3D HDTV sets are hitting retail in a really big way. Last week Samsung and Panasonic brought their 3D HDTV packages to Best Buy and other retailers. Sony will have its sets in stores soon.
But to see that 3D goodness, and more importantly show it off to friends, you'll need a pair of glasses (or two or three). And there is a problem; those glasses for a friend's Sony 3D TV probably won't work with your Panasonic 3D TV. Compatibility of the active shutter 3D glasses is an issue expected to plague both retailers and buyers. Many of the manufacturers are selling their own glasses, each with a different signal sent from the TVs. For retailers, it means they won't be able to effectively show side-by-side comparisons from different manufacturers. The number of incompatible glasses on store shelves could frustrate consumers.
A universal pair of glasses that can receive a signal from any source makes it possible to compare the picture on sets from multiple manufacturers at retail. It also means viewers can use the same glasses for multiple television sets at home, or bring glasses to another location. XpanD is hoping to solve the problem by releasing a line of universal active shutter glasses that can search for infrared signals.
The company already makes its X101 glasses for use in 3D cinemas outside the United States, and those rely on projectors that cycle at 144 frames per second. XpanD also announced a deal to produce X102 glasses for use with Mitsubishi's DLP Link technology. And now with its third series, the X103, the glasses will be able to receive and interpret signals from a range of set makers, including LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony, as well as the 3D signals from Nvidia's 3D Vision glasses. These glasses will also be compatible with other 3D sources including those in many movie theaters as well as computer monitors.
The X103 will include a replaceable battery that should last for up to 250 hours of active 3D usage, so that's a lot of Avatar or Monsters vs. Aliens. XpanD's X103 active 3D glasses are expected in stores as early as June. The price is still not set, but will likely be between $125 and $150.
Editor's note (Added 4/6/10): As we have been testing some of the recent 3D-enabled TVs, we've noticed that Panasonic's Active Shutter 3D Glasses include a green tint on the lenses which compensates for the specific RGB phosphor balance used by the Panasonic TVs in 3D mode (the green phosphors have a slightly lower intensity in order to prevent crosstalk, which is compensated for in the glasses). It will be interesting to see how XpanD will support Panasonic's 3D TVs in their universal glasses as we would imagine they will also need to include a green filter lens option in order to reproduce an accurate color balance from the Panasonic TVs. We wil post an update when more information is available.
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