First impressions of Sony's 3D Bravia

For customers yet to make the jump to flat screen TVs, one of the biggest decisions looming on the horizon in 2010 is the jump to 3D.

First impressions

First, the technology clearly has what it takes to hold rooms full of media in its thrall. Like the demonstrations we saw from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and Toshiba at CES, yesterday's preview left us wanting to see more.

In particular we were interested to see how suitable the technology was for sports and there's no doubt the effect has impressive potential for slow-motion replays and close-ups.

Not everything jumps out of the screen in 3D, but these are the moments that make it worthwhile.

Still there are a range of questions hovering over the current generation of 3D TVs.

First and foremost, will anyone want to sit around for hours on end (in the case of 3D Blu-Ray movies) looking like Roy Orbison?

Sony's 3D flagship: the Bravia LX900

While we're still waiting on an official price for the Bravia LX900 (yet to be announced), Sony has confirmed that the TV will come with two pairs of the active shutter glasses required to view the images in 3D.

During a brief demonstration (actually of the 3D-equipped HX Series), we found the glasses reasonably comfortable to wear, although they were quite a tight fit.

We also found  the picture quality drops when tilting your head by anything more than a few degrees - probably not a problem for most viewers, but something to keep in mind if you often watch while lying down on your side.

3D picture quality

Then there are the arguments over which technology is best. While the 3D technology employed by TV manufacturers is essentially similar in concept, there are some subtle differences - something Sony is seizing on.

With 3D comes a new set of picture quality challenges relating to the technique used to display two separate sets of images (one for the left eye, one for the right), which flicker very quickly on the screen.

Cross-talk between these images can result in blurriness, while limiting which eye sees what also means a tradeoff in brightness. Sony's marketing talks up the ability of the new TVs to "burst" the backlighting to compensate for any reduction in brightness.

Even the glasses come in for special mention, with Sony talking up their use of non-polarising glasses to eliminate a potential side-effect of 3D glasses, where your view of the room around the TV set flickers.

"You will always get some level of room flicker on plasma 3D TVs," claims Paul Colley, technology communications manger for Sony Australia.

2D to 3D conversion, Blu-Ray 3D

Sony also confirmed the LX900 will convert 2D footage to 3D, an important consideration given the lack of 3D Blu-Ray titles available in Australia.

While the LX900 is the first integrated 3D Bravia slated by Sony for Australia, the HX900 and HX900 series Bravia TVs will also offer the option of adding 3D via an add-on unit.

Meanwhile, one of the major considerations right now is the lack of 3D content.

Foxtel has discussed 3D plans, as has the NRL (National Rugby League), but so far there's only a trickle of 3D Blu-Ray titles.

One piece of good news for PS3 owners is that the purchase of an expensive new 3D-capable Blu-Ray player won't be necessary. Good news, though it makes us wonder if it's fair that owners of dedicated expensive Blu-Ray players look like having to fork out for a new player.

This review was first published in PC Authority