Hands-on with LGs FPR 3DTVs at Seoul

What's the main reason current 3DTV's haven't really caught on? The high price, expensive glasses that need to be charged and of course the very annoying flicker that's inherently present despite televisions having really high refresh rates.

We've tried the 3D implementation of all major manufactures like LG, Samsung, Sony and Panasonic but all of them have the same flickering issue as well as some amount of cross-talk in the picture giving you a double image. This not only strains your eye but is also very distracting.

The soon to be launched LW650S with FPR 3D

If you noticed there wasn't a big hoopla about 3DTVs at this year's CES, as everyone turned their attention to tablets. LG on the other hand have been quietly preparing their second generation 3DTVs which they call Cinema 3D. This new lineup which should launch in India at the end of April or early May is based on their proprietary FPR or Film Patterned Retarder technology.

This technology makes use of a polarized film on the TVs panel which splits the video frame into interlaced pieces. Then with the help of polarized glasses, each eye gets either the even or odd lines of the interlaced picture, which ultimately combines to give you the full resolution picture. This is somewhat similar to the effect you get in movie theatres like IMAX using passive glasses, hence the name 'Cinema 3D'.  

LG has currently tapped out three models so far, LW6500, LW5700 and LW5500. All of them will have 2D to 3D conversion feature, backlighting will mostly be Edge-LED, although they could have full array as well in the future, DLNA and WiFi ready, DivX Plus HD support through USB, 3D Light Boost technology and Intertek and TUV certified panels.

Compared to Shutter Glasses we can draw some clear advantages of FPR;

• Cheaper glasses: Compared to the pricing of shutter glasses, which is roughly 6K a pop, passive glasses are much cheaper to produce since it's just a plastic frame with the polarized lens. This means in a country like ours where the average family size constitutes of five members, there wouldn't be fights over who gets to wear the glasses.

• No more charging required: Since there aren't any LCDs present there is no need for a battery, which means they can be lighter and there's no need to charge them.

• Brighter image: Finally, the resulting 3D image is considerably brighter with very little loss in color accuracy. The picture dims a lot less, so it's almost like watching it without any glasses.

Our take on FPR

Our first impression of FPR was very positive to say the least. We had a chance to get a hands-on experience with FPR at LG Display's HQ in Seoul, South Korea. Other than their television lineup, LG will also be launching FPR based 3D monitors in India, although we weren't able to get a confirmation as to when this will happen. The 3D videos being demoed at their HQ were nothing short of impressive. First of all, the colors were really bright and vivid, as the polarized glasses don't dim the picture as much as shutter glasses do.

LG's Smart TVs will come with a selection of internet apps and other multimedia features that can be controlled with the motion based remote.

The viewing angles were also a lot better, as moving from side to side didn't distort the image a great deal. This is ideal when there are many people viewing the TV. Crosstalk was almost non-existent although some videos did have a bit here and there, but then again you have to really look for it to spot it. LG also had standard shutter glasses based TVs to point out the difference and despite their attempt to cover up the name of their competitor, it was a bit obvious it was from the Samsung 7000 series line up. Still, the same video on FPR looked a lot better as compared to the one on the Samsung. The Samsung had lots of Crosstalk and the video was noticeably dimmer.

LG also had a few of their X-Note notebooks on display in all its FPR goodness. Sadly, there are no plans as of now to bring these notebooks in India. It's a shame really as just a few years back LG had some really good offerings in India and we hope they do launch at least some models here if not all.

Finally we got to see one of their FPR projectors in action. The 3D rendition of the Polar Express was projected on what looked like a 300" screen. The room was obviously darkened for the best effect and the 3D looked just as good as it does in a movie theatre. More than depth, things popped out of the screen quite a bit which gave quite a good sense of immersion. 

We also got a chance to visit their factory in Paju, which is an hour's drive from Seoul. The Paju Display Cluster is a massive expanse that encompasses the Paju LCD Complex, which is another labyrinth in itself. In here there are different plants that manufacture a particular size of TFT, so we were in P7 which has the seventh generation plant (or Gen 7 as they call it) that has the capacity to manufacture glass substrates for the TFT base up to 76.8-inch x 88.6-inch in size. This means a single TFT sheet can be used to manufacture either eight 42-inch TVs or six 47-inch TVs. The Paju display cluster is also home to about 15,000 employees as well as dormitories that can house up to 5700 employees.

However, we weren't able to snap any pictures of the assembly line but it was impressive. Even though we got to see a part of the assembly, the entire place was sealed off and we could only see it from the observation deck. Just like the fabrication of processors and other microchips, no level of dust or any materials should gain entry. All the machinery is monitored and controlled remotely and the only people allowed in are the maintenance staff who have to wear hazmat suits at all times when inside.

LG launched the Cinema 3D TVs in March in S.Korea and the general public seem to have embraced this new technology with open arms. In order to promote FPR, LG had setup a massive exhibition at Lotte World, which is a huge recreation complex in the heart of Seoul that includes the world's largest indoor theme park. This was certainly one of those 'see-it-to-believe-it' moments as the scale of the park was nothing short of amazing. In the arena below, LG had set up their FPR exhibition with 3DTVs and monitors everywhere hooked up to PCs and consoles. We'll let the pictures do the talking.

Conclusion
FPR is a definite improvement over conventional shutter glasses and you don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out. The advantages are pretty clear; higher brightness, crisper images, better 3D effects, less Crosstalk and ultimately efficient to manufacture, which translates to better pricing for us end users.

As of now, this technology is only being used by LG, so again it is proprietary and for it to become mainstream other manufactures need to adopt FPR as well. We recently heard that Vizio, Toshiba and Philips have adopted passive polarized 3DTVs, so LG does have some company. On the other hand Sony and Samsung are two big guns that are still sticking with shutter glasses for now, unless Samsung comes up with something of their own.

Another factor to consider is that the existing 3D content is tailored for shutter glasses, which means the video frames is placed in a Side-by-side, up-down, pattern, which is selected depending on the TV. It will be interesting to see how this works on FPR. Games are easier since they have a single frame which is then manipulated depending on the type of 3D being used. All said and done, we can't wait for these new sets to arrive on our shores. No details on the pricing as of now, but being LG we know it will be competitive for sure. 2011 may very well be the year for wider acceptance of 3DTVs, what say you?