Forget HDTV, 3DTV is going to be the next big thing according to TV manufacturers and film studios alike, but what's it all about and do you really need it? Here are five things you should know:

You need to wear glasses
Although CES saw many manufacturers showing 3D monitors for PC that require no glasses, these use basic VGA picture quality – and are likely to be used only for advertising screens in shops. What was really getting journalists and industry types excited at CES was a throng of demos from the big TV brands that suggested that Hi-def 3DTV is just around the corner. The depth and front effects on demo reels at CES were truly amazing – but to get any effect viewers must wear shades. Forget the old red/green combo – 3D plasma TVs require special shutter glasses, while for LCD TVs the glasses are simply polarized.

You need a new TV
That’s right, folks, HD Ready is no longer going to cut it. Having just opened a Blu-ray authoring centre in Hollywood to help the movie moguls switch to 3D production, Panasonic was also showing 3D Blu-ray discs on its 103-inch plasma TV. LG went one better by demonstrating a 60-inch 3D plasma and a 55-inch 3D LCD TV, both of which we were told could go on sale by the end of this year.

That’s no great surprise in the case of the plasma – Samsung’s £800 PS50A476P1DXXU 50-inch plasma is 3D-compatible and came out over 6 months ago, while Mitsubishi has been manufacturing 3D rear projection TVs for a year – but 3D LCD TVs had previously been thought of as far too expensive to produce. Samsung, Sony, Dolby, LG and Panasonic all showed-off their 3D systems, while Mitsubishi and Nvidia showed a 3D graphics package that requires just a pair of glasses and a transmitter to be added to their existing 3D-compatible TVs in the US.

Blu-ray's got you covered
Your existing Blu-ray might already play 3DTV discs. Although Panasonic suggested the opposite, LG was using its existing BD300 Blu-ray player to spin a 3D Blu-ray version of Bon et al’s concert film – and asserted that consumers would not need a new player. Panasonic wasn’t so positive, suggesting that it was playing 3D content on its giant plasma from a modified Blu-ray player prototype.

3D Blu-ray discs could be out within a year
LG told us that 3D Blu-ray discs should be out this year from the likes of Fox, Disney etc. The Blu-ray Disc Association is less hopeful, though there’s no doubt it’s high on the agenda. As the movie industry is switching to digital cinema and high definition production techniques, 3DTV is relatively easy to add-on – and perhaps even a money-spinner.

Don't expect it for Christmas 2009
Which ever company’s 3DTV system becomes standard on Blu-ray discs stands to make a fortune from licensing, so the chances of a quick agreement between competing member companies of the BDA is unlikely. We won’t see another HD-DVD Vs Blu-ray situation – there’s no desire whatsoever for a repeat performance of that – but it could take several years before we have a 3D system agreed and ready.

Meanwhile, expect the big brands to release 3D-compatible Full HD plasmas and LCD TVs from autumn onwards.

Tags: Home Cinema Televisions 3DTV Features

Five things to know about 3DTV originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Thu, 15 Jan 2009 16:05:03 +0000

Epson has unleashed a clutch of new projectors for the home aimed at gamers, downloaders and those after HD movie perfection

Cleaning-up in the worlds of printers and business projectors isn’t enough for Epson, so the Japanese brand has started an assault on the home market with six new projectors with very different consumers in mind.

Pocket-lint was given special access to Epson’s facilities in Shenzhen, China and at its headquarters in Matsumoto, Japan to see its latest new range of 3LCD projectors for the home.

Aimed squarely at those who have been put off projectors because of tricky set-up and the lack of sound, Epson’s EH-DM2 and EH-TW420 3LCD projectors cover all the bases but also keep things simple.

About to sell for just £500, Epson’s EH-DM2 is an all-in-one projector in a unit that also contains a DVD player and rudimentary speakers.

Primarily aimed at use with DVDs and the Nintendo Wii (for which it offers 1:1 pixel mapping from its non-HD 480p resolution), the EH-DM2 has a game mode to speed-up the response time and reduce blur.

Armed with a built-in CD/DVD player and two 8W speakers, it can play audio CDs and MP3 files with its lamp switched-off, the latter either from CDs or a USB stick.

That USB slot can also take a memory stick full of JPEG photos and turn them into slideshows, with various transition effects possible from the remote control. The DVD player can also play DiVX files from discs or from a memory stick.

With a carry handle built-in and a fabric case, the EH-DM2 is thoroughly portable: "you can even take it camping" said one Epson representative. It also features an idiot-proof one-cable set-up.

High-def gaming is the bonus feature on the Epson’s EH-TW420, which will sell in September for around £650. Armed with a single HDMI input, component video and 720p resolution, it’s targeted at the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 and resembles a more normal projector, though its 2000 ANSI lumens brightness also allows it to be used in daylight.

With a Game mode as well as a self-explanatory DarkWall option, the EH-TW420 boasts a couple of 7W speakers, a USB port and a SD card slot for playing photo slideshows.

Despite the headline-grabbing one-box projectors, the message from its dedicated home cinema line-up is that Epson thinks that Full HD resolution is the only way to go.

Most impressive is its flagship EH-TW5000, a £2399 projector available in October and aimed at high-grade home cinemas. As well as being black on the outside, the Full HD 1080p EH-TW5000 3LCD projector is designed to recreate pure black onscreen. Its dynamic contrast ratio of 75,000:1 and all-new DeepBlack technology looked impressive in demos, easily outclassing some other big names in home cinema projection. Its also enjoys ISF certification so can be tuned exactly to a user’s requirements, though pre-loaded picture modes are also supplied.

Just below the EH-TW5000 is the white/silver EH-TW3800, a £2000 model for October with a contrast ratio of 20,000:1, two HDMI inputs, 10-bit colour processing and ISF certification. Next comes the white £1300 EH-TW3000, which will also go on sale in October and boasts similarly essential features, but uses a less expensive lens.

In another move to persuade consumers that home cinema projection need not be expensive, all of its new models come with a 3-year product and lamp warranty.

Each also enjoys a 2.1 optical zoom and horizontal/vertical lens shift, which makes it possible to put the projector off-centre to where you want to project an image.

Tags: Home Cinema Projectors Epson

Epson targets the home with its latest projectors originally appeared on Pocket-lint on Fri, 29 Aug 2008 00:00:00 +0100