Monster Cable Develops “Universal” 3D Glasses

With compulsory eyewear frequently being cited as one of the chief factors hampering 3D TV uptake, one would think that TV manufacturers would at least be sensible enough to settle on a common standard to improve inter-brand compatibility and facilitate consumers’ upgrade cycle. But no, at this time of writing it turns out that 3D glasses from one brand cannot be practically used on another brand’s 3D TV due to different sync-rates and lense tinting.

Monster Cable Products Inc, a US-based company more famous for its high-priced audio and video cables, has a solution. The company has launched the Monster Vision Max 3D universal 3D glasses, which it claims will work with any 3D television set.

The Monster Vision Max 3D package consists of a RF (radio frequency) transmitter and a pair of compatible 3D glasses. Here’s how the product works:

1. Using the “Heartbeat” technology licensed from Bit Cauldron, the transmitter detects the IR (infra-red) synchronisation pulses sent out from any make of 3DTV;
2. The transmitter then converts the IR sync pulses into a 2.4Ghz radio frequency signal;
3. A ZigBee chip within the transmitter not only keeps the 3D glasses in sync with the RF signal (even if there’s obstruction/ interference/ no direct line-of-sight), but also blocks the 3D TV’s original built-in emitter (though users can still use the television’s own 3D glasses by moving the transmitter farther away from the 3D TV);
4. Based on the RF signal, the 3D glasses would time the opening and closing of its shutters to the 3D content on screen.

The Monster Vision Max 3D system will be go on sale in September this year priced at around £165, with each additional pair of 3D glasses available at a price of £115, although it’s hard to imagine these universal 3D glasses being bought by anyone other than dealers needing to demonstrate multiple 3D TVs in the same room.