A/V Giants Join Forces In 'Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative'

Four audio/video giants have announced their intent to collaborate on the development of a new technology standard for consumer 3D active glasses, under the name, 'Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative.'
Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation and X6D Limited (XPAND 3D) will seek development of Joint Licensing on 'Bluetooth Enabled RF' and 'IR' Consumer 3D Active Glasses.
With this new agreement, the companies intend to work together on the development and licensing of radio frequency (RF) system 3D active glasses technology, including RF system protocols between consumer 3D active glasses and 3D displays such as televisions, personal computers, projectors and 3D theatres with XPAND active shutter glasses.
The standardisation will also include multiple types of infrared (IR) system protocols between 3D active glasses and 3D displays, ranging from the protocols jointly developed by Panasonic and XPAND 3D, to the proprietary protocols of Samsung and Sony, respectively.
The license of the newly announced Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative is targeted to be released in September 2011, at which time the development of new standardisation-applied active 3D glasses will begin. Universal glasses with the new IR/RF protocols will be made available in 2012, and are targeted to be backward compatible with 2011 3D active TVs.
Through this initiative, the four companies aim to widely introduce universal active 3D glasses to the market. The announcement marks a unique collaboration of the world’s leading 3D TV manufacturers and 3D technology providers for the benefit of consumers. Glasses utilising 3D active technology benefits consumers in that they enable Full HD 3D picture quality to be displayed to each eye, as well as a greater freedom of movement thanks to Bluetooth technology.
“Panasonic has been working to standardise 3D glasses technologies, and in March, we announced a joint licensing of IR system protocols with XPAND, backed by several participant companies. We are very pleased that the latest collaboration will incorporate our previous concept into these new standardisation efforts,” said Masayuki Kozuka, General Manager of Media & Content Alliance Office, Corporate R&D Division, Panasonic Corporation. “We hope the expanded collaboration on this 3D standardisation initiative will make a significant contribution toward accelerating the growth of 3D-related products.”
(BMcN/GK)