New sets hawk picture stability as the edge over curved ones
Starkly different from the curved front TV sets that viewers have been used to seeing over the years, the TV of the future is going to be thin, slim and flat, thanks to a totally flat picture tube modern technology has brought in to enhance picture quality.
The new technology is being sold in India by those who have mastered it worldwide, the three Asian electronics majors Sony, Samsung and LG. The companies launched their products, FD Trinitron, Flatron and Dynaflat respectively, in India in May-June this year. However, Samsung has launched only flat screen computer monitors, and is yet to launch the new range of TV sets in India, which are marketed worldwide under the brand name Quintrix.
The technology was developed by the three electronics giants last year at a cost of around $10-15 million. It uses a totally flat picture tube as opposed to the spherical tubes used earlier in conventional TV sets and the cylindrical ones in flat and full square (f&fst) sets. To improve picture quality, it uses a progressive scanning method that reduces the graininess that's common in large-screen sets. This method uses digital signal processing to take a screen, originally divided into two layers, to display a single image. As a result, the number of scanning lines is doubled, enhancing picture stability for a flicker-free image and allowing the finest details of the image to be revealed. Conventional scanning methods show a 30 full-frames-per-minute picture, while the new-generation flat TVs show 60 full frames per minute. This brings the new sets close to the resolution and clarity available only in high definition TV pictures.
To overcome the dimming focus, common in curved tubes, the new technology uses a high-density and multi-focus electron gun as opposed to the conventional equal radius electron guns to keep the picture uniform. This technology prevents dimming at the sides and corners. While both Samsung and LG use the shadow mask technology to filter images, Sony continues to use its patented Trinitron technology that uses a high-tension aperture grille instead of a shadow mask.
But what will the viewer gain from a flat TV? Says Sameer Mohile, senior manager, Sony India: 'With flatness comes purer image production, distortion is minimised and the picture has the same clarity from whatever angle one views the screen because the table top vision' allows viewers a 180-degree viewing angle. ' Due to its flat structure, the luminescence or extra brightness is retained within the screen and only soft images are visible on the outside making it as simple as looking at a calendar picture. In other words, it reduces eye fatigue. What's more, the nagging reflection of the light bulb would also be gone.
And in the marketplace, it's a race for the flattest. Although the basic technology is more or less the same for all three, each of the three companies claims that its technology is the best and gives the flattest look. And each claims that it was the first to develop this new technology. Sony and LG have almost identical technology as they use a completely flat picture tube. Samsung, however, has a tube that is flat from outside but curved on the inside.
Of course, the new technology with much enhanced viewing pleasure will come at a price. The new generation gadgets are priced 25 to 30 per cent higher than conventional ones and start at Rs 25,000 at the 21-inch level. For Sony, the FD Trinitron series is being priced at 30 per cent higher than its premium Kirrara Basso range and LG has priced it even higher. Will it sell? Rajeev Karwal, vice-president, LG, exudes confidence. 'Look at it from the other side. A Flatron costs one-tenth the price of an lcd or plasma TV but the picture is almost as good. People who value quality will realise this, ' he says.
The companies aim at gradually replacing their existing fleet with the new generation machines. Sony expects to realise at least 30 per cent of its total sales from its FD Trinitron in the first year itself. Ambitious. But in a country where television sales jump 25 per cent just because of the cricket world cup, even this might look a conservative estimate.