3D/2D Displays that support 3D & 2D & 24p at multiplies of the original frame rate

[HDTV1080P]

A summary of the Cinema quality 3-D 144Hz projectors and the line drop issue

Stacking two projectors together is ideal for the best true 1080P 3-D quality at home, but it also doubles the cost since the consumer is required to purchase two projectors to get that IMAX 3-D type setup that offers 24Hz for each eye without the need to triple flash (Or 72Hz for each eye for lower cost projectors). So most consumers that are interested in 3-D are going to want a single projector setup since it is half the price. The 144Hz feature on projectors is an important feature for those consumers that want a flicker free 3-D experience that matches the frame rate of the commercial movie theater.

In the past the Cinema quality frame rates list that is located at the beginning of this long thread of posts has always had a policy to only list displays that offer a minimum of 1080P quality for each eye without any exceptions. When I first learned that most likely every consumer 144Hz projector on the market is below 1080P quality when the 144Hz mode is active, I was about ready to remove every single 144Hz projector model from the list. What stopped me from doing so is that I learned that even on some of the 2K 144Hz projectors that are located in the commercial movie theaters; also have this hardware bandwidth limitation because of the DMD loading sequencing and the Texas Instruments based hardware. Only some 2K 144Hz projectors in the commercial movie theaters (Theatre Chains) that are using a different DMD loading sequence, do not have this bandwidth restriction and display the full 2048 x 1080P for each eye. Therefore, since this line drop issue also occurs in some commercial movie theaters, I decided to make an exception to the 1080P for each eye requirement and include all the 144Hz projectors on the list. The current price range for 144Hz single projector setups is between $15,000-$165,000+. The $165,000 being the starting price for the SIM2 4K 144Hz model. The line drop issue so far on consumer 144Hz projectors is between 24-76 lines depending on the brand and model number. Historically the higher priced 144Hz projectors like the Titan series and Lightning series drops only 24 lines where as the cheapest 144Hz projector which is the Runco X-200i drops 76 lines. What this means is that consumers that want to get that flicker free 144Hz Cinema quality frame rates when using a single projector will need to compromise a little in resolution detail. The resolution will be more then 720P but slightly lower than 1080P for each eye. For some consumers their human eyes might not even be able to detect the difference between 1080P and 1004P (76 lines is currently the maximum that is lost on the cheapest 144Hz projector). Historically the cheaper the projector the more lines that are dropped. What concerns me is that one day some consumer electronics company might make a $10,000, $5,000, or even a under $1,000 144Hz 3-D projector that drops 200-300+ lines. If in the future an under $1,000 144Hz projector is made and that projector drops 361 lines (or 362 lines to maintain an even amount of lines dropped), then that low quality 144Hz projector would not even be HD quality anymore since the amount of lines dropped would be below 720P quality. Then a company that has made a under $1,000 projector might not mention that there is a resolution lost at 144Hz (many new 3-D projectors in the future might even have their 48Hz frame rate multiplies locked at 144Hz with no option to do 96Hz or 120Hz). Ethically all companies that make 144Hz projectors, should follow in Digital Projections and Runco’s footsteps and mention exactly the amount of lines that are dropped in the owner’s manuals. Personally if I ever see a 144Hz projector that drops around 361-362 lines I will not be adding it to the list since it will be below 720P HD quality.

The consumer electronics industry in the future needs to have their engineers design new 144Hz 3-D 1080P and 144Hz 3-D 4K projectors that do not have any bandwidth limitations. They should start by making consumer 3-chip DLP projectors with no bandwidth restrictions and then work on making single chip DLP projectors with no bandwidth restrictions. One of the consumer electronics companies I communicated with mentioned that they do have a long term goal to improve the DMD loading sequence and improve on the hardware DMD chipset design that would result in less lines or no lines lost at 144Hz. Therefore, one day hopefully we will see 144Hz projector models with no resolution loss. Then consumers can have both flicker free high quality 3-D and 1080P quality for each eye by using just one 144Hz projector. My dream is that one day all new 144Hz 3-D consumer projectors will be a minimum of 1080P quality for each eye when the 144Hz mode is active.

In the commercial theaters all the 3-D movies are being shown at 2K quality currently, that will soon be changing since newer IMAX 3-D theaters are now being installed with two 4K Christine projectors. Soon native 4K 3-D movies will be shown in commercial movie theaters. It may take up to 10 years or so before consumers see 3-D 4K movies at home (unless the new 4K QUAD HD optical format in 2016+ offers support for 4K 3-D, then 4K 3-D will arrive sooner in the home). I would like to see Sony or JVC come out with a 4K LCOS projector for the home that offers a special dual lens adapter that would show 2K 3-D movies at home with 24Hz for each eye. Sony uses 4K projectors in the commercial theaters with REALD 3-D dual lens adapter system that allows true 3-D at 2K quality. The Sony REALD 3-D lens adapter system works similar to IMAX 3-D since it turns the single projector into a dual light source projector with each eye seeing a separate 24Hz image on the screen without the need to triple flash. Both Sony and JVC could even develop a cheaper 4K projector that operated at 144Hz or 192Hz. With a special 3-D lens adapter attached to a lower cost 4K projector consumers could then see 3-D at 2K quality with either 72Hz for each eye or 96Hz for each eye. In addition, I hope 144Hz and 192Hz LCOS projectors would not have a bandwidth limitation that drops lines. Also a 144Hz or 192Hz 3-D plasma and LCD screen would be ideal as long as no bandwidth limitation exists. The 1080P 144Hz and 192Hz plasmas could use active glasses and the QUAD HD plasmas could use passive glasses. Currently only dual projector setups and single projector setups offer Cinema quality frame rates (hopefully some flat panels will also be released with Cinema quality frame rates). Consumers are just starting to see lower cost 1080P 3-D projectors that offer the 144Hz feature for $15,000 instead of the typical $50,000+ price. However now the consumer electronics industry is moving to QUAD HD displays, QUAD HD A/V receivers, and possible by 2016+ a new QUAD HD optical format. Some consumers instead of paying big money for a 1080P 3-D projector now might decide and wait 3+ years for newer 4K QUAD HD models. The cheapest and currently only 144Hz 3-D 4K projector on the list is the SIM2 CINEMAQUATTRO with a starting price of $165,000. The Runco X-200i 1004P 144Hz 3-D Projector at $15,000 is a lot more affordable for the average consumer.

Only when watching 1:78:1 aspect ratio 3-D movies will visible lines be dropped on a 144Hz projector

Some consumers are purchasing LCD flat panel 1080P screens that only offer 540P for each eye with passive 3-D glasses. 540P is way below the 720P HD quality. So far, the maximum amount of lines that are dropped in a 144Hz 3-D projector is 76 lines (1004P for each eye). This line drop issue most likely is a minor issue for some because it might be hard for the human eye to see the difference between 1080P and 1004P.

The negative thing about both the 2-D and 3-D Blu-ray format is that the resolution of a 2:35:1 source image is only 1920 X 817P instead of 2560 X 1080P (640 x 263P is lost in the black bars on the Blu-ray format since there is no anamorphic CinemaWide feature in the Blu-ray specs). So this means that on every 2:35:1 Blu-ray movie that is played on any 1080P HD display, one is really only seeing 817P quality since a total of 263P vertical lines are lost at the top and bottom where the black bars are located. The Blu-ray format spec does not support native 2560 X 1080P resolution and it does not support anamorphic Widescreen for CinemaWide displays. Therefore, this means that the line drop issue on a 144Hz 3-D projector is only going to occur on a 1:78:1 aspect ratio frame packed Blu-ray 3-D movie. For example on a 2:35:1 or 2:40:1 aspect ratio Blu-ray 3-D movie there will be no visible lines dropped since the lines that will be dropped will be in the area on the screen where the black bars are located. However more and more 3-D movies are being made at 1:78:1 since some 3-D experts feel that that ratio has a better 3-D experience. So the line drop issue becomes important for those 1:78:1 3-D movies but a non issue at other aspect ratios since only a maximum of 76 lines are dropped where the black bars are located.

[HDTV1080P]

Two new 55 inch OLED displays to choose from in the United States

Both LG and Samsung now have a 55-inch OLED display for sell in the United States. The 2013 LG model costs $15,000 and the 2013 Samsung model costs $9,000. In theory, one or both of these new displays might have an overall better picture quality when compared to the reference 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD that use to sell for $7,000. I hope to see a Home Theater magazine review or other professional review in the future that compares the LG OLED , Samsung OLED, and Pioneer plasma to each other. Perhaps after 5 years Pioneer might finally lose its place as being used as a reference display when comparing all other high-end flat panel screens.

LG Debuts OLED TV At Best Buy's Magnolia Design Center

Samsung Electronics formally introduced its first 55-inch curved OLED in USA

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This new 2013 SIM2 Superlumis 3D projector uses 144Hz TripleFlash technology and will soon be added to the list. I am waiting for the official SIM2 website to be updated since only the 2012 models are currently listed.

Quote from Twice

“SIM2 is calling the Superlumis “its new benchmark,” offering a three-chip (three 0.95-inch DC4 digital micro mirror devices) DLP light engine, 3D capability using 144Hz TripleFlash technology, SIM2 DynamicBlack technology, 30,000:1 contrast ratio (with DynamicBlack and EC lens type in 2D), Perfect Fit feature, which displays 2.35/2.40:1 aspect ratio video material by resizing the image to fill the screen without an anamorphic lens, and up to 5,000 ANSI lumens brightness with an HB lens type or up to 3,800 ANSI lumens with an EC lens type. The Superlumis carries a $60,000 suggested retail price and is available immediately."

http://www.twice.com/articletype/news/sim2-unveil-superlumis-3d-projector/108048

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Digital Projections new Mercury series 144Hz 3-D projectors have been added to the list

Dual Projector setup info

** IMAX 3-D style picture quality occurs when two Mercury series projectors are stacked together. Each eye sees a full 1080P quality with 24Hz for each eye with no need to triple flash **

Single Projector setup info

** The 144Hz 3-D Mercury series projectors can be configured for a REALD 3-D passive or XpanD 3-D active system **

** Both passive and active glasses on the Mercury series offer full 1080P quality for each eye at 96Hz and 1056P quality for each eye at 144Hz (144Hz flicker free Cinema quality mode). **

It is my understanding that the new Mercury series projectors use the same chipset and similar hardware as the Titan series projectors. The Mercury series projectors are using the 3-Chip DLP DarkChip DMD. The 1920 x 1080P model uses the 0.95 DarkChip DMD chipset and the 1920 X 1200P model uses the 0.96 DarkChip DMD chipset. When 2-D 1080p/24 material is received by the Mercury series projectors, the Mercury series projectors will output 1080p/24 at 24Hz without the need to triple flash. Also in theory it is my understanding that the Mercury series projectors will only drop 24 lines when in the flicker free 144Hz mode (Even some of the 2K projectors that are used in the commercial movie theaters drop a small amount of lines at 144Hz due to a hardware bandwidth limitation). So the Mercury series projectors will display 1056P quality for each eye when the 144Hz triple flash mode is activated when watching a Blu-ray 3-D frame packed movie. Also the Mercury 930 series projectors have HDBaseT input that allows A/V receivers like the Pioneer Elite SC-79 to be connected up to 100 meters away when using CAT7A, CAT7,CAT6A, and other network cables (HDBaseT offers the exact same uncompressed bit for bit video quality as HDMI). The Mercury 930 series also has two HDMI 1.4 inputs and various other connections.

Digital Projection Mercury 930 WUXGA 3D (114-339) (144Hz for 3-D 48Hz sources, 24Hz for 2-D 24Hz sources) (1920 x 1200P model)

Digital Projection Mercury 930 1080p 3D (114-338) (144Hz for 3-D 48Hz sources, 24Hz for 2-D 24Hz sources)

[HDTV1080P]

Digital Projections Mercury series 144Hz 3-D projectors (update)

The 1200p Digital Projection Mercury 930 WUXGA 3D (114-339) list price is around $60,000. The 1080p Digital Projection Mercury 930 1080p 3D (114-338) list price is around $55,000 (prices do not include the lens). When 2-D 1080p/24 material is received by the Mercury series projectors, the Mercury series projectors will output 1080p/24 at 24Hz without the need to triple flash (flicker free). The Mercury series can be configured to operate at a full 1080P quality for each eye using passive or active glasses. Active glasses do not require any special screen. However, a passive glasses system requires a silver screen to retain the polarization. Some people prefer circular polarization so that they can tilt their head if they want. The suppliers for some of these devices are XpanD, ReaD, and Depth-Q. To see the full 1080P quality for each eye the Mercury series projectors needs to be setup to double flash the Blu-ray frame packed 3-D image at 96Hz. The problem with 96Hz is that 50% of people see flicker with a reduced overall 3-D quality. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that one use the flicker free 144Hz triple flash setting on the Mercury series of projectors to match the exact same frame rate that is used in commercial movie theaters. However there is only one negative to the 144Hz setting for 3-D, each eye ends up only seeing 1056P lines of resolution instead of 1080P for each eye. The reason for this is that the Mercury series have a hardware bandwidth limitation when it comes to the DMD loading sequence and the Texas Instruments based hardware. Even on some of the 2K 144Hz 3-D projectors used in commercial movie theaters there is also a bandwidth limitation that results in a small amount of lines being dropped.

Some select quotes from Digital Projection INC email conversation

“1)It is my understanding that the Mercury series will have selectable frame rate multiplication as the Titan does. (X1, X2, and X3).

2)When 2D 1080p@24 source material is presented to the Mercury, it should display it in a flicker free 24Hz manner.

3)We expect the same resolution compromises with the Mercury as we currently have with the Titan when the refresh rate is 144Hz.

4)According to the information I am getting, the “list” price of the Mercury 1080p will be about $55,000 and the WUXGA will be about $60,000. This price does not include the lens.”

[HDTV1080P]

HomeTheater.com Is Now SoundandVision.com

Home Theater magazine has merged with Sound and Vision magazine. Over the years with the popularity of the Internet, more and more professional video magazines keep disappearing. Several years ago there was the Perfect Vision magazine, Ultimate A/V magazine, and several other video magazines. Now in the United States the two main video magazines to choose from are Sound and Vision and Widescreen Review.

All the old Home Theater magazine reviews have been moved to the Sound and Vision Magazine website after the merger. So all the Home Theater magazine review links still work since the traffic is redirected to the correct review on the Sound and Vision magazine website.

Click here to read more information about Home Theater magazine merging with Sound and Vision magazine.

[HDTV1080P]

Panasonic TC-P65VT60 3D Plasma HDTV (Sound and Vision magazine review)





96Hz mode better handles 1080p/24 (48Hz mode has image flicker)





No Cinema quality 144Hz or 192Hz 3-D mode

The 2013 Panasonic TC-P65VT60 has a 2-D picture quality that is closer in performance to the 5 year old reference 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD 60 inch plasma. The Panasonic VT60 series has a 48Hz setting that produces image flicker for 2-D 1080/24 material, so most consumers use the 96Hz setting which is flicker free according to most reviews. The VT60 series 3-D quality is not as bright compared to other flat panel technologies. Since there is no 144Hz mode or 192Hz mode for 3-D frame packed Blu-ray movies offered on the VT60, the VT60 series will not be added to the list (currently only Front Projectors are on the Digital Cinema 3-D list and no flat panel screens qualify yet).

The following are select word for word quotes from the Sound and Vision magazine review on the Panasonic VT60 series

“With performance nearly identical to the flagship ZT60 series, Panasonic’s VT60 offers state-of-the-art image quality at a more affordable price.”


“The VT60’s blacks were inky-deep, and (with rare exceptions) every bit as impressive as the blacks on the ZT60. The only difference I noticed was that the ZT60 sometimes had a little more pop than the VT60 even in the darkened room I use for my evaluations—likely because it is more resistant to reflections not only from the room but also within the panel itself. A bright area in an otherwise dark image, for example, might produce a slight diffusion of light in the space between the pixel panel and the front glass. As noted above, the VT60 has such a space, while the ZT60 and the Pioneer Kuros do not.”


“As for the VT60 versus the ZT60, the choice will depend largely on your budget. I marginally prefer the ZT60—it’s crisper looking, with a bit more pop in mixed light and dark scenes.”

** Click here to read the complete Sound and Vision magazine review **

[HDTV1080P]

Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 3D Plasma HDTV (Sound and Vision magazine review)

** Awesome 2-D picture quality on the Panasonic 2013 ZT60 series matches the picture quality of a 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD **




96Hz mode better handles 1080p/24 (48Hz mode has image flicker)





No Cinema quality 144Hz or 192Hz 3-D mode

The Pioneer PRO-141FD was released in the 4th quarter of 2008 and went out of production in April of 2009. This makes the Pioneer PRO-141FD either 4 or 5 years old depending on when it was assembled in the United States. Finally according to Sound and Vision magazine and CNET, Panasonic 5 years later for the very first time in history has at the very minimum matched the 2-D picture quality of the 2008 model Pioneer plasmas that went out of production in April of 2009 with its new 2013 ZT60 series plasmas. The Panasonic ZT60 series is at least 50% cheaper compared to the Pioneer Elite Signature series. For example the 60 inch 2008 Pioneer Elite PRO-141FD list price is $7,000 + $400 for the required table top stand. The 60 inch 2013 Panasonic TC-P60ZT60 list price is only $3,499.99 with the table top stand. The 65 inch 2013 Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 list price is only $4,099.99. If OLED displays did not exist (in reality they do exist and are the best), then if my Pioneer plasma were to break then I would replace it with a 2013 Panasonic ZT60 series so that the overall 2-D image quality would be about the same as I currently have been experiencing since early 2009 with the Pioneer Kuro.

Panasonic needs to keep improving on its plasma displays every year to make the picture quality even better

** Next year hopefully the 2014 ZT plasma series might clearly beat the Pioneer plasma picture quality in terms of black levels, and overall picture quality instead of just matching the quality. Improving the 2-D and 3-D picture quality even more would cause some Pioneer plasma owners to upgrade their displays to a Panasonic plasma **

There are still negatives about the Panasonic ZT60 and VT60 series. For example the ZT60 and VT60 series only has 3 HDMI inputs compared to 4 HDMI inputs found on the Pioneer PRO-141FD. Most other modern flat panels have 4 HDMI inputs. Also the Pioneer plasmas support PAL/SECAM video signals where there is no mention of PAL/SECAM support in the Panasonic ZT60 owners manual. It’s amazing that a 5 year old Pioneer display has the same black level after several thousands of hours of use, since the build quality in the Pioneers are excellent. Panasonic in the past had problems with some plasma displays black levels fading after a short period of time. Only time will tell if the top of the line 2013 Panasonic ZT60 series has fixed the fading black level issue.

Also the ZT60 series still has the 48Hz setting for 2-D 1080p/24 material that causes a flicker issue (All future Panasonic plasma models starting in 2014 should get rid of the 48Hz setting because most professionals agree that mode is basically unusable because of the flicker issue. It’s a negative feature that should not be offered). The work around to the problem is to disable the 48Hz setting and place the ZT60 series in the 96Hz mode. Then the ZT60 series will properly display 2-D video based material at 60Hz and 2-D 1080p/24 material at 96Hz. 96Hz according to most reviews is flicker free when watching 2-D material. Another issue is that Panasonic should develop either a 144Hz triple flash 3-D mode or 192Hz quad flash mode in order to offer Cinema quality 3-D frame rates. Currently the 144Hz feature is only found on DLP projectors starting at $15,000+. The 144Hz feature would greatly improve on the plasma 3-D quality. Another issue is that the ZT60 series 3-D picture quality is not as bright when compared to LCD screens. A brighter screen would improve 3-D quality. If Panasonic offers a ZT plasma series in 2014, hopefully it will have a 144Hz or 192Hz setting for 3-D. A 4K QUAD HD 144Hz plasma would also be ideal for 3-D sometime in the future, since full 1080P passive glasses technology could be used when watching 3-D movies.

New this year is the 100Hz mode for 3-D. Prior Panasonic 3-D plasmas also had the 120Hz mode (60Hz each eye) and the 96Hz mode (48Hz each eye), however they were labeled as 60Hz and 48Hz. In a positive move from Panasonic the 3-D menu correctly labels the total 3-D refresh rate as 120Hz and 96Hz (This is a more accurate way to label the 3-D modes). In the movie theater 144fps triple flash is always used when showing 3-D movies from a single light source projector since research has shown that 50% of the population sees flicker at 96fps (48fps each eye) and 120fps (60fps each eye) is not used in the movie theaters because of the 3:2 pulldown judder issues.

The following are select word for word quotes from the Sound and Vision magazine review on the Panasonic ZT60 series

“Four years after the Pioneer Kuro plasma exited the market, Panasonic has finally, in its ZT60 series, created an HDTV that is essentially its equal in all key areas of image quality.”


“But when a set gets this good, the only comments that matter involve a direct comparison with sets of arguably reference quality. Fortunately, my much-used Elite Signature Series PRO-141FD Kuro, a 60-inch monitor that was Pioneer’s top-of-the-line set when it exited the HDTV business, was here and ready to be evaluated side by side with the Panasonic.”

“Only on one scene did the Pioneer earn a marginal but visible win. In chapter 2 (7:24), there’s a shot of the female lead’s face in very low light. On both sets, the face was slightly washed out, but it did have a little more pop on the Pioneer.”

** Click here to read the complete Sound and Vision magazine review **

[HDTV1080P]

Samsung OLED TV: Best picture we've ever seen (CNET select quotes)

“Move over, plasma, there's a new TV picture-quality sheriff in town.”

“His name is OLED. He may have arrived a few years later and quite a bit curvier than expected, but he's finally here.”

“Having spent a few quality hours with Samsung's first production OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TV, the KN55S9C, I can say OLED lives up to the hype. Its picture surpasses plasma and LED LCD in the most important ways, with no major gotchas or downsides.”


http://reviews.cnet.com/flat-panel-tvs/samsung-kn55s9c/4505-6482_7-35823374.html

Calibrating Leo Laporte's Samsung KN55S9C OLED TV (AVSforum select quotes)

“As expected, the black level measured 0.000 on the LS-100; we could not see the screen at all when displaying a full black field. This is one of OLED's real strengths; I haven't seen blacks this good since the old CRT days.”

“Obviously, OLED can reproduce a much wider color gamut than is called for in the current video system, so it might be very appropriate for 4K/UHD, which could ultimately use a wider gamut. But for now, we returned the Samsung's color space control to Auto, which brought the colors back to where they should be for HD.”

“After all that, it was time to watch some movie clips. The black bars on letterboxed images simply disappeared, even during very dark scenes—it was a beautiful thing. Robert and I both thought the shadow detail in clips such as the opening scene in Master and Commander was not as good as it could be, but we didn't want to raise the gamma any more, so we raised the brightness control by three clicks, and the shadow detail improved quite a bit.”

“Colors were gorgeous—rich and vivid without being garish. Skin tones in Samsara and Life of Pi looked completely natural, as did the colors of animals, sky, water, earth, and foliage.”

“Like LCD TVs, the KN55S9C offers frame interpolation to reduce motion blur; Samsung calls this feature Auto Motion Plus. Of course, frame interpolation also causes the dreaded "soap-opera effect," which makes film-based content look like it was shot on video. Fortunately, the Custom setting provides two controls: Blur Reduction and Judder Reduction, which control how strongly frame interpolation is applied to video- and film-based content, respectively. To avoid the soap-opera effect on film-based material while sharpening motion blur on video-based content, we left Blur Reduction at its default value of 5 and turned Judder Reduction down to 0.”

“Other than the curved screen, the Samsung KN55S9C is a spectacular display. Yes, 55 inches is relatively small by today's standards, and $9000 is way beyond most folks' budget. But if you've got the dough and you want the best picture quality currently available—and you don't mind the curved screen—the KN55S9C is truly an exceptional TV.”

Calibrating Leo Laporte's Samsung KN55S9C OLED TV

[HDTV1080P]

720P displays will soon be discontinued (1080P and 4K QUAD HD will be the new norm)

Many consumer electronics companies have already stopped production on 720P flat panel displays. In the future most likely all or almost all 720P displays will be going out of production. Walmart currently is selling 50 inch 1080P displays for as low as $419. Small 22 inch 1080P flat panels can be purchased for as low as $119. Small 720P displays under $100 are currently on the market. Once 4K QUAD HD displays become more mainstream, 1080P displays will become much lower in price as it takes over the retail shelf space that 720P displays once held.

4K QUAD HD displays will be the new high-end displays. Over the years 4K QUAD HD displays will become much more affordable for the average consumer and showing up at Walmart within a few years in theory. Then in another decade 8K displays will be the latest and greatest displays.

The Broadcast industry, cable TV industry, satellite industry, streaming providers, and optical disc engineers all have long term plans to launch 4K QUAD HD products like settop boxes, etc. When more 4K QUAD HD programming is released this will increase the demand for consumers to own a 4K QUAD HD display. For now 4K QUAD HD flat panels like the Sony models are mainly for those consumers that want full 1080P quality for each eye using passive glasses when watching Blu-ray 3-D frame packed movies.

There is big differences between 4K QUAD HD flat panels when it comes to 3-D technology


(3-D 4K QUAD HD movies might be released in the future)

1. Some 4K QUAD HD displays like the 2013 Seiki models are 2-D only displays with no support for 3-D.

2. The advantage of all the 2013 Sony 4K QUAD HD models is that they offer full 1080P quality for each eye using low cost passive glasses technology. Passive 3-D 4K QUAD HD displays currently are not able to display 3-D movies at 4K QUAD HD quality if and when a 3-D 4K QUAD HD optical disc format is released.

3. What is very interesting is that Samsung’s and Panasonic’s 4K QUAD HD displays are using active glasses technology. Currently there is no 3-D 4K QUAD HD movie sources, however perhaps in the future the new 4K optical disc format that should arrive around 2016+ might support 3-D 4K QUAD HD. Then owning a 3-D 4K QUAD HD display that has active glasses technology would offer a full 2160P for each eye compared to Blu-ray 3-D which is limited to 1080P for each eye (as long as the interface and 3-D standards support frame packed 4K QUAD HD).

[HDTV1080P]

New Digital Projection Inc 2013 product line

On September 26th 2013 Digital Projection INC newsletter mentioned 3 new 144Hz projectors for the year 2013. I have been busy working on some projects and will update the list as soon as possible (I just sent a detailed email to Digital Projection INC late tonight with some technical questions).

1. Titan 1080P LED 3D 144Hz projector: This $79,995 Titan has no bulbs to change since it uses a 60,000 hour LED light source. Click here to read the full product launch press release.

2. Highlite Cine 1080P 730 3D 144Hz projector: This $37,995 3-chip DLP projector has 9,000 lumens output for a nice bright 3-D movie experience. Click here to read the full product launch press release.

3. M-Vision Cine 320 3D 144Hz projector: This new single chip DLP projector as far as I am aware is the cheapest 144Hz projector on the market. Priced at $11,995, it will work with both active and passive glasses. 60 lines are dropped at 144Hz due to a bandwidth limitation (1020P for each eye in the flicker free 144Hz Cinema quality mode). Click here to read the full product launch press release.

[HDTV1080P]

2008 Pioneer plasmas are still being used as reference displays in 2013

A quote from page 28 of the September 2013 Widescreen Review magazine

“Serious videophiles who have been around for a while will recall the famed Pioneer KURO Elite plasma that ranked near the top in most performance categories. Even now, five years later and no longer available new, it still stands out as a reference-quality platform. Of course, it had the price tag to match. Thankfully, some of the advances from that technology have trickled down to more affordable HDTV’s.”

To subscribe to the Widescreen Review magazine, click the following link

[HDTV1080P]

Information on why it took Panasonic 5 years to match the picture quality of the 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD

The 2013 Panasonic ZT60 plasma series was the very first Panasonic plasma model that eliminates the air gap between the pixel layer and the protective glass. For 5 years this air gap elimination feature was only found on the discontinued Pioneer Kuro displays.

The following is a quote from page 19 of the October 2013 Sound and Vision magazine

“I’m happy to report, as readers might have seen from our cover, that Panasonic, has finally taken its rightful throne this year with the advances in the ZT series plasma, the first television that really went punch for punch with Tom Norton’s Kuro reference display. Not better by any real margin, but essentially as good.”

Click here if you would like to subscribe to Sound and Vision magazine

[HDTV1080P]

Correction to the Sound and Vision magazine review on the ZT60 series

In the November 2013 Sound and Vision magazine the following correction was issued regarding the Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 review.

The following is a quote from page 12 of the November 2013 Sound and Vision magazine

“In our October review of the Panasonic TC-P65ZT60 plasma HDTV, we miscalculated the set’s contrast ratio, though the peak white and black measurements reported were accurate. The correct full-on/full off contrast ratio is 30,000:1.”

Click here if you would like to subscribe to Sound and Vision magazine

[HDTV1080P]

Rumors that Panasonic might completely stop manufacturing plasma displays in March of 2014

Officially, Panasonic has not decided to stop production of plasma displays, however according to Reuters and others Panasonic will exit the plasma business worldwide on March 2014. However until Panasonic officially announces their plasma plans, this is just a big rumor.

Over the years Panasonic has been behind in technology in terms of picture quality when compared to the Pioneer plasma displays. Also the fading black level issue in the past has not helped Panasonic in terms of customer relations. In April of 2009 Pioneer stopped manufacturing its 2008 9th generation plasma models since it was no longer profitable. 100% of the 2006-2008 Pioneer plasma models triple flashed 1080p/24 material on the screen at 72Hz just like a professional movie theater projector. For several years Panasonic plasma displays only offered 60Hz technology. Then Panasonic started offering a 48Hz mode for 2-D 1080p/24 material, however several professional reviews mentioned that the 48Hz feature was basically unusable because it had a unwatchable flicker issue. Then Panasonic started offering the 96Hz feature for 1080p/24 material which either reduced the flicker or eliminated the flicker depending on the model number. However professional reviewers still mentioned the 48Hz feature was unwatchable with a question on why the feature was even offered at all. Until recently the 96Hz feature was only available on the higher-end Panasonic models. However now Panasonic offers the 96Hz setting on the ZT60,VT60, and ST60 series. With only the Panasonic S60 series not offering a 96Hz feature.

Then with the new 2013 Panasonic ZT60 no air gap design, Panasonic engineers for the first time were able to match the picture quality of the 2008 Pioneer PRO-141FD in terms of 2-D picture quality (in most key picture quality areas). Only OLED has a better 2-D picture quality when compared to Pioneer and Panasonic. When it comes to 3-D picture quality for flat panel displays OLED and the new Sony 4K QUAD HD displays outperform the Panasonic plasmas.

** If Panasonic continues to make new plasma models in 2014 and 2015, I hope the 2-D picture quality will surpass the Pioneer plasma picture quality instead of matching it. Also Panasonic should consider developing 144Hz triple flash technology or 192Hz Quad flash technology in order to offer flicker free Cinema quality 3-D frame rates. Current plasma displays are limited to a maximum of 120Hz (60Hz each eye) for 3-D. With OLED and LCD using frame interpolation and/or black frame insertion, a 240Hz display is really only 60Hz for each eye when the 3-D glasses are being used. Plasma displays would be the ideal technology for an engineer to make a flat panel with flicker free Cinema quality 144Hz or 192Hz 3-D modes. This would also be ideal for Panasonic, since they could be the first and only 3-D flat panel display on the market with this technology. Long term plasma displays also need to offer 4K QUAD HD technology for the new 4K OPTICAL format that should arrive on the market in 2016+. Also 4K QUAD HD would be a huge selling point for a plasma display since 144Hz passive glasses could be used with a full 1080P quality for each eye. I would love to see a 144Hz or 192Hz 1080P active glasses or QUAD HD passive glasses Panasonic plasma on the market. **

If Panasonic does decide to stop production on all the 2013 plasma models in March 2014, and the plasma plant is completely shut down for eternity, then the 2013 Panasonic plasma models might be offered at half off their list price in order to clear the inventory. Some people would love to pick up a Panasonic ZT60 at half off its original list price. I am hoping that Panasonic stays in the plasma business and continues to make improvements every year. One day I might be interested in replacing my Pioneer plasma with a OLED model or a high-end plasma.

Quotes:

“The reports, not yet confirmed by Panasonic, have the company exiting the plasma TV business by March 2014, the end of its fiscal year, according to Reuters and others.”

Extreme Tech

Panasonic to exit plasma TV panel business by end-March 2014

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Around 6 years ago Pioneer engineers developed a unreleased plasma prototype that displayed true absolute blacks with a picture quality comparable to OLED. Only OLED displays and older CRT displays offer true absolute blacks




** OLED’s are not perfect and they suffer from motion blur **

Many different display technologies has motion issues, however high-end DLP projectors are almost perfect when it comes to motion. Some of the high-end DLP projectors on the list are the best examples of how the ideal display should work. For 2-D images high-end DLP projectors display 1080p/24 material at 24Hz with no flicker. The reason why DLP projectors can do this is that there is no dark time or very little dark time between the frames (Some commercial Sony LCOS projectors can also display 24Hz at 24Hz with no flicker issues). This is how high-end DLP projectors work in the commercial Cinema. OLED and LCD displays need to use 120Hz, 240Hz, and higher refresh rates with interpolated frames added between each real frames or dark frame insertion to overcome motion issues. The ideal flat panel display should operate like DLP technology and display 1080p/24 material at 24Hz, however no flat panel is capable of native 24Hz since there would be a unwatchable flicker issue since there is too much dark time between frames with existing technology. Even the 2008 reference Pioneer plasma displays always display 1080p/24 material at 72Hz in order to offer flicker free 2-D Cinema quality motion. Displaying 24Hz material at 24Hz is the ultimate image quality if the display technology can support it. For a 2-D 1080p/24 signal, when a projector or flat panel display is using 48Hz, 72Hz, 96Hz, or higher multiplies of 24Hz, the reason for the higher refresh rates is to overcome flicker issues and/or motion blur issues. Only on the top of the line consumer DLP projectors does one see true 24Hz flicker free images. Perhaps in the far future a new flat panel display technology might be developed that allows for a native 24Hz flicker free output. Plasmas in many ways has better motion when compared to the first generation OLED screens and standard LCD screens. For example the 2006-2008 Pioneer plasmas offer a flicker free Cinema quality motion at 72Hz. Also all the 2011-2013 LG plasma screens offer the 72Hz Cinema quality feature. On some Panasonic and Samsung plasma models, the 96Hz feature is offered. However, when it comes to LCD screens a minimum of 120Hz is needed to offer 5:5 pulldown repeating frame method. Also it appears the new OLED displays are all using a minimum of 240Hz to over come motion issues.

** Pioneer had an absolute black unreleased plasma prototype that most likely would have outperformed the 2013 OLED technology. It’s too bad Panasonic does not use that technology to make true absolute black plasma screens. OLED is suppose to have all the positives of both LCD technology and plasma technology, however the ideal display does not need frame interpolation, black frame insertion, and a high frame rate **

So the bottom line is OLED is not perfect even though it offers an overall better picture quality compared to the 2008 Pioneer plasma models (Pioneer never released the plasma absolute black technology even though they had it in the lab around 6 years ago). The Samsung and LG OLED displays appear to both use the Cinema quality repeating frame method for 2-D 1080p/24 material. However, it appears only 60Hz for each eye is used on the LG and Samsung OLED displays when watching 3-D material. The LG uses passive glasses with 540P for each eye compared to 1080P active glasses on the Samsung OLED 55 inch model. Sound and Vision magazine in their November 2013 review reported that the 1080P active glasses 3-D quality on the Samsung OLED appeared to have the same picture quality as a high-end 4K QUAD HD display that uses 1080P passive glasses technology. I hope consumers in the future will see some OLED displays that use 144Hz or 192Hz 3-D technology instead of the 120Hz (60Hz each eye) 3-D technology that uses 3:2 pulldown.

Here are some select quotes from The Future of Television article found in the November 2013 Sound and Vision magazine (article located on pages 32,33,34,and 36)

“Despite the promise of fast response times, both the LG and Samsung OLED’s have motion blur.”


“So while it’s disappointing that these early OLEDs can have motion blur, in practice it’s less of an issue than its first appears.”

“Energy consumption is also higher than we initially expected. It’s slightly higher than LED LCD, more similar to plasma.”

Click here if you would like to subscribe to Sound and Vision magazine

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Digital Projections Titan LED 1080p 3D 3-Chip LED projector (114-461) has been added to the list

Digital Projection Titan LED 1080p 3D (114-461) (144Hz for 3-D 48Hz sources, 24Hz for 2-D 24Hz sources)

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Digital Projections new Titan LED 1080p 3D 3-Chip LED projector

** No lamps to change since it uses a 60,000+ hour state of the art LED illumination system **

Dual Projector setup info

** IMAX 3-D style picture quality occurs when two Titan series projectors are stacked together. Each eye sees a full 1080P quality with 24Hz for each eye with no need to triple flash **

Single Projector setup info

** The 144Hz 3-D Titan series projectors can be configured for a REALD 3-D passive or XpanD 3-D active system **

** Both passive and active glasses on the Titan series offer full 1080P quality for each eye at 96Hz and 1056P quality for each eye at 144Hz (144Hz flicker free Cinema quality mode). **

“Digital Projection has developed a variant of its Titan projector that incorporates the latest LED illumination technology to provide amazing quality images.”

“These LEDs remain stable and consistent over many years of use, providing a colour gamut that goes way beyond the requirements of HDTV or cinema.”


The new Titan LED 1080p 3D 3-Chip LED projector uses a state of the art LED illumination system which has no lamps to change. This projector uses a 3-Chip 0.95 DarkChip DMD with a list price of $79,995.

Digital Projection Titan LED 1080p 3D (114-461) (144Hz for 3-D 48Hz sources, 24Hz for 2-D 24Hz sources)

Click here to read the full product launch press release.

Configuring the Titan series as a dual IMAX 3-D type setup

(full 1080P for each eye)

The Titan series ideal setup is to stack two exact same projectors together. In this type of dual projector setup, 2-D sources are displayed at 24Hz, and 48Hz 3-D sources are displayed at 48Hz (24Hz for each eye since each eye sees a separate left and right 24Hz image). This allows for viewing of both 2-D and 3-D 1080P movies with a full 1080P quality for each eye at the Cinema quality native frame rate of 24Hz without the need to triple flash to 144Hz. The Titans are capable of flicker free 24Hz for each eye in a dual projector setup since there is no black time with the DMD. A dual pipe processing source is needed to watch commercial movies.Then the commercial dual pipe movie server would provide the 3-D movie to both projectors (A separate left and right 1080p/24 frames). However to setup the Titan to operate like IMAX 3-D with a consumer Blu-ray 3-D source then one needs to purchase the Airflex5D AF5D-60 processor for $4,999. Therefore, in a dual projector setup one would place a right eye polarizer in front of one projector and a left eye polarizer in front of the other projector. If one used a native 48Hz Blu-ray 3-D movie as the source material, then the Airflex5D AF5D-60 processor would unpack the 2205P Blu-ray 3-D frame packed movie (Once the Airflex5D processor unpacks the Blu-ray 3-D source material, then the right eye 1080P/24 frames are sent to the right projector and the left eye 1080P/24 frames are sent to the left projector). A RealD passive system requires a silver screen. A dual projector setup has a better 3-D quality when compared to a single projector setup. However, instead of paying around $80,000 for a single 3-D projector setup you are now paying around $160,000 in order to get that IMAX 3-D quality.

Examples of what a dual projector setup can do

1. Native 1080P 2-D 24Hz movies are displayed at 1080P 24Hz.

2. Native 1080P 2-D 48Hz movies are displayed at 1080P 48Hz.

3. Native 1080P 3-D 48Hz movies are displayed at 1080P 48Hz (24Hz for each eye). No need to triple flash with a dual IMAX projector setup.

4. Native 1080P 2-D 60Hz movies are displayed at 1080P 60Hz.

5. Native 1080P 3-D 96Hz movies are displayed at 1080P 96Hz (48Hz for each eye).

6. Native 1080P 3-D 120Hz movies are displayed at 1080P 120Hz (60Hz for each eye).

Configuring the Titan series for single projector 144Hz 3-D quality

The Titan series can be configured to operate at a full 1080P quality for each eye using passive or active glasses. Active glasses do not require any special screen. However, a passive glasses system requires a silver screen to retain the polarization. Some people prefer circular polarization so that they can tilt their head if they want. The suppliers for some of these devices are XpanD, ReaD, and Depth-Q. To see the full 1080P quality for each eye the projector needs to be setup to double flash the Blu-ray frame packed 3-D image at 96Hz. The problem with 96Hz is that 50% of people see flicker with a reduced overall 3-D quality. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that one use the flicker free 144Hz triple flash setting on the Titan series of projectors to match the exact same frame rate that is used in commercial movie theaters. However there is only one negative to the 144Hz setting for 3-D, each eye ends up only seeing 1056P lines of resolution instead of 1080P for each eye. The reason for this is that the Titan series have a hardware bandwidth limitation when it comes to the DMD loading sequence and the Texas Instruments based hardware. Even on some of the 2K 144Hz 3-D projectors used in commercial movie theaters there is also a bandwidth limitation that results in a small amount of lines being dropped. With some of the newer commercial DMD chipsets and DMD loading sequences that are used in the 2K and 4K commercial movie theaters there is no bandwidth limitation at 144Hz and no lines are dropped at all. Digital Projection INC keeps improving on their products and possible in the future maybe some newer models of the Titan series might use a newer DMD chipset and hardware that results in no lines being dropped at all. As far as I am aware, the Lightning series and Titan series are the best 144Hz consumer projectors on the market since they only drop 24 lines at 144Hz, some brands and models on the list at the beginning of this thread drop as many as 76 lines at 144Hz.

How frame packed Blu-ray 3-D movie discs work on a 144Hz projector

The frame packed Blu-ray 3-D movies are native 1920 x 2205 at 24p on the Blu-ray disc (both the 1080P/24 left frame and 1080P/24 right frame are packed on the Blu-ray disc). Once the video processor inside the 144Hz projector unpacks the 3-D Blu-ray movie the native 1920x2205 3-D Blu-ray image is turned into two separate left and right frames. A 1080p/24 left frame and 1080p/24 right frame equals a total of 48 frames (48Hz). Then the projector orders the left eye 1080p/24 frame and right eye 1080p/24 frame into sequence to be triple flashed for a flicker free 144Hz active glasses or passive glasses Cinema quality movie experience.

Click the following link for a diagram on how the ideal consumer 3-D Front Projector or 3-D display should work when unpacking the frame packed 1920 X 2205 image.

http://cepro.com/images/uploads/frame_packed_3d_large.jpg

A select quote from Digital Projection INC email conversations

“Yes, you have the same understanding that I have regarding the functionality of the Titan LED vs. Titan lamped units. One additional note is that the LED offers a much greater color palette or gamut.”

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Important updated frame rate information for the Highlite series projectors

In prior email conversations with Digital Projection INC I was informed that the Highlite series projectors displays 24Hz 2D content at 72Hz. However with a greater understanding of these new products Digital Projection INC has revised the frame rate information. The original 72Hz information was incorrect information.

The Highlite Cine 730 1080p 3D and Highlite Cine 660 1080p 3D models will both display 2-D 1080p/24 material at 24Hz just like the more expensive Titan 3-D series. This is an awesome feature and works just like high-end Digital Projectors in the commercial movie theaters. Also 3-D frame packed Blu-ray material is displayed at 144Hz in a single projector setup.

The Highlite Cine 330 3D uses the same 0.65 inch three chip DLP light engine as the Highlite 660 3D and Highlite 730 3-D, however the Highlite Cine 330 3D uses very similar electronics as the M-Vision Cine 320/400 3D. Therefore, the bottom line is the Highlite Cine 330 3D displays 2-D 1080p/24 material at 48Hz and 3-D frame packed Blu-ray material at 144Hz.

At this time the 144Hz bandwidth resolution loss has not been documented yet for the Highlite series. The amount of resolution lost in theory will be exactly the same for the Highlite Cine 730/660/330 3-D series since they all use the exact same light engine. In theory the flicker free 144Hz resolution lost will be somewhere between 60-24 lines. It should be mentioned that even some of the professional 144Hz 3-D 2K commercial movie theater projectors in the local movie theaters have a bandwidth limitation that results in lines being dropped.

Some select quotes from Digital Projection INC email conversations:

“It is true that the main difference between the new Highlite Cine 1080p 730 3D and the Highlite Cine 1080p 660 3D will be the lamp power. These new projectors will also have HDBaseT inputs. Please note that the Highlite 330 is different than the 660/730. The 330 has an electronics section similar to the M-Vision series, but a “Light Engine” similar to the Highlite 660/730. This being the case, you might expect the display rate of the 660/730 to be 24 Hz with a 2D 24 Hz input, and 144 Hz with a 24 Hz frame-packed 3D input. However, I have a note that indicates the Highlite Cine 330 3D would convert the 2D 24 Hz to 48 Hz while the 24 Hz frame-packed 3D content would be converted to 144 Hz. At this time the Product Manager has not documented the degree of lost resolution due to the bandwidth limit.”

“Sorry about any confusion with regard to the display frame rates. The information that I got for you was by piecing together bits from one place or another. It is not prominently documented anywhere.”

“It might help if we think of the units based upon their similarities:

"The Highlite Cine 660/730 3D has similar video processing electronics as the current Titan 3D projectors. It looks like they will leave the 2D 24 Hz unchanged as a 24 Hz display rate. (flicker-free)”

“The M-Vision Cine 320/400 3D and the Highlite Cine 330 3D have similar video processing electronics. It looks like they will all convert 2D 24 Hz to a 48 Hz display rate. There is an exception in that the Highlite Cine 330 3D does not offer the 96 Hz frame rate setting for 3D content. I suppose this is because DLP Link is not available with 3 chip, and the purpose for having this selection may have been based upon an old DLP Link glasses limitation.”



“The lost lines is due to a bandwidth limitation of the “light engine”.

If we think of similarities here:

M-Vision Cine 320/400 3D (single chip)

Highlite Cine 330/660/730 3D (three chip – 0.65 inch)

Titan/Lightning 3D (three chip – 0.95 inch)

We can probably expect different values of lines lost for each of these systems.

I hope this helps to answer some questions.”

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Digital Projections Highlite 730 3D projector series has been added to the list

Digital Projection HIGHlite 730 WUXGA 3D (114-693) (144Hz for 3-D 48Hz sources, 24Hz for 2-D 24Hz sources) (1920 x 1200P model)

Digital Projection HIGHlite 730 1080p 3D (114-691) (144Hz for 3-D 48Hz sources, 24Hz for 2-D 24Hz sources)