LG Says " Sony may adopt its FPR technology in its next television lineup

Hilarious. Sony must be really broke if they can't do better than FPR.

Real D Z-Screen Full HD Passive 3D TV - something for Sony, Samsung etc. in 2012 ? :

RealD Bringing Full HD Passive 3D in 2011



During the 3rd Annual 3D Entertainment Summit, RealD president and co-founder Josh Greer said that licensees will be able to offer the world's first Full HD passive 3D HDTVs in 2011. This means that consumers will no longer need to shell out $130 to $200 for a pair of active-shutter glasses, but rather use a pair similar to ones offered in theaters that cost just a buck.


According to Greer, the RealD system uses a patented electro-optical "ZScreen" technology that's inserted into the front of a flat panel. This system rapidly changes the light from clockwise circular polarization to counterclockwise, and then back again.


The RealD glasses have circular polarized passive lenses that simulate shutters. The left image will go to the left eye while blacking out the right image from the right eye--the right image will go to the right eye while blocking the left image from the left eye. Like current 3D HDTVs, the images are displayed sequentially on the flat panel.


The benefits of using RealD's ZScreen technology include lighter, cheaper glasses that don't require recharging or replacing batteries. Additionally, the 3D effect won't be lost when someone walks between the 3D HDTV and the glasses, as ZScreen doesn't use an infra-red sync emitter.


Greer said that RealD's passive 3D solution won't replace the current active-shutter offering, but will be sold alongside the older 3D tech for at least the next four to five years. Products are expected to hit the market in Spring 2011, however the first licensed RealD HDTV manufacturers to bring passive 3D HDTVs to the market--either Sony, JVC, Samsung, Toshiba or Panasonic--has yet to be determined

The Coolest Products At The 2011 CES | HD Guru


1) Samsung/Real D Z-Screen Full HD Passive 3D TV

Months ago we learned about this upcoming technology (link). We arranged for a screening off site at RealD's hotel suite. We were not disappointed. The demo model: a highly modified 55-inch Samsung LED LCD TV.

We met with RealD's president Bob Mayson. He laid out the ground rules, no photos of the prototype and deferred all product production questions to Samsung (they would not discuss it other than tell us it is not currently planned as a 2011 product). Nevertheless, we were able to get a demonstration and general explanation of the technology.

The Z-screen 3D TV is two LCD panels in one. A Full HD LCD panel with LED back light and a second LCD screen attached directly in front of the main panel called a Z-screen.

The front Z-screen panel flips its circular polarization every 120th of second, allowing the use of passive 3D glasses. To solve technical issues, the TV backlight scans from top to bottom during each frame, while the Z-screen sequentially flips its polarization in sections from the top to the bottom of the screen. The result was outstanding. Unlike the passive 3D Film Patterned Retarder (FPR) technology seen in the all upcoming Vizio and select LG and Toshiba 3D models (link) the Real D prototype produced a full HD image (1920 x 1080) without scan lines. There was no loss of the 3D effect when moving one's eyes in excess of 13 degrees above or below center, as occurs with FPR. Nor did we see any compression of depth as we moved left or right of center.
Questions remain are to when will it arrive and how much of a cost the second LCD panel add to the price

New 3D TV Technology Coming in 2011 - How Will Consumers Respond? « FPD Market Research

3D ticket box office results show consumers love 3D movies. However, 3D TV sales have disappointed. Why is this? One major difference is the 3D glasses. US theaters use polarized or passive glasses. They are light, comfortable and inexpensive. However, 3D TVs on the market use active shutter glasses which are expensive, bulky and heavy due to the internal batteries necessary to control the switching liquid crystal. I believe if it wasn't for the glasses, 3D TVs would be doing much better as it is hard to justify $500+ in glasses costs for limited 3D content.

In a recent Nielsen survey, 45% of survey respondents indicated the glasses were not comfortable. What if the low cost, light and comfortable glasses were available with your 3D TV?

Starting in 2011, 3D LCD TVs based on film patterned retarders (FPRs) will be available. Expect these TVs from LG, Philips, Vizio and a host of Chinese brands as well using panels from LG Display and AUO.

What may cause confusion is that performance is better in some areas than others compared with active shutter glasses 3D. In the active shutter glass approach, time multiplexing is used where the left and right images are shown in different frames within one frame time. The shutter glasses and their switching liquid crystal are opened alternately in each left and right frame in sync with the images on the TV. In addition, in the case of LCDs, a black frame is inserted in between the left and right frames. So, 240 Hz frame rates correspond to 60Hz for each of the left, black, right and black frames. This approach requires very fast liquid crystal switching and frame rates. Because LCDs don't switch as fast as plasma or OLEDs, they tend to show more double images or ghosting than plasma or OLEDs. Furthermore, because of the black frame insertions and the shutter glasses, significant brightness is lost. Most 450-nit 3D LCD panels are actually perceived through the glasses at less than 100 nits. More than 80% of the brightness is lost. Brightness must improve to achieve a more acceptable 3D experience.

In the spatial multiplexing approach, the FPR is applied to the top of the screen. It corresponds to the odd and even lines of the LCD and converts light to either left or right circular polarization which are seen by the polarized glasses as left and right images producing 3D images. Unlike time multiplexing, the entire frame time can be used for generating one frame. As a result, the slower liquid crystal response rates are less likely to produce ghosting or double images. The panel supplier can also use slower refresh rates if desired. 120Hz is sufficient for FPR 3D as flicker is less of an issue and there is no black frame insertion. The FPR clearly separates the left and right images, producing a more stable image. Furthermore, brightness is significantly improved as there is no black frame insertion required. Brightness should be at least 2X higher than time multiplexing approaches.

However, the FPR sacrifices resolution for these other improvements. Every other line is used for each eye. Thus, 1920 x 540 is being observed by each eye rather than 1920 x 1080. Higher resolutions have gained significant share in the TV market, although only Blu-ray movies are shown at 1920 x 1080p. Will consumers notice the difference? Will they care?

In addition, the FPR 3D approach suffers from a lower vertical viewing angle than shutter glasses 3D due to the FPR. Will this be observed in retail? When I saw numerous FPR 3D demos at FPD International last month, I didn't perceive this, but wasn't looking for it in particular.

Due to the differences in resolution and viewing angle, in 2D mode, the shutter glass approach should be better as you can't turn off the FPR in 2D mode.

In terms of cost, the FPR does cost more, but FPR panel suppliers claim that they can match conventional shutter glass panel costs. This may be because of vertical integration, lower cost approaches or reducing the refresh rate. However, if the glasses costs are factored in, the FPR 3D solution should be at least 20% less costly than shutter glasses 3D TVs. So, the total purchasing cost will be less.

The advantages of each approach are summarized in the table below. I would expect the brands offering this new approach to heavily promote its advantages, while the brands not offering this approach such as Samsung, Sony and Panasonic, may actively promote its disadvantages.

It could get even more confusing for 3D if active retarder technology which does not sacrifice resolution and maintains passive glasses use is introduced. At FPD International last month, both LG and CMI were showing prototypes with this technology which looked great. However, it should be the most expensive panel solution as it requires additional an additional liquid crystal layer and an additional pair of glass substrates. OLEDs have also been shown with this approach and plasma should be able to use it as well.

In my case, I want to experience 3D in the home, but I can't justify the glasses prices, so I am looking forward to the passive glasses 3D solutions. One of my coworkers' objections was until he could buy a bag of 3D glasses in the supermarket or liquor store for entertaining during the Super Bowl, Final Four, etc., he is on the sidelines. Well, don't be surprised to see bags of 3D glasses in supermarkets for Super Bowl 2012.

LG improves 3D picture quality on Cinema 3D TVs

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