More consumers will be able to grab glasses and pop over to a friend's house for a 3D movie, even if they have a different-brand TV set, under an agreement announced Monday by TV makers Samsung, Sony and Panasonic Relevant Products/Services and glasses vendor X6D Limited.
The foursome will collaborate on the development of a new technology standard for consumer glasses in a project called the Full HD Relevant Products/Services 3D Glasses Initiative.
Not Just TV
The goal is to license radio-frequency and infrared-system 3D active-glasses technology for televisions, personal computers, projectors and 3D theaters with XPAND active shutter glasses. The systems will use protocols developed jointly by Panasonic and X6D's XPAND as well as by Samsung and Sony.
The target to release the license is September, after which the joint project will begin developing new standardization-applied active 3D glasses that will be available some time next year. They will be backward compatible with 3D units currently on the market.
The unique agreement between rivals represents a giant step in the industry toward further driving adoption of 3D TVs. Shipments of 3D-equipped liquid-crystal-display units rose 104 percent in the first quarter compared to the same quarter last year, according to a June report by the research firm DisplaySearch.