August 30, 2011 - Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., Sony Corporation and X6D Limited (XPAND 3D) today announced that Royal Philips Electronics, Sharp Corporation, TCL Corporation and Toshiba Corporation have expressed support for the activities of the “Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative” — which aims to benefit consumers through a new technology standard for consumer 3D active shutter glasses.

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 protocols jointly developed by Panasonic and XPAND were announced in March 2011 and supported by eight participating companies: Changhong Electric Co., Ltd.; FUNAI Electric Co., Ltd.; Hisense Electric Co., Ltd.; Hitachi Consumer Electronics Co., Ltd.; Mitsubishi Electric Corporation; Seiko Epson Corporation; SIM2 Multimedia S.p.A. and ViewSonic Corporation.

• About Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative
  The Full HD 3D Glasses Initiative — formed in 2011 by Panasonic Corporation, Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., Sony Corporation and X6D Limited (XPAND 3D) — 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. For more information, please visit http://www.fullhd3dglasses.com/.