By Kim Yoo-chul
Staff Reporter
Hyundai IT, a local manufacturer of display products, has released the industry’s first 3D liquid crystal display (LCD) TV set in Japan to support the recently launched BS11 3D television programming from Nippon BS Broadcasting Corporation.
The television for 3D broadcasting is the first in the world.
Unlike previous similar devices such as Samsung Electronics’ 3D plasma television set, the 46-inch 3D LCD high-definition TV doesn’t need connecting devices to enjoy the real-time 3D features as programming including sports and travel shows are already being broadcast from the BS11 network on a daily basis.
The flat-screen set is also capable of realizing conventional 2D pictures. When the viewer wants to watch in 3D, they simply activate the 3D functions using a remote control, according to the company.
``We will produce 32- and 46-inch TV sets with a total monthly capacity of 30,000 from September this year because we are positive about the 3D television market,’’ Chon Ho-suk, chief executive of Hyundai IT, said at a press conference in a Seoul hotel Tuesday.
The 46-inch and 32-inch TV sets will go to Bic Camera consumer electronics retail stores in cities around Japan, including Tokyo, Osaka and Hokkaido with a price tag of some 5 million won and 2 million won, respectively.
On the question over the possibility of joining forces with 3D content providers, Chon said his company plans to operate a specialized ``Content Business Unit’’ from July this year.
Hyundai IT was listed on the nation’s tech-heavy KOSDAQ market in August 2002 after it split from the now defunct Hyundai Electronics Display Units in May 2000. The company operates three overseas posts in Frankfurt, Germany; San Jose in the United States; and Tokyo while running 29 service centers around the world.