One of the things that has been holding back the adoption of 3D TVs in the home is consumer confusion over competing 3D technologies. That confusion is most rampant when it comes to active shutter 3D glasses and the inability of consumers to use one pair of glasses on different manufacturers’ products. That’s about to change.

Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation and X6D Limited (XPAND 3D) have been joined by Royal Philips Electronics, Sharp Corporation, TCL Corporation and Toshiba Corporation to offer support for the activities of the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative. This collaboration aims to benefit consumers through a new technology standard for consumer 3D active shutter glasses that would allow cross-manufacturer and cross-platform support.

In early August 2011, Panasonic, Samsung, Sony, and XPAND first announced their intent to work together on the development and licensing of Bluetooth enabled radio frequency (RF) system 3D active shutter glasses technology, including RF system protocols between consumer 3D active shutter glasses and 3D displays such as televisions, personal computers and projectors, as well as 3D theaters with XPAND active shutter glasses. The standardization will also include several types of infrared (IR) system protocols between 3D active shutter glasses and 3D displays, ranging from the protocols jointly developed by Panasonic and XPAND 3D to the proprietary protocols of Samsung and Sony.

In late September 2011, the license program for the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative is targeted to commence. With this, manufacturers of 3D displays, 3D synchronization emitters, 3D active shutter glasses or Bluetooth chip devices for such products can receive a license to begin developing and manufacturing products employing the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative technology.

Further, in late 2011, the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative plans to begin officially certifying products manufactured under the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative license. Upon a product’s certification, the Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative will allow the usage of a distinct logo, which will provide consumers an easy way to recognize interoperability among 3D active shutter products, such as 3D TVs and 3D glasses that each bear the logo.

The Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative will set a new technology standard for consumer 3D active shutter glasses, aiming to provide consumers with a more convenient and high-quality 3D viewing experience. By developing and licensing a standardized 3D active shutter technology, the Initiative aims to ensure interoperability among any 3D active shutter products that are developed and manufactured using the Initiative’s technology and that bear a distinct logo designated by the Initiative.

About the Author

John Gaudiosi

Editor-in-Chief

John Gaudiosi has been covering videogames for the past 20 years for outlets like The Washington Post, CNET, Wired Magazine and CBS.com. He has focused on the convergence of entertainment and videogames for outlets like Video Business, Home Media Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, The Hollywood Reporter and Variety. He currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Gamerlive.TV and is also a freelance game columnist for Reuters and writes for outlets like Forbes.com, NVISION, Official PlayStation Magazine, EGM Now, Geek Monthly, PrimaGames.com, and Yahoo! Games. John also serves as the video game expert for NBC in Washington D.C. and has produced videogame documentaries for The History Channel and Starz Entertainment. John was named one of the Top 50 Game Journalists in the world by Next-Gen.biz in 2007. He is the co-author of Scholastic Books' How to Get into Videogames, Prima Publishing's Madden: Twenty Years of Videogame Football and Electronic Arts: The Official History.