At IFA, Samsung Unashamedly Calls Itself 3D TV Market Leader

Samsung forecasts it will sell more than 2 million 3D TVs worldwide before the end of 2010, Yoon said. Globally, the CE industry is in for a big boom in 3D TV sales this year, he said, citing a recent DisplaySearch decision to boost its global sales forecast to 3.4 million sets from 1.23 million in calendar 2010. Taking Yoon’s Samsung forecast and the DisplaySearch projection together would give Samsung roughly a 60 percent share of the global 3D TV unit volume in 2010.

In the first half through June 30, a third of all euros spent on TV in Europe went for Samsung sets, said Michael Zoeller, Samsung’s European marketing director for TV and AV products. From Samsung’s introduction of its first 3D TVs in March through the end of June, nine of every 10 3D TVs sold in Europe was a Samsung, Zoeller said. Without giving specifics, Zoeller said Samsung next week in the Netherlands will participate in the world’s first demonstration of terrestrial 3D broadcasts, presumably at the IBC 2010 conference Sept. 9-14 in Amsterdam.

In Europe, Samsung will add seven more 3D TV models to its lineup, giving it a total of 25 models, “by far the highest” assortment of any manufacturer, Zoeller said. They include the 65-inch C8000, billed as the world’s largest LED-backlit LCD TV with 3D capability. The C8000 will be available next month at about 6,000 euros, Samsung said. Among the many features built into the C8000 is its “best-in-class” 2D-to-3D conversion technology, Zoeller said. It seemed an odd categorization to praise conversion technology when critics like ESPN have warned manufacturers not to build conversion chips into their 3D TVs. -- Paul Gluckman

IFA Notebook

In an announcement from Luxembourg timed to coincide with IFA, but also to preview next week’s IBC 2010 conference in Amsterdam, SES Astra on Thursday announced what it called “a new initiative to support the introduction of 3D television in Europe.” It includes “a common understanding of the minimum technical specifications for the introduction of 3D television and broadcasting,” backed by public and private TV channels and several CE companies, it said, without identifying them. The announcement had been expected (CED March 19 p2). Initial satellite 3D transmissions will use either the side-by-side (for 1080i resolution) or top-bottom (for 720p resolution) formats, making them compatible with existing HD set-tops, it said. Free-to-air 3D services “will be signaled using mechanisms defined under an updated DVB standard, which will allow automatic switching of the display from 2D to 3D and from 3D to 2D broadcasts,” it said.

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"QPhones” is the name of a new line of AKG headphones endorsed by music great Quincy Jones, AKG parent Harman announced at an IFA news conference Thursday that Jones attended. Priced from 10 to 300 euros, the line will include “reference class” headphones, “high-performance” foldable mini-headphones and in-ear headphones. At the news conference, Jones hailed the 60 years of experience he has had working in the studio with AKG headphones and microphones and Harman’s JBL speakers. Harman’s PR staff before the show had trumpeted the Jones announcement as one of the most important in the company’s history. But Harman executives in Q-and-A seemed hard-pressed to explain how Jones had contributed to the headphones’ design or how, performance-wise, they will be differentiated at retail.

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Toshiba on Thursday became the latest major to announce a web portal for Internet TVs, but one not necessarily supported by other companies. The portal, called “Toshiba Places,” will start in France as a pilot project in Q4 and then roll out through unspecified new markets in 2011. The portal will let owners share content on Internet-enabled Toshiba devices, including a new Folio 100 tablet with 10.1-inch touch screen due for launch in Europe Q4. The Places portal will also offer access to Toshiba Marketplace for the purchase of premium entertainment or applications from a new Toshiba App Store. Responding to our question of how consumers will handle what is turning into a new standards battle over Internet TV portals, Thomas Teckentrup, Toshiba’s general manager for Europe, agreed that, “yes, standards help everyone and unlike some of the competing portals, Toshiba Places is an open standard that will be offered to other manufacturers.” It won’t be limited to Toshiba devices “because we know that people don’t just buy one brand of equipment,” he said. Toshiba is embracing 3D with two laptops that play Blu-ray 3D Discs and up converts 2D content to 3D, the company said. It plans standalone Blu-ray 3D players by Q4, it said. Toshiba will use next month’s CEATEC show in Makuhari, Japan, to show glasses-free 3D in small screen sizes, said Atsushi Murasawa, vice president of visual products at the company’s Tokyo headquarters. Meanwhile, a new Cell-microprocessor engine codenamed “CEVO” will be used first in 55-inch TVs next year, Toshiba said. It called CEVO the “next major step” in TV design, capable of 400 Hz motion, with two picture pre-settings for daylight and night viewing. CEVO also will pack “Intelligent 3D” compensation for 3D glasses’ loss of light, Toshiba said. CEVO will upscale broadcast 3D from the 960x1080 resolution that’s received to 1920x1080 in both left and right eyes, Toshiba said. CEVO also converts 2D to 3D by looking for depth clues such as loss of sharpness and color on more distant objects. Toshiba’s first 3D TV (without CEVO) will bow Q4 bundled with one pair of active-shutter glasses, the company said. -- BF

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"Without a doubt,” 3D TV is “one of the biggest topics here at IFA, and for good reason,” Pieter Nova, new CEO of Philips Consumer Lifestyle, said at a Thursday news conference. Nova, a former marketing executive at the cosmetics firm Nivea, said it was only his second day on the job. “Over the past year, we've seen 3D cinema film releases that have delivered a unique, immersive and entertaining experience,” Nova said. “Today, we see a unique combination of the right technology, the availability of content and genuine consumer demand. We believe now is the right time to make it easy for consumers to get a great 3D cinema experience at home.” Philips’ flagship 3D TV will be a 58-inch set it delivers this year in Europe in its familiar 21:9 aspect ratio, said Robert Smits, general manager for TV. Called the Cinema 21:9 Platinum, the set is “the only TV to deliver a true-to-life 3D experience just like at the cinema,” Smits said. The 21:9 aspect ratio means “movies can be seen without those annoying black bars at the top and bottom,” he said. Funai, which markets Philips-brand TVs in the U.S. under license from Philips, continues “to investigate options and speak with our customers,” spokeswoman Lindsay Woods said when asked if the 21:9 3D TV will be sold in the U.S. “We will continue to evaluate the market for such a product, but at this time there are not any firm plans to bring this new set to the U.S. this year,” Woods said.