By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
A full-fledged three dimensional (3D) television turf war is brewing in the technology industry, and the consumer electronics giants of Korea and Japan appear to be swinging the biggest punches.
Major manufacturers such as Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, and Sony have announced plans to sell 3D televisions to consumers in 2010, and look to use the International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas as a stage to convert the 3D skeptics into believers.
And each company would claim it has the most convincing products.
Samsung emerged as the world’s biggest flat-screen television maker in recent years, shedding its old tag as a "poor man’s Sony,’’ and has no intentions to compromise its lead as the competition goes 3D.
The most visible feature of Samsung’s 2,667-square-meter display booth at the CES is its "3D Cube,’’ a massive video screen consisting of 36 55-inch 3D-enabled liquid crystal display (LCD) televisions that intend to provide visitors a gob-smacking 3D experience.
The company has revealed three LCD televisions and one plasma model with 3D compatibility at the CES, including the UNC7000 series of light-emitting diode (LED) backlit LCDs, which they expect to be among the first 3D-ready products to hit the market this year.
Samsung is focused on expanding its lineup of LED-based LCD televisions, a growing segment in the premium market, and more than half of these models released this year will be equipped with 3D compatibility, company officials said.
LED-based models accounted for more than 10 percent of Samsung’s LCD television sales in 2009, and the market is expected to grow bigger this year, with rivals like Sony and LG looking to gain on Samsung’s early lead.
Samsung is also planning to launch 3D-equipped Blu-ray players and "home-theater’’ systems, which include audiovisual equipment and 3D glasses.
"When comparing the 3D televisions of each company, you could see that Samsung is providing the products that are most appealing to the eye,’’ said Yoon Boo-keun, president of Samsung’s visual display division.
"We also have the coolest and slimmest products. Better compactness was achieved in our new television models, which can now be described as `pencil-slim,’ instead of the term `finger-slim’ we used until last year.’’
LG, as always, seems hell-bent on proving that whatever its hated domestic rival does, it can do better. The company, which climbed up to the No. 2 spot in the global television rankings last year, revealed a number of 3D-compatible LCD televisions at CES.
This includes a 55-inch LED-backlit model that is part of its new "INFINIA’’ premium television lineup, a 72-inch model built on a conventional LCD screen, a 60-inch plasma model, and a 3D projector designed for 150-inch screens.
"A market for 3D television will finally arrive in 2010, and we will get the chance to show our advanced technologies in LCD and PDP television models as well as projectors,’’ said Paik Woo-hyun, LG’s chief technology officer (CTO).
Sony’s Redemption May Lie in 3D
Although Sony squandered its lead in the television market to its Korean competitors in recent years, some industry watchers believe that 3D may give the Japanese technology heavyweight its biggest opportunity to make up for the lost ground.
Sony announced a number of 3D-capable high-definition (HD) televisions at the CES, including a LED-based model that comes with a pair of glasses for 3D content and equipped with built-in Wi-Fi connectivity, which enables a wealth of interactive features.
Securing a healthy 3D content pool will be critical for consumer electronics companies in successfully pushing their 3D products, and this is may be where Sony exerts its biggest strength.
Sony enjoys a dominating presence in the global market for broadcasting equipment and its television and movie unit, Sony Pictures, could prove to be a rich 3D content pot.
Other Japanese companies, like Toshiba and Panasonic, are also investing more efforts to integrate 3D into their television products. At the CES, Toshiba revealed a 3D compatible model with a 480 hertz (Hz) refresh rate, which it claims will provide better picture quality than the 120 Hz and 240 Hz models currently introduced to the market.
Despite the enthusiasm by the consumer electronics industry, it remains debatable whether 3D television is ready for prime time. The industry has yet to sort out incompatible approaches from competing technologies and has failed to provide a more comfortable alternative to forcing everyone to wear those dorky, 3D glasses.
And although the recent success of the 3D animation movie, "Avatar,’’ offers new hope, that lack of content could continue to be a problem for the 3D television front
.
Movies like Avatar show that Hollywood studios are managing to an effect use of 3D in animation films, but shooting the real world may prove to be the ultimate challenge.
The outrageous prices of 3D-related products don’t offer much motivation to consumers to pay the premium for them, especially when the pickings are slim in regard of content, and setting standards regarding optical safety could prove to be a tricky issue down the road.
thkim@koreatimes.co.kr
