While most TV manufacturers at CES last week were making solid commitments to 3D devices, with new announcements from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, Toshiba, LG and others, local US TV maker Vizio perhaps went one better, announcing a partnership with a leading manufacturer of an active shutter set of viewing glasses.
Most vendors said yes we have a 3D TV and yes we have passive polarized glasses, but no we don’t yet have an active shutter display, but we are working on that ‘ but Vizio has signed up with Slovenian company XpanD and showed its X103 3D Active-Shutter glasses.
Basically a 3D TV gives off alternative signals, one for the left eye and another for right, to create 3D viewing. Most glasses separate these out using circular polarization, but in future your right eye and left eye will have LCD shutters over them, closing and opening in sequence with the two images.
The new X103 glasses will therefore already work with existing 3D displays working up to 120 frames per second, and pick up their synchronization from the TV set using Bluetooth. Naturally they will also work with games as well.
XpanD active-shutter glasses use a fast-switching liquid crystal cell, called the ‘pi-cell,’ as a shutter to alternately block each eye. Through fast switching, optimal extinction ratios, and a wide viewing field, the XpanD active-shutter glasses offer clear, flicker-free 3D, the company says and already it is making a fashion statement by saying they come in many colours, so choose them like you would a pair of sunglasses. XpanD reckons it has a 95% global market share of 3D active-shutter glasses. Well it might have, but this technology is in its infancy, and most TV makers want to build their own LCD glasses, so it may have a brief head start.
‘CES 2010 marks a new era for 3D display technology and the XpanD X103 active-shutter glasses are unequivocally the highest quality and most stylish glasses in the industry,’ said Maria Costeira, CEO of XpanD. ‘The X103 glasses will have a profound impact on the growing adoption of 3D in consumer applications, and their sleek appearance will make them a lifestyle accessory as well. What’s more, the affordability and ubiquitous nature of the X103 glasses make them accessible and practical for all consumers!’
XpanD joined Vizio and Sensio to debut the devices at CES with Vizio’s new Pro range of XVT HD3D televisions. Sensio offers its own brand of 3D and 2D conversion processes to create 3D effects. Most other manufacturers have taken a system from RealD. The new Vizio range can only be viewed XpanD glasses (we think that’s unlikely) and comes with Internet connectivity, 480Hz Smooth Motion and dual-band Wi-Fi.
The new XVT Pro range was introduced just two days earlier by Vizio and will start at around $2,000 for the 47 inch version and go up to $3,500 for the 72 inch set. The all offer 1080p viewing and have multiple LED backlight areas which are separately controlled to use less power.
They also come with Wireless HDMI based on SiBeam’s 60 GHz technology, so there is no need for wiring between the boxes. The SiBeam technology has been on the way for some years (see article elsewhere in this issue). There were no dates for the launch, but the tone was that they are looking for distributors and partners now and these sets are fully ready.