RealD, a licensor of 3D technologies for cinema, consumer electronics and professional applications, announced today technology to deliver universal active 3D eyewear compatible with 3D high definition televisions sold by most major consumer electronics brands. With active eyewear incompatibility between 3D high definition televisions an ongoing concern of many consumers and retailers alike, RealD has developed a multi-protocol ASIC that incorporates a programmable front end designed to sync image streams with multiple brands of 3D displays via infrared connectivity. The ASIC also supports RF solutions like RF4CE and Bluetooth.

The System on a Chip (SoC) approach offers manufacturers a lower cost bill of materials as well as lighter weight and thinner glasses due to smaller electronics. Lens charge recovery and overall low power design also means smaller and lighter weight batteries can be used without sacrificing performance.

RealD is working with Broadcom and Freescale Semiconductor to incorporate support for RF eyewear sync technologies in addition to infrared. The RealD active 3D eyewear solution uses Freescale's RF4CE platform and its MC1323x SoC for RF over-the-air 3D image synchronization and lens switching. Broadcom's Bluetooth technology is also supported as a sync protocol via its BCM20730 chip. With RF4CE and Bluetooth, RealD active 3D eyewear are designed to maintain synchronization with a 3D TV without line-of-sight or a constant stream of synchronization, delivering low power consumption and the ability to avoid interference from other sources including home lighting, sunlight and IR devices like remote controls.

Developer kits for RealD universal active 3D eyewear are expected to be available in the first quarter of 2011 with ASIC production expected in the second quarter of 2011.