A Hands-On of LG's Cinema FPR 3D TV

Forza 3 in 3D on three displays, powered by three Xbox360s

The next stop was at the LG HQ in the city’s centre, where a short briefing of existing technologies and the LG FPR technology was given. We then headed down to the demonstration area. Most of the demonstration was emphasing the weight reduction of the glasses, the viewing angles and the cost reduction as far as glasses were concerned. Some of the 2D to 3D conversion features were also displayed.

In the middle of all the chaos

The day before, we were taken to a large gaming expo where professional gamers were battling it out in games of Starcraft 2, all being covered by large TV cameras in 3D. There were also Xbox 360 consoles setup all over the place with people experiencing 3D first hand.

What do we think of FPR?

The technology is definitely a big step up from existing 3D glass technology. There’s a noticeable improvement as far as reduction in the blurring and headaches are concerned. Viewing angles from what we noticed were excellent and there was no blurring or darkening while moving your head from one side to another. The glasses are lighter than the traditional glasses and that’s a good thing. The ultimate solution would be glassless televisions but they still have the problem of having to watch it from the centre as of now. Actual products aren't in the market as well. 

One of the 3D notebooks from LG

LG hasn’t given us a clear statement on how much cheaper the newer technology will be, but there shouldn’t be any major increase in cost. The new technology will make the glasses much more affordable. LG stated that they would supply at least two sets of glasses with each TV set. Other 3D solutions require a pair of active shutter glasses that cost as much as Rs. 5,000. The investment required to buy a 3D setup for a family will definitely reduce. LG also showed us some 2D to 3D conversation features which doesn't look as impressive as natively 3D content, but still makes things a little more exciting.

The technology is also going to make its way into other devices such as monitors and laptops. Monitors should be out within the next two months. LG has already started selling these new FPR technology 3D TV sets in some countries. It’ll be interesting to see the pricing on those products in India and we're looking forward to reviewing them before giving a final verdict on it. As far as the technology is concerned and how effective it is, it's a big step up.