Thursday, 22nd April 2010

Technology Review - 3D Televisions

We've been getting a taste of it since the film "Avatar" hit the cinemas, and soon the era of 3D Television will be on offer for our homes.
Ciaran O'Byrne has been putting on his strange glasses and getting square-eyed for this week's Consumer Technology Review...

I've been looking at a couple of different brands and two slightly different versions of three-dimensional TV.
The first brands out of the hatch are Samsung and LG, and basically before you switch them on, they look like any other TV, although they are all getting slimmer.
They can operate as conventional 2D televisions, which is just as well, as there are not 3D TV channels right now - the main source of 3D material will be from movies on disc - specifically 3D Blu-Ray discs.

We have the experience of the 3D effect from movies like "Avatar" and a number of 3D animations lately, how does it hold up on the smaller screen at home?

3D TVs are impressive - you do get a very good sense of depth, and every now and again something will look like it's about to jump out of the TV, however there are limitations depending on the type of TV you look at as there are slightly different systems, and then you choose from either a Plasma screen, an LCD or new LED screens.

So do you still have to wear glasses to get the effect?

Yes you do, and here is where you have to make your first choice - what type of glasses do you use.
The Samsung systems uses "active glasses" as opposed to "passive glasses", which are the types you would be familiar with in the cinemas - they look like Buddy Holly glasses, while the Samsung "active" glasses make you look more like The Terminator.
Active ones require power, so they are battery powered or recharable and have a sensor in them that works with the 3D TV screen, and they are expensive to replace.
The other format on the LG model I looked at in Harvey Norman's, are the cheaper passive type that don't need power and use a polarised lens, and one type won't really work with the other type of TV screen.

What other equipment do you need to watch in 3D?

In total you need a 3D screen, 3D glasses, and something that gives you 3D content - in this case a 3D Blu Ray player.
You are going to see your 3D from a Blu Ray movie, because there are not 3D channels on offer right now - the likes of Sky TV are concentrating on showing 3D football matches in selected pubs right now, and are not planning on having a 3D channels for residential customers until later towards the end of the year or so.
One of Samsung's selling points is that you can watch a regular 2D TV channel and enhance it so you get a 3D feel to it and a sense of depth on a regular channel, so you can watch Fair City and feel like you are in Carrickstown, or the 6-1 news, and feel like Bryan Dobson is in your sitting room - though it is not a full on 3D sensation.

So what are the costs like?

The Samsung 42" costs €1299 which is relatively close to the cost of a similar sized 2D screen, but you need a Blu Ray 3D player with that - so they have a package of screen, player, 2 pairs of active glasses and a 3D copy of "Monster vs Aliens" for €1,679.
LG have a similar sized 47 inchTV with passive glasses but the cost there at the moment is €2700, though they say that price will reduce quickly when they get their full stock in, and the prices should level out to something close to €1300 or so.
Sony will be launching their 3D TVs from €1600 in June, and they will be offering packages which will include 3D games that can be played on Play Station 3s, with a firmware upgrade.
If you needed to replace "active" glasses such as those the Samsung use, it is pricey - additional pairs of Battery Glasses = € 79.99, rechargeable adults glasses = € 99.99, and rechargeable kids glasses = € 89.99, so don't sit on them!
The "passive" glasses would cost €5 to €10 to replace, however that technology needs you to be fairly straight on towards the screen, the more you sit to the side of the screen, the less effective they are.

So what is there to watch in 3D right now?

Your source is really just going to be from 3D films right now, and most of them will be children's animation, such as "Monster vs Aliens" or "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", "Toy Story 3D", "Coraline", and there are a number of titles coming out in the cinema very soon, that will then come out on Blu Ray in 3 to 6 months, especially in the run up to Christmas.
"Avatar" will be out soon in 2D but the 3D release won't be until December by the looks of things.
A number of matches at the World Cup are being filmed in 3D and shown in pubs.
While a number of 3 dimensional games will soon be on the market aswell.

Overall impressions?

The technology is impressive, there is no doubting that, the Samsung's "active" glasses and LED screen are very crisp and give a very clear and enjoyable experience, though the glasses are expensive to replace, while the LG passive system is still very good, though the overall price is too high at present, and is set to come down.
It's really an entertainment system for watching a big movie or sports event, and probably not for just flopping down on the sofa and the end of a tiring day, but it will spread and get cheaper as well.