One of the complaints about 3DTV that is often repeated in the press is that “there are no standards“. I may be the only one who does not see that as a major obstacle. After all, there are a lot of different digital image file formats out there, yet programs like Microsoft Word or most browsers seem to be able to handle all that variety without breaking a sweat.

Apparently, XpanD agrees with me. The company is a leading manufacturer of glasses for 3D movies and televisions, and have sold more than 2 million of their earlier model X101 active 3D glasses. They manufacture many of the glasses sold by the different TV companies for their 3D-capable TV sets. Each brand uses its own method of syncing with the glasses in order to deliver the stereoscopic images. And XpanD now makes an X103 universal model of the glasses that can respond to signals from all the different brands. Part of the motivation for this comes from the TV makers themselves, as well as retailers. Stores don’t want to have to stock 15 different models of glasses to work with 15 different brands; the X103 lets them stock one model of glasses for use with all the TVs.

And since XpanD technology is used in more than 2,700 digital cinemas, people will be able to bring their own private glasses when they go to the movies. This could ultimately save the cinema’s the significant cost of providing glasses for all audience members.

The company press release did not mention pricing, but did indicate that they intend to come out with 12 different colors (including the basic black, which goes with everything).

Posted by Alfred Poor, March 16, 2010 12:21 PM