LG Display striving for 3D expansion

Models present LG Display’s new three-dimensional (3D) liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, which is equipped with the company’s film-type patterned retarder (FPR) technology that enables sharper high-definition (HD) pictures with less flicker. / Korea Times

By Kim Yoo-chul

BEIJING ― Three-dimensional or 3D television captured the attention of the related global industry and the imagination of consumers following the success of the blockbuster movie, “Avatar.”

Now, LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics, two Korean manufacturing giants, have been cashing in on that, launching a series of advanced TVs.

China, which is on its way to become the biggest consumer market, is emerging as the battleground for the two as well as other global competitors to clash.

It seems quite evident that revival would be the right word as 3D movies erupted to prominence in the 1950s and experienced a first comeback in the 1980s.

Like the earlier formats, current 3D systems still require viewers to wear a set of special glasses for the viewing experience.

The glasses allow the left eye and the right eye of viewers to see slightly different images, which the viewers’ brain then combines to create the illusion of depth.

As technology progresses, the red and blue cellophane lenses are a thing of the past. Today’s 3D glasses come in two main categories ― shuttered-glass (SG) and pattern-retarded (PR).

Glasses with PR technology are commonly seen in the cinema as they use polarized lenses to filter what each eye sees, while glasses with SG tech are powered and blank out one eye after the other rapidly, making each eye of the viewer see a different image.

Most 3D TVs rely on glasses with SG tech, which run on batteries and flash on and off as the TV alternates between displaying the picture for the left and right eye.

But these are bulky and expensive not to mention that the glasses are incompatible between different brands of TVs.

The highly-lucrative market is also improving business conditions for manufacturers of flat-screens such as LG Display but not with Samsung-driven SG-based technology.

LG Group’s key display-making unit, LG Display, is the biggest rival of Samsung Electronics in the global flat-panel industry and is aiming high to eat up bigger shares in the global 3D panel market by shipping more of its PR-driven screens to the world’s top-tier television makers.

``LG Display believes that flat-screens with PR technology are easier to adjust to for 3D TV viewers and far ahead of those with SG-based screens,’’ said Kwon Young-soo, the company’s chief executive.

With handsets, the display business is the critical cash-cow for the nation’s top-tier LG Group.

LG Display has accounted for some 15 percent of LG Group’s total 125 trillion won in sales last year as the display unit sealed 20.6 trillion won in sales, data from the Korea Exchange (KRX), said.

Yet the display unit is fully set to take on bigger roles within the group as its advanced PR-based 3D LCD panel is earning a more favorable international response, brightening the future of the group’s display-related business.

On Wednesday, LG Display said it has successfully developed a film-type PR or FPR-based 3D LCD panel, which would solve the problems of the ordinary 3D such as TV flicker, ghosting, and low brightness and improve cost-competitiveness.

``That’s a major breakthrough for further 3D expansion,’’ said Li Juntao, the vice president of GOME Group, China’s biggest retailer, in a news conference to unveil LG’s advanced panels held in Beijing.

``3D TVs with SG technology have inherent defects,’’ added the executive, without elaborating further.

One of the key issues with 3D playback at home is ghosting or crosstalk.

When the left eye sees what is meant for the right eye, a ghost image is caused around the edges of some objects, causing 3D content to suffer from crosstalk issues.

Through FPRs, LG Display is planning to propel the technology by strengthening partnerships with leading Chinese, Japanese and even American TV makers.

``Skyworth, Konka, Hisense, Haier, Changhong, TCL ― six major Chinese LCD makers ― in addition to LG Electronics, Vizio of the United States and Toshiba of Japan have agreed to launch big promotions for FPR 3D sets,’’ said CEO Kwon, adding the manufacturers will begin churning out 3D TVs with FPR tech from the first half of next year.

CEO Kwon said the alliances will spend more to market the edge of FPR 3D technology to promoters within China’s major retailers and continuously run the panels at leading exhibitions and road shows for faster consumer awareness.

``Skyworth will release a totally different species of 3D TVs with the FPR 3D screen developed by LG Display and we are positive to raise our profile in the local 3D LCD TV market, which is estimated to be an 8 million unit demand by next year,’’ said Dongwen Yang, vice president of Skyworth Group, China’s leading TV maker.