Hyundai has launched its 46-inch LCD 3D TV. Badminton matches look so real playing on Hyundai’s new 3D TV that you may reflexively dodge the virtual shuttlecock. A polar bear pawing the glass of his tank may seem to be inside the TV pushing on the screen.
Hyundai is offering the 3D TV, currently in Japan only — the first product for watching the 3-D programs that cable stations in Japan now broadcast about four times a day.
However the 46-inch liquid-crystal display (LCD) requires 3D glasses; it’s expensive at $3,960, including two pairs of glasses, or about 25% more than a comparable regular LCD TV; and the only programmes available so far include just a few minutes of video from Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido, shots from the zoo, motorcycle-races and other short scenes.
Seen on regular TVs, 3D programmes split the screen vertically, so the same image appears in both the left and right halves. Conversely, wearing the 3D glasses while watching regular programming on the Hyundai 3D TV produces a slight 3D effect.
The TV uses stereoscopic technology called TriDef from DDD Group Plc in Santa Monica, California, which works by sending the same image separately for the left eye and right eye.
Samsung already sells 3D rear projection TVs in the U.S., but there are no 3D TV broadcasts in the United States. The technology is also available on desktop monitors and for video games.
Hyundai IT is hoping to boost its image by gaining a niche audience in Japan, where the TV market is dominated by Sony Corp. and Sharp Corp. The South Korean electronics maker’s 3D TV went on sale in April, but unit sales numbers weren’t available.
There is no plan to sell the TV overseas, said senior manager Kim Pyeng-joong.
