Samsung, JVC pick RealD tech for their new 3D LCD televisions
By Richard Lawler 
posted January 4th 2010 3:15PM
posted January 4th 2010 3:15PM
A part of 3D's assault on the home theater this year is a battle over which glasses technology each manufacturer will choose, and after locking up Sony RealD has announced its tech is coming alongside new displays from JVC and Samsung. While JVC's 3D LCDs will use circular polarized passive glasses (like the ones you've probably worn at the movies) Samsung is promising to work on both active shutter LCD and passive eyewear models -- no word yet on any Gucci tie-ins, but it's still early.
Is 3D really the next big thing, or are TV manufacturers just stretching to find a new way to make us upgrade our HDTV sets again. Eventually people are going to get sick of buying TVs... aren't they?
I think that the recession brought HDTVs down to a reasonable pricepoint and this "3D assault" is really just the manufacturers' attempt to put another little sticker on the front of the TV in order to justify adding another $1000 back into the price.
The giant elephant in the room though is that this is really just about refresh rate and the fact that the HDTVs (and LCD monitors) haven't caught up with CRT TVs and monitors yet. My old Trinitrons will do shutter glasses or passive (polarized and red/blue) 3D just fine.
The net effect this has had on my situation is when I saw a 47" LCD for less than $700 this year the only reason I didn't pull the trigger on HDTV and a PS3 is because of articles like this - I'm not going to get stuck with old tech.
Additionally, what about the content? Are we expected to believe that broadcasters and movie houses are going to bring us content in 3D when my Time Warner Cable still only offers 8 channels in HD?
Give me a break. This is hype pure and simple.
@vinemt Really? I have yet to see a CRT that can do 120Hz refresh, but there are plenty of TVs out there that do 120Hz or better.
And the PS3 is about to get a 3D upgrade via firmware only: http://kotaku.com/5408308/sony-to-upgrade-ps3-consoles-to-3d
You need to do more research before you flip out and shun technology for reasons that aren't real.
@naikrovek
Not sure about the 120hz mark, but I own a pair of LCD shutter glasses purchased through NVidia years ago that'll work with my old 21" CRT monster and CRT TVs that will not function with any LCD panel I own because of refresh rate. NVidia's newer offering is sold with a 120hz monitor - sold as a kit because 120hz monitors are still relatively rare.
Sorry though, no personal insult to trade with yours.
@naikrovek
No, there are plenty of TVs out there that say that they are 120Hz or 240Hz or whatever, but that doesn't mean they can go back and forth between two different images 120 times a second. It means that they can play 24-frames-per-second progressive movies without sitting on one frame for half again as long as the next frame.
And some CRT screens absolutely can do 100-120 fps, though you will not find any newly manufactured ones, and buying an old one (if you can even find one) is a crapshoot as far as reliability is concerned.
@vinemt This is not going to add $1,000 to the price tag. All estimates point to it adding no more than $100 to the price tag of a high def tv. :)
@win7user
$100 - that's cool. I'll still be holding off on buying a new one until I see how it all shakes out. Personally I can't wait for the self-organizing nano-paint TV in a can!
@vinemt I agree that it is cool. I don't blame you for holding out a bit, but I just wanted to make sure that the truth about the cost was known to you. :) I was glad to help out and I agree that tv in a can would be cool! lol. :D
oh thank GOD this is not a shutter-glass technology. I was really hoping for this, shutter glasses give me terrible headaches, but RealD is passive and easy on my eyes.
@naikrovek RealD does both active and passive, I don't think you're out of the woods yet... ;-)
All I can say is that Samsung sets better work with NVIDIA 3D Vision because I'm not buying any HDTV that can't do my games in 3D too!
@peter0328
As long as Samsung supports active shutter, it will work with the NVIDIA 3D vision.
Super sweet. Another format war for a new technology. That's what consumers really want.
@ffballid Format war? What format war? The blu ray standards group has created and finalized a standard that will work across all stereo 3D displays. It is display agnostic. The only thing left to "decide" is what display technology is most comfortable for you lol.
Active shutter glasses or GTFO. Thank god Samsung isn't aiming for the lowest possible cost. A TV is an investment, not in impulse buy. Try IZ3D next to NV's 3D Vision... you'll never want to experience polarized glasses again. (For high frame rate entertainment like sports / video games, at least)
The glasses will very sharply come down in cost as product picks up and, for multiple viewers, glasses are mandatory. 3D shouldn't be a requirement for any TV shows / game console... but I definitely want the option. I want to be able to turn 3D on and off. When I'm watching a game, I'm almost certainly going to want it on. When I'm playing a video game, I'm certainly going to want it on. When I'm watching the Jay Leno, I don't think 3D is going to make much of a difference.
@Smurf
I agree that this should work with my existing TV. Even if I only have 60Hz. (It should still be 30 Right frames and 30 Left frames per second)
If you took off the glasses at the IMAX 3D, there was a 2D picture on the screen that was bouncing around. For people who want 2D, they could just use the right frame. If you wanted to switch to 3D, they can mix the two signals to create the 3D effect with active glasses that sync.
@Smurf I agree with you that IZ3D is worse than 3D Vision because it is 2 panels sandwiched together and one bleeds through. 3D Vision can use normal monitors and that is awesome.
@Smurf However, it isn't the polarized tech that is the problem because RealD in the theater is great for me! I just hated the light bleeding through, so that I had seen the desktop through my games/movies. I didn't want to have to set my wallpaper to a different color just to avoid that. They need to announce new ideas at CES very badly or IZ3D is very dead to me! :)
You know what the beauty of the new 3D tech is? You could turn it off if you wanted to and watch the show in 2D, no loss at all!
I'm still not sure how I feel about 3D but the fact that I could revert to 2D glasses less viewing at any time doesn't have me worried at all.
Avatar was great they picked the right company