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SlashGear 101: What is 3D TV?
Smartphone Screens: How Big is Too Big?
SlashGear Week in Review – Week 14 2011

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 01:30 PM PDT

When it comes to home entertainment, 3D is the buzzword of 2011. Listen to what the manufacturers and retailers are saying, and you’d believe your living room simply isn’t up to scratch if it doesn’t have a 3D-capable set taking pride of place. SlashGear 101 goes back to basics to figure out exactly what 3D is, how it works in the home, and what considerations you’ll need to take into account if you want to join the third-dimension.

It’s those geeky red/blue glasses, right?

Not any more. Theater audiences decades ago were hooking flimsy cardboard glasses over their ears and settling in to watch cheap 3D movies, but the home technology has come on in leaps and bounds since then. The glasses themselves look more like a semi-fashionable pair of Oakleys than something you’d find free in a cereal box and, while the principles of 3D are the same, they don’t work in the same way.

3D content takes advantage of the fact that each of our eyes see things from a slightly different angle. Out in the real, naturally-3D world, those two angles are combined by the brain and so we get a 3D perspective; when you’re dealing with a flat, 2D display, you have to figure out some way of showing each eye a slightly different picture, preferably as close as possible to the same time.

Those cardboard specs – known as “anaglyph” glasses – did it by offsetting the red and blue colors of the movie slightly: the eye with the red lens couldn’t see the red part of the picture, and vice-versa with the blue lens. That meant two different views from one single onscreen image. Problem was, the colors got mangled in the process, and so film-makers could only use a limited palette.

Modern 3D TVs either use special passive (i.e. unpowered) or active (i.e. powered) glasses to create the 3D effect. Passive glasses use polarized lenses, like polarized sunglasses, which restrict the light reaching each eye; a filter layer over the TV splits the picture into the left and right eye channels, so that the brain gets two slightly different perspectives which it can combine into 3D.

Active glasses are more complex, with each lens being optically clear but in fact a sheet of liquid-crystal like a calculator display. Rather than the TV showing the left and right eye images simultaneously, as with passive 3D, it rapidly flips between the two images; at the same time, the glasses blank out the opposite eye, so that only one eye sees one image at a time. Basically, when the TV is showing what the right eye should see, the glasses make sure the left eye is obstructed. Thanks to the high speed that the images are switched, and that the active “shutter” glasses flick between the eyes, the brain actually sees a consistent picture from each rather than spotting the obstructions, and then builds those pictures into 3D.

What if I don’t want to wear glasses?

Doing away with 3D glasses – whether active or passive – is the holy grail for TV manufacturers. Usually known as “autostereoscopy” there are various methods by which it can be achieved, though none are really ready for a commercial launch in the living room.

Most common are “parallax barrier” and “lenticular”, both of which rely on a layer on top of the display to split the picture between the viewer’s eyes. The Nintendo 3DS, for instance, uses a parallax barrier system, where a layer with a series of slits is used to selectively block and frame different parts of the display for each eye to see. Lenticular systems, meanwhile, put a panel of tightly-packed lens rods in front of the display, splitting the light out to the viewer’s eyes.

The drawbacks of both systems are plentiful, but primarily it’s the limited “sweet spot” in which viewers must sit in order to see the 3D effect. In the Nintendo 3DS, for instance, the gamer’s eyes must be directly in front of the 3D screen; not so difficult when you’re working with a handheld console, but a different matter when you want a TV in your living room which multiple people can watch. Samsung and other manufacturers have developed large-scale glasses-free 3D prototypes, but the general consensus is that they won’t be ready for the market until they can support larger numbers of simultaneous viewers.

So what should I buy?

The choice between active and passive 3D comes, in part, down to cost. Passive glasses, because they have no electronic parts and merely rely on polarized lenses, are far cheaper; active glasses need batteries and to wirelessly synchronize to the TV they’re being used with (so they blank off each eye in correct time with the changing display), so tend to be more expensive. Most 3D TVs come with one set of glasses, but if you’re buying further pairs for the rest of the family, that can quickly get expensive.

There’s also the issue of compatibility, with active glasses from some brands not being usable with other manufacturers’ TVs. A universal standard is in development, but so far it’s a work-in-progress. Basically, the glasses you use with your 3D TV might not work with the 3D TV your friend chooses.

The nature of each technology also has its drawbacks. Because of the way passive 3D glasses work, with polarized lenses, you need to be looking at the TV straight-on or the effect won’t work. That means no lying down on the sofa and watching 3D at an angle. Active 3D glasses, meanwhile, can suffer from flickering problems with fast-moving films, sports and other content: that’s because the TV’s refresh rate – the speed at which the picture on-screen changes – is effectively halved since it’s having to show two image for each single frame (one for each eye).

In practice, the viewer limitations of passive glasses and the general improvement in TV refresh rates mean that active glasses are the best way forward for most living rooms. Still, it’s worth trying both systems in-store before you buy, since some people find the active 3D flicker issue more frustrating than others. A future SlashGear 101 buyer’s guide will look at which 3D TVs should be on your shortlist.

Okay, so what can I watch?

A 3D TV is only half of the story: you also need content to watch on it. Right now that’s limited, primarily because 3D films and shows are only appealing the minority subset of those who have upgraded to a compatible TV. In the US, DirecTV offers three channels with 3D content, including ESPN 3D, while Comcast plans to offer it in June this year alongside its “3D Events” channel of occasional programming. In the UK, satellite provider Sky offers the Sky 3D channel.

Pre-recorded 3D content is easier to find, and usually involves a 3D-capable Blu-ray player. An increasing number of titles, such as Avatar, are being released on Blu-ray in 3D versions. Meanwhile, Samsung and others plan to launch 3D video-on-demand services – which allow you to buy or rent digital 3D content, downloaded through your internet connection – over the coming months and years.

As for creating your own 3D content, manufacturers are gradually introducing 3D camcorders which will allow you to capture family memories in three-dimensions. In a future SlashGear 101 we’ll run down the 3D options open for the home videographer.

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Smartphone Screens: How Big is Too Big?

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 09:37 AM PDT

I head up the Consumer Devices group at Current Analysis, where we have two complementary products: data – we track product pricing, availability, and specs – and analysis – our assessment on how competitive various products and initiatives are. I recently had a client ask a question that crossed both: how many smartphones today have super-sized screens, and how big is too big? (I warned them that the answer would make a great SlashGear column.)

The data answer is simple: 13% of the smartphones at the four national carriers in the U.S. have screens 4" or larger.

The analytical answer is a bit more complicated.

When discussing screen sizes, I don't think you can ignore the elephant in the room – Apple – which limits its product line and does a lot of thinking and experimenting before launching anything. Apple believes that 3.5" is the perfect screen size, and they've sold over 100 million iPhones with that screen size, so it's hard to argue that they're widely off the mark. But I will say that as long as you keep the dimensions small with minimal bezel and a thin case I think you can comfortably go to 3.7" without any negative impact on holdability whatsoever. If you asked me what the ideal screen would be, a high pixel density 3.7" display would be it.

Screen sizes of 4" – 4.3" push the limit of what is comfortable to hold — and cross that line for many consumers. While this size is too big for some users, it does appeal to people looking for the biggest possible screen. There can also be retail marketing benefits to this screen size: these devices stand out on the shelf, and poorly trained retail sales staff often gravitate to them as hero devices (even if smaller screened devices are more technically sophisticated).

With this size display, case thickness and tapering matter as much as the display size itself: HTC's 4.3" Thunderbolt and Samsung's 4" EPIC 4G (which has a sliding QWERTY) are both bulky, while the 4" Sony Ericsson XPERIA X10 is quite manageable.

Above 4.3" is too big. I have seen a phone with a 4.5" display in an exceptionally thin case that almost works, and the retail marketing bump it will get is probably significant. However, its size excludes half the population (how many woman will want to carry a phone that large?) so I would consider it a niche size at best.

The 5" devices I've used are not only too big, they are also too small. Once you get beyond the 4 – 4.25" size, the promise is that you'll get a better browsing experience. But browsing doesn't really get better until you hit at least 7", and you need to get to 9" before you can comfortably see a whole page without scrolling (or squinting) in portrait orientation.

Devices with a 5" display are not just uncomfortable to hold to your face as a phone, they make you look a bit ridiculous when doing it. However, 5" does offer a significantly better media and navigation experience than 4", so dedicated GPS devices with 5" screens make a lot of sense. For example, Samsung's 5" Galaxy Player (which I played with recently) could make a lot of sense if Samsung makes it easy to get movies and TV on the device.

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SlashGear Week in Review – Week 14 2011

Posted: 03 Apr 2011 06:28 AM PDT

Welcome to another edition of the SlashGear Week in Review! Let’s get right into it. Early in the week Amazon rolled out its Appstore test drive feature. The feature allows you to test out some of the apps available on the store on a virtual Android device for 30 minutes. A Montana Radio Shack store is offering a wild deal for people that sign up to have new service installed. The store will give a gift certificate for a 380 handgun or a shotgun to those that purchase service.

Sony Ericsson announced that it was going to offer up a new Android bootloader unlock tool. The catch is that the tool will only be offered for certain handsets in its 2011 lineup. We went hands on with the Nokia C7 Astound for the T-Mobile network early in the week. The phone is small and for now all you get is some light impressions with a full review coming soon.

We put up a review of the HTC Desire S, which is the follow up to one of the most popular Android phones of 2010. The phone is reliable and with well-made software that will be another HTC bestseller for sure. The Samsung WiFi only Galaxy tab got an official price and date. The tablet will landed on March 31 for the equivalent of $477 on Amazon UK. European regulations announced early in the week that some episodes of the cartoon The Simpsons would be editied for content. The shows with references to nuclear accidents and radiation are being cut.

An awesome underwater dome that reminds me a lot of Bioshock that is 100-years old turned up in images. The dome is under a lake in Witley Park in the UK and is part of an old mansion that was built by J. Whitaker Wright. Windows Phone has been tipped to get an update that will bring NFC payments to the device. This is no surprise given all the focus some big companies are putting on NFC payments over the last few months.

We spent some time putting together an first impressions video of the Asus Eee Pad Transformer for you to check out mid-week. We found a lot to like and will be offering up the full verdict on the device in a few weeks. The Eee Pad Transformer and the Eee Slate EP121 also both had their official price and launch date announced. The Transformer will sell for the equivalent of $688 on April 6 with the slate landing on April 10 for the equivalent of $1602. Tesla announced that it was suing BBC and Top Gear over a test the Top Gear crew did on the Tesla Roadster. The Top Gear crew claims the Roadster ran out of power after 55 miles and had to be pushed while Tesla claims the batteries were still charged and working.

A guy made a DIY slingshot later in the week that doesn't shoot rocks or BB’s. This slingshot shoots machetes and is sure to cause the loss of a finger or two at some point. An awesome item perfect for coffee drinkers turned up on Thursday called Coffee Joulies. They are silver coffee beans with some polymer inside that melts to absorb heat from coffee that is too hot and then puts that heat back into the drink to keep it warm.

Chris put up his skeptics review of the iPad 2. Chris figures he can respect the iPad 2, but finds it hard to love. We reviewd the Sony Xperia Play smartphone late in the week. The phone doesn’t deliver the knockout punch that would have made Sony’s day and the device lacks the polished experience we wanted to see.

A doctor took his robotic surgical tool and used it to make tiny paper airplanes. The doc did this to show how much dexterity and control the tools have and they are impressive. A dude took a phone book and crammed it into the port of his massive car stereo where the air is displaced. The air was powerful enough to blow pages out of the phone book.

We rounded up all the wacky April Fools products that surfaced on Friday. We always see some crazy gear this time of year and on occasion, some of the crazy gear actually turns into products. Sony CEO Howard Stinger let slip that Apple is buying “it's best sensors” from Sony. Presumably that means that the iPhone 5 will be using the 8MP sensor that Sony makes.

The stock of the iPad 2 in stores may improve with Apple adding a new display panel provider. Apple has AU Optronics making the IPS screens of the tablet now too. That’s all for this week’s edition, see you next time!

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Minggu, 03 April 2011