3D is certainly back with the expected release in the market of 3D displays, cameras and related gadgets from many vendors, including the big names in the consumer electronics industry. The good thing is the HDMI organization is early in ensuring that manufacturers will adopt the same active shutter 3D glasses standards in their products. The organization has now included 3D in its 1.4 version. This version specifies protocols for different 3D display parameters at up to 1080p resolution, such as field, frame or line alternative methods; 2D plus depth methods; and side by side display modes. It also specifies standards for the input/ output connections for consumer 3D devices. The HDMI group also announced that an updated version, to be called 1.4a, is in the works and maybe released very soon. This version is expected to address specifications not only for 3D playout but also for 3D broadcast and distribution.
This year’s CES is the year of 3D. Almost every major name in the television industry had something to show about 3D in the CES 2010 floors. Upcoming 3D products from Sony, Panasonic, LG, Samsung and other vendors were either demonstrated or announced during the show. Though many were enthusiastic on the developments, there were still some who were skeptical. This is because of the need for 3D glasses in order to enjoy this comebacking technology. To address this issue, some companies showed a number of no-glasses solutions that are based on the same principle. If a viewer is located at a certain viewing angle from a display, he will perceive different images in each eye, thus creating a virtual 3D image. One of the most most promising solutions is from Sunny Ocean Studios from Singapore, which promises to offer 64 viewing angles compared to a typical 8 or 9 from other companies. It will show its no-glasses 3D technique at the upcoming CeBIT exhibit this March. Though 3D with glasses already had a big headstart, 3D without glasses would certainly be more convenient and exciting.
OLED is a very promising display technology and larger-sized displays are very soon coming into the market. But LED-backlit devices have been around for quite a while and will soon a get a boost with the introduction of a LED coating technique that Nanosys developed. It works by applying nanoparticles to LEDs that allows them to produce a blue hue, the most efficient color as far as energy consumption is concerned. This process is ideal for LED-backlit displays because the blue-coated LEDs deliver enhanced color while using the same energy profile as standard white LED-backlit displays. We are seeing more and more laptops and HDTV sets with LED-backlit displays coming into the market today. This means there is a potentially-rich market waiting for this new technology. So expect more manufacturers to come out with new products that utilize this new technology hopefully within this year.
Zeon, a Japan-based company, has developed a revolutionary film for the polarizing plates of LCD displays. Its purpose is to boost the picture contrast of the display by as much as 10 times. They call the material phase difference film and it is based on Cyclo Olefin Polymer. It restrains the diffusion of light from the LCD backlighting resulting to clearer pictures on the screen. This technology will work in LCD displays that utilize IPS or in-plane-switching technology. The company claims the film not only improves contrast ratio but also allows a wider viewing angle, making it also ideal for digital signage devices. At present, Zeon sells these phase difference films only to Samsung, which uses IPS technology. It, however, will start to mass produce the new films within this year targeting the 40 inches and larger LCD TV market. It also has developed a film that employs the same type of technology for OLED-based display devices.
Next3D, an industry pioneer in stereoscopic 3D technology, has announced in CES 2010 that it would soon bring 3D to the home via broadband, satellite and cable connections. Next3D has more than 35 years of aggregated experience in 3D display, stereoscopic delivery and 3D content production. It developed a 3D Full HD codec for a wide array of devices such as PCs, Mac, Blu-ray, gaming consoles and TV set top boxes. The bandwidth-efficient codec allows the delivery of stereoscopic 3D in Full high-definition 1080p quality over broadband, satellite or cable channels. It is a proprietary encoding and playback technology but is proven to work with 3D components that are already available in the market and present in the home. Next3D has entered into a partnership with Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. for the production and delivery of 3D content and it plans to launch this innovative service within the first quarter of this year.
Gefen has came up with a solution to connect your Blu-ray player to your HDTV without the use of an HDMI cable or through wireless means. You can now transfer Full HD 1080p content and multi-channel audio between your HDTV devices up to 30 feet. You simply connect the sender unit to the HDMI port of your 3D player and plug the receiver unit to the HDTV’s HDMI port and start enjoying your favorite HD movie. This is especially useful if you want to avoid cable clutter between your source and your display. This wireless gadget works in the 60GHz frequency spectrum so the HD signal is guaranteed not to be affected by interference from 2.4GHz and 5GHz devices like access points and Wi-Fi-enabled appliances. The Gefen TV Wireless for HDMI 60GHz is an amazing gadget but will work only point-to-point. This means you can only hook one source (Blu-ray player or cable/ satellite set top box) to your TV at a time. It’s also a little bit pricey but if you have those extra bucks, you can get it at $999.
There is no doubt that one of the hottest item or could even be no. 1 in CES 2010 is 3D. A lot of exhibitors have on display something about 3D and almost everybody is talking about this exciting technology, which is actually just making a comeback. There was so much hype about 3D many years back but it fizzled out probably because encoding and display technologies then were not matured enough. The big names in consumer electronics have made announcements and live demos on the CES floors and ahead of the pack is Panasonic, which showed its upcoming 3D camera that will record full left and right HD videos in SD cards. Samsung, Toshiba, LG and Vizio likewise showed their 3D LCD TVs but did not announced shipping dates. There were also solutions on 3D Blu-ray players, set top boxes, glasses and video gaming that were presented on the exhibit floors. Considering recent industry developments, 2010 is predicted to be the year of 3D. The success of Avatar and the proliferation of 3D contents and hardware will most likely make this bold prediction a reality.
HDMI Licensing, the consortium that formulates the HDMI specifications, has recently announced that the new HDMI version 1.4 will support 3D content. HDMI 1.4 supports a maximum resolution of 4K × 2K (3840×2160p and 4096×2160p); an HDMI Ethernet Channel for 100 Mbps connection between connected HDMI devices; an Audio Return Channel; a new Micro HDMI Connector; and an Automotive Connection System. The new HDMI version will also include specifications for a number of 3D display technologies such as the frame, field or alternative line methods; 2D plus depth methods; and side by side display schemes. The HDMI consortium is scheduled to meet in January to discuss the “Top/Bottom” 3D format. This scheme will sacrifice resolution but will save bandwidth by shoving the left and right images into single frames. With the broadcast industry pushing forward its plans to bring 3D TV to the home by 2010, the introduction of HDMI 1.4 is a timely development. This will ensure compatibility between 3D source and display devices, once they become available.
Television viewing remains strong (in the U.S.) compared to viewing through online and mobile devices. This is according to Nielsen’s latest A2/M2™ Three Screen Report, a quarterly viewership analysis report on the three screens – TV, Internet and mobile. The report covers figures for the third quarter of 2009 that shows how much time the average viewer spends per week. Here are the results:
* The average viewer watched 31 hours of TV per week, with 31 minutes spent in DVR playback mode.
* The average consumer spent 4 hours on the Internet and watched online video in 22 minutes.
* The average consumer spent 3 minutes watching mobile video.
The results are somewhat surprising because this show that Americans still prefer the good old television despite the increasing availability of online and mobile contents. The report also shows a significant year over year increase in time spent for DVR (up 21.1%) and online video (up 34.9%) in the third quarter of 2009. What this indicates is viewers are not actually replacing the television as their viewing medium but rather are adding other platforms, depending on availability of type of media (online or mobile) on time of viewing.
Wireless Home Digital Interface or WHDI is a new short range wireless transmission technology developed to replace cables between high-definition video sources and display devices. It is pioneered by AMIMON, the WHDI chipset maker, and being supported by leading appliance manufacturers. The technology operates in the unlicensed 5GHz band and offers a wireless Full HD (1080p) video connectivity at rates up to 3Gbps. It also supports 1080i and 720p HD video. Signal range is beyond 100 feet and robust enough to pass through walls, which is ideal for home and small office applications. WHDI technology can be found in some high-end AV devices such as HDTV displays, Blu-ray players, and set-top-boxes. At present, WHDI modules are already being made available for other consumer devices such as netbooks and laptops. These are expected to be out in the market in 2010 allowing users the ability to connect their computers wirelessly to any WHDI-enabled HDTV display.
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Televisions | cesar | 
February 7, 2010 7:37 am | 
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