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 HD Displays

LG Display thinks it can fix 3DTV with passive glasses & FPR

By Richard Lawler  posted Jan 5th 2011 5:16PM

So far 3DTV hasn't increased sales by as much as predicted, but LG Display thinks it can turn that around with three simple letters: FPR (branded Cinema 3D by its consumer arm earlier today.) Standing for Film Pattern Retarder, it places a thin film over the LCD (there's no plans for plasma products) that allows 3D viewing with cheap, passive polarized 3D glasses instead of expensive and heavier active shutter glasses. LG plans to stop manufacturing active shutter 3D displays soon. That will further open the door for FPR, due in April in the USA, to take over with a 4K2K display to arrive this year and plans for a OLED model in 2012. We took a tour through LG Display's house of active shutter horrors (as seen above, grammar aside) and sat in for the press conference, check the gallery for a few pictures plus more on what this means for 3D and a quick promotional video.

Ultimately, the tech demos reminded us more of the 60Hz vs. 120Hz vs. 240Hz motion demos TV manufacturers have used before, while the 3D picture on the comparison Samsung 3DTV with active glasses was jittery and full of crosstalk to a degree we'd never experienced before, FPR was moving free and easy. LG also looked to put to bed the assertion that FPR is not full HD because by its nature, each eye only receives 540 lines, instead of the usual 1080, stating that it's been certified full HD since the eyes do get a total of 1080.

We'll probably need a demo of live broadcast content to determine if there's a noticeable drop in res between the displays, as well as check out LG's claim that it causes no drop in brightness for 2D content. In the meantime, it's clear FPR will be everywhere in 2011 and LG sees the partners it supplies TV to like Vizio and Philips as behind the tech while retailers like Sam's Club and Wal-mart look forward to demo units they don't need to keep charged or worry about interference with. Will consumers appreciate the extra ease (and extra upfront cost) of passive 3D? We'll find out soon.