Vizio has long been known for making HDTVs more affordable for consumers on a budget. The HDTV manufacturer now hopes to play the same role in the world of 3D TVs, unveiling today a full line of Vizio 3D TVs ranging from 22″ to 71″ and tipping its hand about why the sets will be so affordable: they won’t use Active 3D.
Vizio 3D TVs will eschew the active-shutter technology used by the current generation of 3D TVs from Sony, Panasonic and Samsung, opting instead to utilize “Theater 3D” technology, which is similar to the 3D used in movie theaters nationwide. Rather than require expensive active-shutter glasses, Vizio’s 3D TVs will instead use polarized lenses.
By utilizing a circular polarized 3D filter, Vizio’s 3D TVs will bear the burden of processing the 3D signal rather than having special glasses do the heavy lifting. Thus the Theater 3D glasses will be lighter (no batteries) and not require the shutter mechanisms, the latter advancement Vizio says eliminates crosstalk on its 3D displays.
Crosstalk is the “ghosting” or “echo” from which some 3D scenes suffer when elements get too close to or far from the camera in the current 3D Blu-ray films.
In addition to eliminating crosstalk, Vizio claims its Theater 3D is up to two times brighter than current 3D TVs, handles fast motion without blurring, has a wider horizontal viewing angle, and reduces flicker.
Depending on the Vizio 3D TV model, up to four pairs of the Theater 3D glasses will be included with each TV. Compare that to current manufacturers’ models, which often require separate $150 purchases for a new set of active-shutter glasses.
Each Theater 3D model supports 3D displays from Blu-ray, broadcast, cable, satellite and gaming. This includes Frame Packing, Side-by-Side, Top and Bottom, SENSIO HiFi 3D and the RealD Format.
Some Theater 3D models feature VIZIO’s Edge-Lit Razor LED technology with Smart Dimming, which controls the array of LEDs frame by frame based on the content being displayed. This lets the TV adjust the brightness in precise steps down to pure black (where the LED is completely off), minimizing light leakage and enabling a Dynamic Contrast Ratio of 10,000,000: 1. Theoretically.
Certain XVT models utilize VIZIO’s Full Array TruLED backlighting with Smart Dimming technology to control specific areas of the image depending on what’s on screen. In addition, The XVT3D476SV and XVT3D556SV are part of the new VIZIO VIA Plus ecosystem, which we outlined here.
Pricing for Vizio’s 3D TV models is still unavailable from the manufacturer. However, we recommend you setup a regular search on Amazon for Vizio 3D TV
Here’s the full lineup of Vizio 3D TVs, as indicated by Vizio this morning:
