LG, Sony talk 3D standard
March 10, 2011
LG Display is in talks to provide 3D TV panels to Sony as the war of words and standards with rival Samsung steps up.
LG raised the stakes with a revamped 3D technology: film patterned retarder (FPR) “We’ve explained FPR technology to our major customers. Sony is one of them and they are reviewing it,” LG Display CEO Kwon Young-soo said.
The current 3D technology industry standard is shutter-glass (SG) type, used by producers including Samsung, Sony and Sharp. LG Electronics makes SG-type products but plans to migrate entirely to FPR technology from the third quarter.
LG argues FPR addresses consumer concerns over blurry and flickering images, with glasses two to three times lighter than the previous bulky eyewear required for 3D viewing.
SG technology shows 1,080 pixels to the right eye, while blocking signals to the left eye and repeats this process to each eye to create three-dimensional images, requiring special battery-charged glasses that block and receive TV signals to process them.
By contrast, FPR sends 540 pixels to both eyes simultaneously with different images for the right and left eye which are recognised as 1,080 pixel 3D images by human brains, requiring much lighter eyewear.
“There have been so many conflicting arguments about which is the better technology, and this is only creating confusion for consumers. To end this confusion, we’ll accept any request for technology reviews by consumer and expert groups, and also want our competitor to accept such requests,” Kwon said.