Nissho intros 52-inch, glasses-free 3D TV in Japan

A relatively unknown company, Japan's Nissho Electronics, has just announced it will soon launch a 52-inch HDTV with a Dimenco Display glasses-free 3D screen. That screen also has the ability to convert 2D content to 3D in real time. The stereoscopic video coding 3D format used is called 2D-plus-Depth, or 2D+Z.

The BDL5231-3D2R's specs are modest compared to modern 2D sets and include a 2,000:1 contrast ratio, an 8ms pixel response time, a 60Hz refresh, and 700 nits of brightness. The set will not be coming to consumers, however, as it will be only sold to businesses. It's priced at the equivalent of $20,800 (1.7 million yen). US availability hasn't been confirmed.

Electronista

iPhone TV remote maker Peel lands $16.7m, vows new platforms

Peel began its week by getting a large $16.7 million round of financing. The creator of an iPhone TV remote add-on and independent iOS app planned to both get its "fruit" remote control bridge as well as expand to other platforms and more content sources. Most of the money would come from Lightspeed Venture Partners.

"Peel is the 21st century way to interface with TV," the venture capital firm's Ravi Mhatre said, noting that it both helps discover content and steer it on other devices. A fruit adapter can send input both to an expected device like the Apple TV but also cable and satellite boxes, Blu-ray players, receivers, and competing media hubs like a Roku Internet Player.

The hub is $99 and is already available at the Apple Store but has so far had little presence outside of the one online and retail chain.

Electronista

Westinghouse bringing new TVs to CES

HDTV maker Westinghouse will unveil a number of new LED HDTVs at this week's CES show. While technical details on all of them are unknown, some information has been gleaned about the flagship 46-inch LD-4655. The 1080p TV will sport a 120Hz panel with a 6.5ms response time and 3D noise reduction.

There will also be an inverse 3:2 pulldown for film content, all housed in a two-inch thick glossy black bezel. The set will weigh 38lbs. When running, the TV will draw 80W, and 1W in standby mode. The TV will meet Energy Star certification specs.


The LD-4655 will be offered in stores in January for $900

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Toshiba Sells 3-D TVs Without the Glasses

Toshiba began selling in Japan the world's first 3-D television that doesn't require the use of special glasses to view 3-D images.

The 12-inch TV sets hit store shelves Wednesday at 119,800 yen, roughly $1,400.

Many shoppers in Tokyo stopped by electronics stores to see the 3-D images for themselves, while mulling the price tags.

"A lot of the customers are curious about the quality of the 3-D images," said Hideki Kawase, a spokesperson for electronics retailer Labi in Shibuya. "They're stopping by to watch TV, but they're not buying just yet because of the cost."


Unlike 3-D TVs that create the illusion of depth by utilizing glasses which act as filters to separate images between each eye, Toshiba's screens use processing technology to produce the 3-D images.

The Regza GL1 allows users to view normal TV programs in 2D and 3-D.

Only the 12-inch version is available to customers now, but Toshiba plans to release its 20-inch model on Christmas day and a 40-inch model next year.

The relatively small TV models could deter some customers away from buying them, for now.

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Glasses-free 3D TV launches in Japan

Toshiba has launched in Japan what it calls the world's first 3D television that works without the need for special glasses.

According to AFP, the 12-inch liquid crystal display model from the Regza GL1 Series went on sale today at an electronics store in central Tokyo, priced at 119,800 yen (�904). A 20-inch model will be released on Saturday.

The set, first unveiled in October, uses similar technology to the forthcoming Nintendo 3DS handheld, creating nine overlapping images to produce the 3D pictures in real time.


Without wearing dedicated glasses, the viewer can see different images with each naked eye, which creates the illusion of depth required for a 3D picture.

Current 3D TV sets use either 'active' shutter glasses that deliver separate images to the left and right eyes, or 'passive' glasses, where the polarisation is handled on-screen.

Toshiba said that viewers using the new set should sit at an optimal position to clearly see the 3D images - 90cm away from the 20-inch set and 65cm from the 12-inch screen. The picture is also best viewed from a 40 degree "sweet spot" in front of the set.

Shoppers in Tokyo were curious about the new device, with one customer saying: "It's great that we don't have to wear glasses, which is a nuisance. But I didn't feel images were flying out of the screen on some programmes".

Toshiba sales official Eiichi Matsuzawa said that people currently think of 3D images as "just an add-on function", but the technology will eventually become "standard".

Also this week, Sky's director of TV product development Brian Lenz defended the firm's investment in 3D, after claims that the technology will never become mainstream.

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