control.
The Home Dashboard is an easy to navigate user interface that organized TV content into Live box (shows the current video stream), Premium box (cable services and channels such as iWanTV, ABS-CBN, CNBC, etc.), and the LG Apps box (games and more apps).
Below the boxes is a bar that shows the icons of the most used applications such as LG Apps, Web Browser, Media Link, and games.
The Magic Remote Control functions like a mouse cursor, enabling the user to easily access and load applications onscreen.
LG has partnered with SkyCable in order to populate its Cinema 3D TV with local content, Montebon said. In fact, a purchase of a Cinema 3D TV unit will guarantee a free three months SkyCable subscription, including broadband Internet that may be enjoyed using Cinema 3D TV.
A 47-inch Cinema 3D TV may retail for P130,000, and comes with two pairs of 3D polarized glasses.