Technology

Video companies are now optimistic that 3-D TV will be huge success this year. Last week Sony, Panasonic, LG, Toshiba, Mitsubishi and Samsung gaze into the big-screen 3-D TVs on display. The manufacturers are confident that consumers will come along for the 3-D ride sooner or later. The Consumer Electronics Association estimates that 4 million 3-D TV sets will be sold in 2010, most of them in the fourth quarter. To gain a clear understanding of what specifically defines a 3-D TV and what you need for a full experience. In order to display a full-frame image in 3-D, you need an extremely high frame rate, so usually the TV must be capable of a 240-Hz refresh rate. The TV also needs to support HDMI 1.4, the latest generation of HDMI, which will transmit the massive amount of data necessary to process and display 3-D images. Most 3-D TVs also include a transmitter that can synchronize with the 3-D glasses. The transmitter, usually in the middle of the TV, synchronizes with active-shutter glasses so that the glasses’ lenses show and hide the left and right images at the proper frequency (120 Hz for each eye). Pricing for these glasses has yet to be determined, but is probably in the $100 to $300 range. ESPN and Discovery have already established partnerships with Sony to create 3-D content. Panasonic says the TV will include one pair of 3-D glasses when it ships in spring. Mitsubishi\'s 3-D ready TVs are already shipping. Mitsubishi says as this model features technologies to improve noise reduction, sharpness and shadow details. LG\'s 3-D TV will allow you to watch 3-D without being in a pitch-dark room. Samsung showed off its extremely thin 3-D TVs, which measure only a third of an inch thin. This 3-D TVs also feature a proprietary 3-D engine that, like Toshiba\'s Cell TV, can convert 2-D video to 3-D.