Did we mention there were 3D sets being shown at CES this year? Well, there were. Almost everywhere you look and while we have yet to provide our opinion on 3D in general, we wanted to get out there anyways and tell you about the best implementation that we looked at.

Sony, Samsung, LG, Optoma, Nvidia, Toshiba, Panasonic…you name the company and they had something 3D to show you (Not Sharp!). With glasses, without glasses, passive polarization, active polarization…the list just goes on. There were a ton of different flavors.

We looked at every single one and spent as much time as could looking at moving pictures, still images, games, and anything else they were showing us. We stayed until, well, the guy next to us grabbed our glasses and threw us out of the booth.

A lot of them felt the same and few stood out. The best one that we looked at was Toshiba’s 3D sets with Cell technology.

Toshiba’s sets had the unique ability to upconvert 2D pictures into 3D. The overall feel of this type of image was pretty good, but you definitely know the source material is 2D as there’s a certain depth to the picture that just feels flat. Like someone is moving two flat images at different speeds for the effect. I think it’s technically called parallax effect, but I’ll let the real smart people figure it out. But still, you can view your existing 2D content in 3D.

Still, Toshiba was the only company showing this capability. Coupled with the fact that Toshiba’s 3D was, in our opinion, the smoothest on the show floor with the most realistic experience. The other sets sometimes felt really a little fuzzy through the glasses, but Toshiba’s sets in 3D were consistently clear and sharp.

It is the combination of 2D upconverting, smooth picture quality, sharpness (through the glasses) and clarity that win Toshiba our Golden Bucket for Best 3D.

(Editor’s Note: Okay okay…we realize that Toshiba could give a care that we think their set was the best, but it was the best in our opinion.)

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