A CES attendee checks out LG Electronics' 3D LCD TV.
(Credit: Marguerite Reardon/CNET News)Three-dimensional TV is coming to a living room near you. But will the technology spur a consumer spending spree like digital and high-definition TV did before it? Or will 3D end up being the next big flop?
One thing is clear, TV manufacturers need something new to get people buying TVs. Over the last couple of years, TV manufacturers have experienced a sales boom as consumers upgrade to digital TVs in anticipation of the government's mandated switch to digital TV broadcasts in February 2009. Eager shoppers have also been upgrading to high-definition TVs as movie studios, cable and satellite operators, and TV broadcasters have begun offering more programming in HD.
But as the economy worsens, the forecast for the TV market is looking grim. The LCD TV market is only expected to grow about 17 percent in terms of units shipped in 2009, according to research firm DisplaySearch. This is down from growth of about 29 percent in 2008. Plasma TV growth is also expected to suffer with the market only expected to grow by about 5 percent in 2009 compared with a 24 percent rise in 2008, DisplaySearch said.
As a result, TV makers are looking for the next hot thing to attract new consumers. And some are hoping 3D TVs could be it.
At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, four of the top selling TV manufacturers--Samsung Electronics, Sony, LG Electronics and Panasonic--showed off their latest versions of 3D TVs. Panasonic set up a mini-home theater where its 103-inch, plasma 3D screen showed clips from New Line Cinema's Journey to the Center of the Earth and Walt Disney Pictures' animated film Bolt. They also showed high-definition 3D footage from NBC's broadcast of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing.
While some manufacturers, such as Mitsubishi, Phillips, Samsung, and Sharp, have already begun selling 3D-ready TVs, the top four manufacturers plan to have new, advanced 3D TVs on sale toward the end of 2009 and into 2010.
But the big question is whether consumers, particularly American consumers, will be willing to upgrade to a new TV just because it has 3D. Pricing for today's 3D ready TVs is comparable to other flat-screen HDTVs. Samsung and Mitsubishi currently sell their 3D-ready TVs for between $1,000 and $2,800, depending on functionality. These prices are in line with average prices for HDTVs that don't offer 3D readiness.
Keisuke Suetsugi, a manager for the audio visual center at Panasonic, believes that even the newer, more advanced 3D TVs will not cost much more than TVs without 3D. So for consumers already in the market for a TV, adding 3D readiness might not add much cost. But will 3D be enough to compel cutting-edge consumers to replace their 2- or 3-year-old TVs? That's what TV manufactures are hoping.
Three-dimensional movies have been around since the 1950s. And for most of its lifespan the technology has been seen more as a gimmick than something that truly enhances the movie-going experience. But newer technology and advanced special effects are helping 3D movies break into the mainstream.
TV makers believe that much of the demand for 3D will come from Hollywood, which is pushing 3D in a big way. Last year, DreamWorks announced that all its films will be produced for 3D production beginning in 2009. The company has partnered with chipmaker Intel to build processors that will help make 3D in the home a reality.
NBA basketball fans watch a live 3D broadcast of Game 2 of the 2007 NBA finals.
(Credit: NBA)Sports leagues have also been experimenting with 3D technology. Both the National Basketball Association and the National Football League have broadcast events and games in 3D to movie theaters.
From a technical standpoint, the technology is available and mature enough today to make 3D TVs available at a reasonable cost to consumers. But there are still a few drawbacks that could prevent 3D TV from becoming the next big thing in home entertainment.
For one, to get the really cool, immersive 3D experience without getting a massive head-ache, consumers will have to wear special glasses when they're watching TV in 3D. The glasses are needed because 3D imaging requires sending a different image to each eye. And the glasses help merge the images in the mind and trick the brain into thinking that it's seeing a single 3D image.
I checked out Panasonic's home theater in 3D. I must admit, the experience was phenomenal. I felt like I was on the floor at the Olympics opening ceremonies in Beijing right alongside the hundreds of dancers and drummers. But without the glasses, the image looked fuzzy.
Panasonic's Suetsugi admits that in a perfect world, consumers should be able to have the immersive 3D experience without wearing glasses. But he said that it will be at least 10 years before the technology is advanced enough to provide a similarly robust 3D experience without glasses.
"Glassless 3D would be ideal," he said. "But it's just not possible to do that now and get the same quality experience. You would need at least 50 times more pixels to get a display to provide the same 3D experience that we provide with our TV. We are still 10 years away from that kind of technology."
Taesoo Park, a chief research engineer at LG, which makes 3D display monitors for advertising and digital signage, agrees. LG plans to start selling its 3D TVs, which require glasses, late in 2009 or in the beginning of 2010. Its glassless digital signs were also on display at CES.
"Glassless 3D is available today for digital signage and advertising," Park explained. "But the technology is not ready for TVs, because it would hurt people's eyes or give them a headache to look at today's 3D displays for any length of time. It will be at least a decade before we can get the technology to make glassless TV a reality."
That said, some manufacturers claim they have developed technology that doesn't require glasses. Phillips uses a technology it calls WOWvx. 3M and Toshiba also showed off glassless 3D screens at CES. 3M has created a thin film technology that can be used to beam light selectively to the viewer's right and left eyes.
But glasses aren't the only thing that could hold back 3D adoption. Currently, there's no standard way to get 3D footage from the movie studios or from a live broadcasts to the home. Companies, such as Panasonic, are already working on developing a standard. But industry watchers fear that competing standards could emerge and spur another "format" war like the one that pitted HD DVD and Blu-ray against each other.
Panasonic's Suetsugi said he is hopeful that a common standard for 3D Blu-ray hardware, software, and TVs will emerge sometime this year, paving the way for 3D TV sales to pick up in 2010.
In addition to the standards issue, another hurdle for 3D TV has to do with the high production cost of shooting movies and events in 3D, as well as, the high cost of transporting the video across networks. Three-dimensional video requires multiple cameras for shooting. And it also requires multiple high-definition streams for transporting the video over carrier networks.
Regular standard definition television broadcasts consume more bandwidth capacity than other types of traffic like audio or text. High-definition video eats up even more. And it would likely take at least two full high-definition channels to broadcast live just one game in 3D.
This means that service providers, such as cable or satellite operators, would have to upgrade their infrastructure to handle the high bandwidth demands. Verizon, which is deploying fiber directly to consumers' homes for its Fios service, is already in good shape. But others such as Comcast and Time Warner Cable, are already finding it difficult to carve out enough bandwidth for regular HD video as well as Internet video on their networks.
"Transporting live, high-definition 3D streams is very expensive," said Steve Hellmuth, executive vice president of technology and operations for the NBA. "So there has to be sufficient demand and a pool of content before satellite and cable operators will devote resources to delivering it. I really think that Hollywood will initially drive adoption of 3D in the home."
We didn't see too many new U.S. devices from LG this year at CES 2009, but we did get a good look at some of the company's handsets that are only available in Europe or Asia. Of course, the LG Watch Phone stole the show earlier in the week, and that's slated for a Europe-only release date. We also got a hands-on with the LG Renoir, the 8-megapixel wonder with camera features we only wish we could have in our standalone point-and-shoots. And finally, we take a brief look at the LG Prada II and its accompanying Prada Link Bluetooth watch, which were behind glass the entire show (which explains why it's the only phone out of the three that we couldn't see in action). Take a look at our little slide show of LG phones we can only drool over for now.
LG HBM-800 Bluetooth Headset and Cradle
(Credit: LG)LG seems to be leading the way in combining Bluetooth headsets with other things. The LG Decoy, for example, was one of the first cell phones to have a built-in Bluetooth headset in the back. Now at CES 2009, LG has introduced the LG HBM-800, a Bluetooth headset and speakerphone in one. This isn't new--we've seen this before in this Kyocera Portable Speaker--but we can't think of many others like this one.
On its own, the headset is like any other Bluetooth headset. It has dual microphones for echo cancellation and noise suppression, plus it has LG's e-Clip ergonomic earbud on the back. Once you dock the headset into the speakerphone however, the audio automatically transfers to the speakerphone, and you can now use it like you would a Bluetooth speaker. This also works in reverse; when you take the headset out, the audio will transfer to the headset. The speakerphone has a clip on the back so you can easily clip it to your car's visor. This is a great option if you want both a Bluetooth speakerphone and a Bluetooth headset in one compact package.
The headset's talk time is up to 4 hours while the speakerphone/cradle talk time is up to 7 hours. No word on price or availability.
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LG HBM-530 is studded with Swarovski crystals.
(Credit: LG)Bluetooth headsets are a dime a dozen at CES, so it usually takes a certain something for me to take notice. For example, the BlueAnt Q1 is stylish plus it boasts better audio quality than the rest, and the Nokia BH-804 is a teeny little thing that stands out for being so small. But sometimes all it takes is a little cheesy bling, like this Swarovski crystal-clad LG HBM-530, which LG debuted at the show. It features an e-Clip ergonomic earbud and a carrying cradle, but really, the only reason to get this is because it looks like a piece of costume jewelry. Both price and availability are to be determined, so you'll have to wait a while if you want it.
LG Rhythm
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)Both Alltel and U.S. Cellular announced the LG Rhythm in October of last year (with a November release), but we weren't able to get our hands on it until Thursday at CES 2009.
The Rhythm, if you'll recall, is a music-focused phone with 3D sound capabilities, plus it boasts a graphic equalizer designed by none other than Mark Levinson, a company known for high-end digital audio processors. We're surprised that Alltel and U.S. Cellular managed to pull off a coup like this, because now that we've handled the Rhythm personally, we actually think the LG Rhythm is the music phone the LG Chocolate 3 should've been.
The LG Rhythm has a similar design to the LG Chocolate VX8550, with the slider form factor and a light-up mechanical scroll wheel. However, the Rhythm takes it one step further with the button in the middle of the scroll wheel--it's actually a circular mini touch screen called the "Touch Music Hot Key." The screen changes whenever you scroll though different applications, and it tells you which application you're currently running. Though we're not usually fans of touch-sensitive controls like this, we have to say this looks very cool.
We also had a brief look at the music player on the Rhythm, and with a name like that, we're not surprised it has a fully decked-out music player interface, complete with the usual playlist controls and the aforementioned graphic equalizer. It also boasts 3D sound, digital signal processing, and pretty decent stereo speakers--even when we placed the Rhythm speaker-side down, we're able to hear the music clearly (LG claims this is due to the unique curve of the handset). Other music player features include an FM transmitter, a 3.5mm headset jack, and stereo Bluetooth.
Other features on the Rhythm include a 1.3-megapixel camera, voice dialing, GPS, and a microSD card slot. It has a really sharp display, and the keypad is not too shabby either. The Rhythm is currently selling for around $120 with a contract from either Alltel or U.S. Cellular. Bear in mind that the pink version is only available from U.S. Cellular. We'll get a review unit next week, so we'll give you the full rundown once we can.
Our colleagues over in the U.K. have reviewed the LG Renoir already, but since it's a Europe-only phone, we weren't able to handle the device on our own. If you recall, the LG Renoir is an 8-megapixel camera phone with plenty of high-end photo features like face detection, blink detection, manual focus, an ISO sensitivity of up to 1,600, and more. At CES 2009, LG had it out on display for everyone to try, and I finally had a chance to see the Renoir in person.
LG Renoir
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)The LG Renoir looks and feels like most other LG touch-screen phones. The home screen has the four icons along the bottom, while the menu interface has the navigation icons along the right side. This interface is similar to the one on the LG Incite and the LG Glimmer. It's a really good-looking phone, with an intuitive touch interface that has vibrating haptic feedback.
But of course, what I really wanted to see was the camera. The camera features something called Touch Shot, which lets you tap something on the screen to auto focus on an object, and then when you lift your finger, a photo is automatically taken. As you can see in the video here, we also had a chance to see how the face detection and blink detection worked. If it notices a blink, the phone warns you that someone blinked, and you can then take the photo again. With the face detection, once there's a green square around someone's face, the screen will actually follow the person's face whenever he or she moves around. The video doesn't quite capture the coolness of it, but it's a taste of how the camera works.
LG Renoir's home screen
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)Though we didn't get a look at them, other camera features include a Beauty Shot, which removes imperfections and blemishes from the skin, and Art Shot, which adds photo effects like different color tones.
Other Renoir features include Wi-Fi, A-GPS, a camcorder that can take 120 frames per second (fps) of high speed video and turn it into a 5 fps time-lapse recording, support for XVid and DivX video codecs, and more. It's currently available in Asia and Europe only.
LG VX8360
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CBS Interactive)Earlier this week, we told you about the LG VX8360, the much-awaited update to the LG VX8350, which was one of our favorite Verizon phones from 2007. Well, the LG VX8360 finally made its first public appearance here at CES, and we had the opportunity to take a brief look at it.
The LG VX8360 is a midtier phone, which means it doesn't have the flash and style of LG's other feature phones, such as the LG Dare or the LG Lotus. However, that doesn't mean the VX8360 has nothing to offer. On the contrary, it offers up a slew of features, such as a 1.3-megapixel camera, VZ Navigator with A-GPS, EV-DO, stereo Bluetooth, and access to Verizon's broadband services like V Cast Music and V Cast Video.
The screen and keypad of the LG VX8360 when flipped open.
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CBS Interactive)The design itself is a tad more refined than the VX8350. It still has an oval clamshell design, but the music player controls are a bit larger and easier to press. Both of its external and internal displays look great, and though it looks quite ordinary, the keypad maintains that same tactile feel that we've come to love from the VX8350. The overall handset felt comfortable in the hand, and from our brief hands-on with the phone, it was easy to navigate as well.
The VX8360 is set to debut soon, although the exact date has not been released. It'll cost $50 from Verizon Wireless with a two-year service agreement.
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We've already seen the entry-level LG BD370, but now we've gotten a glimpse of the step-up Blu-ray player in LG's 2009 line-up: the BD390. The BD390 includes all of the features of its little brother--DVD upscaling, Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD audio, BD-Live/Profile 2.0 support, and the ability to stream online video from Netflix, YouTube, and CinemaNow. But it also adds some nice upgrades: built-in Wi-Fi (so you're not limited to wired Ethernet), 1GB of on-board memory (no need for a USB stick to access BD-Live features), and 7.1-channel analog outputs (maximum compatibility with older, non-HDMI AV receivers). Look for the BD390 to hit stores in June 2009. Pricing isn't official, but the player should sell for around $400 according to LG.
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LG's home theater announcements came fast and furious at CES. Streaming is big: The LH50 series of LG LCDs will stream Netflix and other broadband content; the BD370 Blu-ray player will stream Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube; and the LG LHB977 Blu-ray home theater system also will offer online content. Read the stories below for more home theater goodies from LG.
LG's 240Hz line flashes backlight really fast
LG clips wires on high-end LCD lineup
LG LHB977: Blu-ray home theater system streams online video, includes extra inputs
LG Blu-ray players stream Netflix, CinemaNow, and YouTube
LG LCDs offer Netflix streaming and other broadband goodies
LG launches LED-backlit trifecta
High-end LG plasmas fuse THX and Netflix
Flagship LG sails with LED, 240Hz and wireless
LG LHB979: LG's flagship 2009 home theater system includes a host of extras
LG's LHB954 combines spherical speakers with Blu-ray and online video options
The LG Watch Phone has a ton of features in its tiny body: a music player, Bluetooth, and even a camera.
(Credit: Nicole Lee/CNET)
Quite possibly one of the biggest buzzes at CES so far has been about the LG Watch Phone, which we reported on yesterday morning. It's no wonder; it fulfills every geek's fantasy while still satisfying the cool quotient with its sleek styling and touch-screen interface.
We had a sit-down with LG earlier today at its booth in the Central Hall, and got up close and personal with the phone. LG wouldn't let us touch it, but we did get a good look at how the transitions work between each tap of the finger. It looks quite intuitive, and the tempered glass on the surface apparently works as a capacitive touch screen, making it as easy to use as the one on the iPhone. We were surprised at how easy it seemed to dial numbers on the tiny dial pad, even though the screen only measures 1.43 inches diagonally. According to LG, texting will be done in a similar manner with a virtual T9 keypad.
We also had a brief look at the music player, and it seems pretty easy to use, too. The sound coming from the speakers on the watch is surprisingly loud, though we still would suggest using a Bluetooth headset of some kind (Taking calls on the speakerphone seems just short of dweeby). The watch phone supports stereo Bluetooth, so you can use that to listen to tunes. When asked how much storage was in the phone, we heard it was somewhere around 70MB, but that could change by the time the device launches. The charging pins are on the underside of the watch, which can then be connected to a charging connector. The strap can also be adjusted quite easily. On the right side of the watch are three buttons: the Talk, Clear, and End buttons, respectively.
And if that wasn't cool enough for you, the LG Watch Phone even has a camera. Yes, on the upper right corner of the phone is a tiny little camera that apparently will be used for video conferencing. No word on whether it's a megapixel camera or not, but even if it's VGA, we think that's incredibly James Bond.
The LG Watch Phone will be available in Europe later this year, but pricing is not yet known, and the company has no plans to bring it to the U.S. just yet. It'll be available in a range of colors, from black and silver to blue, red, and even pink. It'll have quad-band GSM and 3G/HSDPA. Check out the LG Watch Phone slide show for a closer look at it.
