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DDD Group Plc Announces 3D Content Solution, DDD Mobile(TM), for Mobile Telephones

Posted on: Monday, 25 July 2005, 03:00 CDT

DDD Group plc (LSE:DDD), the 3D software and content company, today announced a comprehensive 3D content solution for mobile telephone handsets. The software solution, DDD Mobile(TM), allows the presentation of photos, animations and movies in a stereoscopic 3D format.

This software solution, which resides on the mobile telephone handset, provides a powerful 3D content solution for mobile handset makers seeking to incorporate the latest 3D "glasses-free" LCD displays within their wireless products. Using the software library provided by DDD, handset manufacturers can now offer the following features to mobile telephone users: -- Automatic 2D-to-3D conversion: -- Of photographs captured with the built-in camera -- Of MPEG4(a) movies captured with the built-in camera -- Of still images and movies transmitted to the handset -- Presentation: -- Of original 3D still images and MPEG4 movies transmitted to the handset -- Consumer control: -- End-user control of the 3D depth, and off-screen effect, to suit personal viewing preferences

DDD's progress in developing a solution for 3D content on mobile phones is significant since the ability to derive content data revenues from the deployment of 3D handsets to subscribers is seen as a critical factor to the successful widespread adoption of 3D in the wireless markets.

DDD Mobile continues DDD's philosophy of offering a 3D content solution that is independent of the display (i.e., the screen). The solution supports the latest 3D mobile displays, including those from Sharp Corporation, Sanyo Epson and Samsung SDI. This approach ensures that handset manufacturers can offer the widest choice of 3D displays to their customers.

Premium 3D content for DDD Mobile is provided through DDD's offline 2D-to-3D conversion service, allowing wireless network operators and content aggregators to immediately support new 3D handsets with high quality 3D content drawn from current libraries of popular still images, animations and video sequences that may be purchased by wireless subscribers.

DDD Mobile was developed using the ARM(R) Versatile Application Baseboard and RealView(R) Developer Suite. The ARM926EJ-S(TM) processor forms the basis for next-generation smart phones, communicators and PDAs that are expected to include 3D displays as handset manufacturers seek to find innovative ways of differentiating their product lines.

Dave Steer, director, US Segment Marketing, ARM, commented: "As the mobile industry continues to seek innovative means of entertaining subscribers and driving handset replacement, we expect that the emerging 3D displays will gain increasing popularity. DDD's impressive, software-based solution leverages the industry-leading ARM wireless development platform, simplifying the design and development and deployment for 3D mobile phones."

Chris Yewdall, Chief Executive of DDD, said: "The delivery of DDD Mobile represents a significant milestone for the company. We believe that by selecting the ARM processor as the basis for our solution, we will benefit from ARM's substantial presence in the wireless device market while providing flexibility and choice to our prospective mobile telephone licensees worldwide. The capabilities of our DDD Mobile solution have received very positive reviews in recent demonstrations to 3D display developers, handset manufacturers, wireless network operators and content developers in Asia, North America and Europe."

Notes to Editors

Glossary of terms

(a) MPEG4 is the standard for multimedia movies for the fixed and mobile web.

About DDD

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

-- A new category of flat-screen LCD and plasma displays are

being developed and marketed by major consumer electronics

companies that provide stereoscopic 3D images without the need

for the viewer to wear glasses. Stereoscopic 3D images appear

to have natural in- and off-screen depth. 3D displays have

already been included with mobile telephones in Japan and in

desktop PC displays and notebook computers in North America

and Japan.

-- In 2003 and 2004, DoCoMo introduced two models of Sharp mobile

telephone that included a 3D LCD display developed by Sharp

Corporation. DoCoMo sold approximately 2.8 million 3D mobile

telephones in Japan.

-- DDD's solutions provide an important bridge between

conventional two-dimensional (2D) 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 specially for a 3D display. DDD

recently announced the ability to automatically convert still

photographs and DVD video to 3D without any preprocessing of

the 2D image.

-- DDD licenses these software applications, marketed under the

TriDef(R) and DDD Mobile(TM) brand names, to manufacturers

for inclusion with the 3D display products supplied to end

users. DDD also licenses the software directly to end users

who already own 3D displays and through an international sales

channel. Sharp Corporation and DDD entered into a multiyear

software licensing agreement in October 2003 that allows Sharp

to include a bundle of five of DDD's 3D software applications

with Sharp's Actius range of 3D notebook PCs sold in Japan and

America.

-- DDD expects to license the DDD Mobile software library to

handset makers who wish to include 3D LCD displays in a

variety of wireless devices, including next-generation

smartphones and PDAs. The licensing arrangements are expected

to yield a per unit royalty to DDD based on the number of

wireless devices manufactured by the licensee. These projects

may also yield one-time development and integration fees

associated with assisting the manufacturer in the successful

integration of the DDD software with the 3D wireless device.

-- DDD also intends to generate income through the conversion of

existing libraries of premium mobile content, including

wallpaper, animations and movies. The company expects to

participate in a share of the income paid by wireless

subscribers who download 3D content that has been converted to

3D by DDD.

-- DDD is currently expanding the product range to allow its

content solutions to be used on future 3D display products,

including consumer television.

-- The ARM architecture is now available from more than thirty

semiconductor suppliers, providing the handset manufacturer

with a wide choice of silicon manufacturers. ARM semiconductor

partners who develop wireless platforms around ARM include

Lucent, LSI Logic, Texas Instruments, NEC, Panasonic and Sony.

More information is available at www.DDD.com.

TriDef and DDD Mobile are trademarks of DDD Group plc.

ARM and RealView are registered trademarks of ARM Limited. ARM926EJ-S is a trademark of ARM Limited. ARM refers to ARM Holdings plc (LSE:ARM)(Nasdaq:ARMHY) together with its subsidiaries, including ARM Limited, ARM Inc., ARM Physical IP Inc., Axys Design Automation Inc., Axys GmbH, ARM KK, ARM Korea Ltd., ARM Taiwan Ltd., ARM France SAS, ARM Consulting (Shanghai) Co. Ltd., ARM Belgium NV., ARM Embedded Technologies Pvt. Ltd. and ARM Physical IP Inc.

All other trademarks mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners.

Source: Business Wire

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