Samsung and LG Electronics, the top two LCD TV manufacturers in the world, are embroiled in a fierce battle to promote their respective choice of 3D technology for the year ahead. Although 3D TV sales have been sluggish in 2010, TV makers believe that 2011 will be a watershed year for 3D due to increased availability of extra-dimensional content and more affordable prices, so it’s entirely understandable that the market leaders are keen to talk up the technology used in their forthcoming 3D-capable HDTV models.
Seoul-headquartered LG is banking on its proprietary FPR (film patterned retarder) 3D LCD technology to make inroads into the 3D television market which has thus far been dominated by sets employing active-shutter glasses (ASG) technology. Labelling them as the next-generation of 3D TVs, the company claims that its FPR-based offerings cause less eye strain and fatigue among viewers than their active-shutter counterparts, mainly owing to their “flicker-free” status which has been independently verified by respected test labs TUV and Intertek.
But at its core, FPR is simply polarized/ passive 3D display technology, similar to that used in 3D theatres – LG even adopted a moniker of “Cinema 3D” for its FPR-equipped range. While this grants owners access to cheaper, lighter and more comfortable 3D glasses, whether or not its resultant 3D picture quality can match up to the 3D full HD resolution delivered by ASG models remains to be seen.
As expected, LG’s fellow Korean rival Samsung immediately issued statements to defend its corner. Besides calling FPR technology “outdated”, and championing ASG’s ability to render full HD resolution in 3D mode, Samsung’s TV division chief Yoon Boo-keun said during a press conference that the company has redesigned its 3D glasses to make them more comfortable to wear for a longer period of time. Obviously convinced that his company’s offerings are superior, he was even bold enough to ask consumers to buy both FPR and ASG-based 3DTVs, and compare the specifications.
This week LG started selling its LW5700 range of FPR 3D LED LCDs (including the 42-inch 42LW5700 and 47-inch 47LW5700) in Korea, with a global roll-out scheduled for March. Samsung is due to unveil their 2011 flat-screen HDTV range this month, with emphasis on 3D and “Smart TV” capabilities.
man Ive been interested in the whole 3d movement, I think the future of 3d is right around the corner. 3d tvs without glasses are already being made. cant wait either as alot of people dont like wearing those things lol
Passive (Cinema 3D) is the way forward for large families. With four children, for us all to sit down and watch a film with active glasses that’s £600+ worth before you get a TV! Fine for singletons and the rich, but passive so much more affordable and nearly always cost wins in the end. Remember VHS and Betamax.
Good to see the 3D battle hotting up, could be an interesting couple of years to see which technology becomes the most popular with the consumers!
Thankfully Passive and Active aren’t competing with each other. They complementing 3D by providing options to the end-user.
At last polarised 3D for the home. This is excellent news !!! Having already owned the Samsung DLP for a few years I can say truthfully even without Ghosting issues the glasses are just to bulky for everyone in the house but me , but I’m a 3d fanatic. My wife and kids rarely can watch a movie all the way through because they don’y like active shutter glasses period. I recently bought the Samsung 7000 series TV and the glasses are a little better, but now Ghosting is so bad we don’t even use it as a 3D tv any more. I can say this to all 3D TV manufacturers WHOMEVER solves the ghosting problem will win in the 3D TV market. Clear 1080p picture is great BUT not if Ghosting ruins the effect.
The first gen 3D glasses were bulky and uncomfortable, but the new 2011 models seem identical to the passive glasses (in terms of comfort).
Also, the ghosting (double image) caused by cross-talk is the result of limitation of the LCD Display. If you’re after clean 3D image, then opt for the Panasonic Plasma. The first-gen 50VT20 had negligible cross-talk, and I’m sure the 2011 (VT30) is ever better.
I am so glad the passive tv is about to hit the Market, I tried the active glasses for about 20 mins and started to get a headache but can sit in the cinema for over 2 hours and no problems. Would recommend anyone to demo the active first as I’m glad I did. Would of cost me £1000 for something I couldn’t have used.
Hi.
I have a question on passive glasses.
Because the passive glasses work usinf the principle of light polarisation, does it mean that the 3D effect is lost if I tilt my head to the side?
I am asking this because it would not work when laying on the sofa
Thanks
tilting and laying on the sofa would work if you use CIRCULAR polarization like RealD glasses.
Ditto
The passive system utilize circularly polarized light. So tilting is not an issue, but not recommended ^_^
Active Glass however use liner polarized filters, which does causes fading effect when used in conjunction with LCD display.
Based on those comments then I don’t think I’d want to be holding too many shares in Samsung!!
Active shutter is a really old technology compared to circular polarizing (passive) and I reckon it will die a death in 2011 once LG start to move their new sets which hopefully will prove to be as effective as their 1st generation LG 47LD950.
The advantages are huge for passive (no headaches, no eye-strain, flicker, cross-talk or ghosting) and the much vaunted half-resolution argument seems rather dead in the water as few people seem able to see the difference (at least based on the LD950) – and all that is before we consider the comfort & convenience of cheap passive glasses.
As a matter of interest, you can lay down with the passive glasses but the 3D effect is lost completely once you’re horizontal (the loss of 3D is gradual and the image looks perfectly normal so I suspect many wouldn’t even notice)
I really like to see LG’s 3D tv in the shop. Competing is good for consumers.
If it is same price… I ‘ll buy LG’s. I do not want to worry about glasses.
Based on Neilo Tm’s statement that crosstalk (Ghosting) is a limitation of the LCD tv I am completely at a loss as to why Samsung would choose LCD TV over it’s ghosting free DLP, they could have just improved the glasses and I would have been fine. Unfortunately for me my wife gave the DLP to our son and now I’m stuck with a beautiful ghosting TV. Since I bought the TV specifically for the 3D I’m kind of ticked with Samsung right now. BTW, since I last posted a Samsung firmware upgrade did help the ghosting abit now its only apparent on high contrast scenes. Lowering the contrast helps even more, but then 1080p seems lost. but the 3D is now watchable. For me at least I adopted to early. : (
Personally I wouldn’t buy a 3D LCD at all. I own a 58″ 7000 series Samsung plasma and absolutely love it. Consumer reports did a review on all of the 2010 3D tv’s and they did not recommend any of the LCD based tv’s available but did recommend all of the plasma models. I don’t notice any ghosting with my plasma 3d tv.
I wear glasses along with my active shutter glasses and can easily sit through an entire movie without a problem.
I have been watching this for a while and I’ve just come home from my local electrical store which had the 42″ LG Passive 3D unit. It comes with 7 pairs of passive glasses and was £1200!!
I have 6 children, its a no-brainer. The 3D effect was clear and bright with no ghosting but must be on or above eye level when watching. Me being 6ft 4″, standing up 3ft in front of the TV with it being at waist height causes the 3D effect to be lost completely (blurred as if not wearing glasses) but I’m not in the habit of watching a film standing right next to it! Glasses were ultra-light and came in different colours.
Is there such a possibility of upgrading components to passive, in the event passive wins the day?
This says it all to me. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-20028916-1.html
i am more concerned about health, 3DTVs Should be relaxing and amusing in other to please
I own a 50 inch samsung plasma which
just had a power component fail. But it wasn’t until my old 50 rear projection died 3 days later that a decided to buy a new set. We got a LG 55 inch 3D. It’s a gorgeous set and the price was right. The trumotion is so lifelike it disturbs me. It’s ability to play files off of a usb device or even off of a DLNA is awesome, but apparently that’s what most”smart tvs” do.
The glasses that came with it are actually cheaper quality than the ones at the theater.
Good 3D. Avatar and black ops look great.
I found the passive glasses type 3D TV to be just fine when I saw it on display at BB. BUT!: I like my 61″ Samsung DLP (the one with the LEDs instead of the projector bulb) better. More depth…more “real”. The 3D is apparent at any angle…even when the screen dims from too much angle. I can sit up, lie down, turn sideways, and the 3D is still there.
It was a pain in the neck discovering how to get the checkerboard format to it and another pain finding out about DLP LINK glasses. The glasses eat batteries and I have a problem with some ghosting on some BDs but I can live with that.
I, too, am miffed at Samsung whom I feel deserted me. My old Mitsubishi DLP TV was in and out of the shop 5 times in 5 years so, if and when my Samsung dies I’ll have to look at some other type of display., though I don’t want to at this time. Hopefully something better will be available at that time.
Just bought the LG 55lw5600 as a surprise for my wife. ($1305 from Amazon with…wait for it…14 pairs of glasses.) – Here’s the deal: http://dealnews.com/LG-55-3-D-LCD-TV-w-14-pairs-of-3-D-glasses-for-1-296-free-shipping-via-Am-Ex/488213.html
Had been looking at the LG on Amazon and was not crazy about it even though it is the highest rated LED 55″ TV on Amazon and also the bestselling. I had my heart set on a Samsung unit and walked in to Best Buy to check it out (again). Saw the LG and figured I’d try out the 3D.
I was blown away with how much better and more “three-dimensional” the picture was. Not to mention – little to no strain on my eyes.
I was sold.
Now, I’m looking for kid size passive 3d glasses (in Pink) for my daughter. I can’t wait to see the joy on their faces when the TV is delivered. :) :) :)
P.S. The fact that the vertical resolution was cut in half on the LG is not perceived unless you are standing closer than a couple feet away from the TV. It’s a non-issue (to me).
I have to say that I was one of those who was able to test an active 3D tv for 14 days at home with the kids. One threw up because the glasses made her ill and the others suffered headaches, including me. I switched to LG for there passive 3D which came with 7 yes 7 pairs of glasses and the effect was as good, in fact we dint notice any difference in quality. The sound was better as well. For me, I had already decided to go the 3D route so had budgeted for the cost of glasses so this was not governing factor. However after testing in real life situation, I can honestly say that Passive 3D is certainly more cost effective, the quality is exceptional for a TV that you don’t watch in 3D all the time anyway.
I’ve been to my local shop 3 times before taking my wife to get her opinion. Passive wins hands down. Oh but it’s not full HD says the salesman, I don’t care, I can’t focus on the Samsung picture, and neither could she. My problem is the Samsung is a gorgeous TV and I want it for the aesthetics, I actually don’t overly care for 3D as I don’t think I’ll really use it. If they made that silvery thin frame in 2d only at 2d prices it’d already be sitting in my living room.
The reason 3D television is dead is the lack of standards. The international standards organisation responsible is the Society of Motion Picture And Television Engineers (SMPTE). As most in the industry know, the SMPTE standards process is horribly corrupt, dominated by a handful of companies including Dolby Labs and Warner Bros. The chief SMPTE engineer is a tool of the studios, and instead of good engineering the only thing that’s important at SMPTE is personal relationships. Most reputable manufacturers have quit the process at SMPTE due to this corruption. This has left 3D with no possible standardisation and a failed process. The ANSI is supposed to supervise SMPTE, but they refuse to do so.
Dantone, 1. 3D is NOT dead! If anything it is more alive now, than at any other time in history. Just look around and see how much more 3D content is available, in theaters and for blu ray, not to mention upcoming 3D live sports. Standards are set by who wins in an open market! No one can manipulate the market at large, or were you asleep when VHS beat a technically superior Betamax. Give your psychiatrist a call buddy.
We just got a great deal for LG units here at my city.
LG 42LW5700 with
Wifi Dongle, Wall Mount
Magic Remote Control
4 Pairs of Basic 3d glasses
5 Pairs Party pack 3d Glasses
2 nose clip on 3d Glasses
and as an additional freebie you get to choose between one of these.
+ HB806 TM Blu ray Home Theater.
+ Xbox 360 4gb and Kinect Bundle.
+ LG Optimus 3D Android Phone.
I picked the Android phone. It is way easier to re-sell it and I could get much more value from it than selling the other two. Also I already have a PS3 and a Home Theater.
I was blown away by the deal and the quality of the main product. the 3d is pretty amazing. it even converts regular 2D signals and makes a pseudo 3d experience. Tried it on SD videos and a Bluray video (Inception). It was amazing. and don’t even get me started with Uncharted 3 that supports 3D on the PS3.
Love the fact that LG has auto firmware upgrade support and website support with a few more additional apps you can install on the unit.
Sammy take note. you dropped the ball on this one.
I viewed both and different brands. I will choose passive because I want guest to enjoy also without all the expense of the shutter or the head-aches or seizures associated with the flicker for some people. The curved lenses also better on the retina to brain comfort. I vote Passive hands down.
I am iterested in the purchase on an led TV, preferably 3D, 40 -42 inches and am not able to decide whether it should active or passive glassand model and make ! Invite suggestions.
I do not think that 3d will eventually be in every one’s home!