Highest technology coming from Toshiba and its Launching of their First Glasses-Free 3D TVs this December
in Japan, catched the attention of the twitters, here's a sampling:
odeur71: Will it be the highright of CEATEC 2010? RT @TechCrunch: Toshiba To Sell World's First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In DecemberToshiba To Sell World’s First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In ... - techcrunch.com
techipod: TechiPod New Track - Toshiba To Sell World's First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In Japan)Toshiba To Sell World’s First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In ... - techcrunch.com
UgotKeith: In the news: Toshiba To Sell World's First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In Japan)Toshiba To Sell World’s First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In ... - techcrunch.com
FEMPIRES: #TechFempires - Toshiba To Sell World's First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In Japan)Toshiba To Sell World’s First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In ... - techcrunch.com
playr: Toshiba To Sell World's First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In Japan)Toshiba To Sell World’s First Glasses-Free 3D TVs In December (In ... - techcrunch.com
The rumors proved to be true: Toshiba has been working on the development of a glasses-free 3D TV, and they are ready to sell it as early as December this year (in Japan, at least). The company today announced [JP] there will be two versions of the so-called “Glass-less REGZA 3D TV”, the 20-inch 20GL1 and the 12-inch 12GL1.
The 20-inch LCD will feature a resolution of 1,280×720 (both for 2D and 3D images). It also comes with a special version of Toshiba’s Cell processor (which is a key element in the PS3, for instance) and has LED backlight. Buyers can expect an HDMI interface, a USB port, LAN, and REGZA Link.
The 12-inch model is considerably weaker, featuring 466×350 resolution and no CELL engine. It also comes with LED backlight, an HDMI interface, a USB port, LAN, and REGZA Link. What’s special about it is the SD card slot (for viewing JPEGs and AVCHD files) and the possibility to view 1Seg programs on it (1Seg is Japan’s digital mobile TV standard).
But what about the 3D effect? Toshiba promises that buyers will be able to view 3D images in high quality and without glasses – provided they look at the screen in one of nine distinct viewing angles (more technical background can be found here) The company’s recommended viewing distance is 90cm in the case of the 20-inch model and 65cm in the case of the smaller one.
In Japan, Toshiba plans to sell the 20-inch TV for $2,900 and the 12-inch version for $1,450 (no word yet on international availability).
Toshiba says these TVs are the first of their kind, but generally speaking, naked-eye 3D displays aren’t new. Nintendo’s 3DS will have one, Hitachi has shown one, and NEC has been working on it, too. Sharp prepares a model for e-readers and tablets and announced a glasses-free 3D smartphone for later this year. Japanese maker NewSight even offers a naked-eye 70-inch 3D display.
The biggest complaint about 3D in home electronics? Okay, there are plenty: content, price, general apathy--but generally when people are finding something to whine about, all eyes tend to turn to those pesky 3D glasses. They get lost, get scratched, and will no doubt be eventually be sat on more then a few times during their living room career
Nintendo made a big splash when it introduced its glasses-free 3DS console of over the summer. The logical question quickly became: when will the rest of the industry release their own glasses-free 3D products? Of course there are a number of hurdles to deal with when implementing such a technology on a product the size of an HDTV.
Toshiba, apparently, has overcome these. This week at CEATEC in Tokyo, the company announced plans to sell a glasses-free LCD TV. The set will go on sale in December--in Japan. No word on an international release for the set. Boo.
Of course there are other limitations with the technology. The first seems to be size. The set will only be available at 12 and 20 inches--pretty tiny, given the fact that today's sets are topping off at well over 100 inches. The second limitation is, you guess it, price. The 12 inch set runs 120,000 yen ($1,440). The 20 inch set is double that price.
Toshiba doesn't seem to expect to be selling a lot of these things. The company will be producing 2,000 of the sets a month, compared to the 1.25 million total LCD TVs the company ships a month.
Sometimes it's just important to say that you're first, right? Given how competitive the HDTV market is, at present, it certainly couldn't hurt.
Inspired by:
Sekan Toto
Brian Heater
