Texas Instruments mobile development agreement

03 March 2011

DDD Group PLC

DDD signs agreement to integrate 2D to 3D conversion software with Texas Instruments OMAP™ applications processors

Los Angeles, California: DDD Group plc (AIM: DDD), the 3D consumer technology licensing group, has entered into a development agreement with Texas Instruments Incorporated (TI) to implement DDD's TriDef® automatic 2D to 3D conversion software on TI's OMAP™ applications processors for mobile devices.

The first phase of development work was demonstrated recently at the 2011 Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona, where visitors to TI's booth were able to see 2D video automatically converted to 3D and displayed on a glasses-free 3D mobile phone display.

Announced at MWC, TI's feature-complete software package enables stereoscopic 3D (S3D), HD video encode and decode and image capture, processing and rendering on the OMAP 4 platform. With this comprehensive 3D and HD support, consumers are able to capture high-quality images and video using two cameras. They are also able to view S3D content on mobile devices without wearing 3D glasses. TI will now add DDD technology to enhance that software package and offer 2D to 3D conversion on the fly.

TI's OMAP 4 platform is a proven enabler of 3D functionality with the right hardware resources, processing performance, flexibility and power management to support 3D applications and content up to HD quality. This includes a powerful image signal processor that supports up to two cameras and provides crystal-clear 3D images; a programmable display controller supporting 3D displays built into Smartphones or tablets; and external 3D TVs connected through HDMI cables.

DDD's TriDef 2D to 3D conversion software converts HD video and photos from 2D to 3D for display on built-in, glasses-free 3D device displays, or on external 3D TVs.

Under the terms of the development agreement, DDD and TI will work closely to optimize the performance of the TriDef 2D-to-3D conversion software for OMAP processors. The companies anticipate marketing the optimized solution to Smartphone and tablet customers in the second half of 2011.

Chris Yewdall, chief executive of DDD said:

"We are pleased to have been selected by TI as a solution provider for its powerful OMAP mobile applications processors. The delivery of TriDef Mobile is another important milestone for us as we seek to expand our markets into mobile 3D devices including smartphones and tablet PCs."

Enquiries

About DDD Group

DDD, also known as Dynamic Digital Depth, is transforming the viewing experience with applications for 3D displays. Its patented technologies enable: 3D viewing with and without glasses; simple integration of computer games applications with 3D displays; supply of 3D content through 2D to 3D conversion; and 3D transmission over existing networks. DDD's shares are quoted on the London Stock Exchange's AIM Market (AIM: DDD).

Technology background

A new category of flat screen LCD and plasma displays is being developed and marketed by major consumer electronics companies that provide stereoscopic 3D images both with and without the need for the viewer to wear glasses. Stereoscopic 3D images appear to have natural in and off-screen depth. 3D displays can now be found in desktop PC displays, notebook computers, and HDTVs worldwide and have also been included in mobile phones in Japan and Korea.

DDD's solutions provide an important bridge between conventional two-dimensional (2D) software applications and content and the new 3D displays. Normal 2D pictures, video and computer graphics images are manipulated by DDD's patented software enabling them to be displayed on 3D displays without requiring the content to be created especially for a 3D display. DDD's solutions also enable automatic conversion of virtually any media from 2D to 3D without any pre-processing of the 2D image.

DDD licenses these software applications, marketed under the TriDef® brand, to consumer electronics manufacturers for inclusion with the 3D display products supplied to their end users. DDD also licenses its software directly to end users who already own 3D displays and through an international sales channel. DDD's customers include: Texas Instruments, LG Electronics, Samsung, HP, Acer, Fujitsu, Lenovo, Sharp, Wistron Corporation and Arisawa Manufacturing Company.

OMAP is a trademark of Texas Instruments Incorporated. All other brands or product names contained herein are the property of their respective owners.