3DTV – The Aries Epic Group (Dubai) is a consortium of independent firms with global headquarters in the Middle East and subsidiaries in India and Singapore. Under the Aries Epica brand name, the company is introducing a range of autostereoscopic display products.
According to Jeemon Pulley, managing director at subsidiary Epica, the company launched a 50-inch, 4K format (3840 x 2160), “multi-view” 3DTV with LED edge backlighting at the GITEX Technology Week held in Dubai during the week of October 12. He went on to say, “In two months we will have the product in the market with initial target to hit at least eight markets, among them UK, Singapore, UAE and India.” Beyond that, the company plans to “go globally.”
The price for the TVs has not yet been fixed. However, Jeemon stated that the prices could be double that of the average TV. The TVs will be available in sizes starting from 39 inches all the way to 110 inches. Aries is currently taking pre-orders.
All the Aries Epica products are based on lenticular technology. The company reports licensing the patented autostereoscopic 3D technology from the Dutch company Dimenco BV (Veldhoven, The Netherlands), a well-known player in glasses-free 3D. One focus of the collaboration was to develop the means to reduce the price of lenticular systems.
In discussing the features of its TV product, the company stated, “As for the infrastructural changes to adapt to the new 3D technology, the significant point is that there isn’t any need for adaptation. This is because, conveniently, the format and rendering are done locally. So neither the content owners nor the distributors need worry. In fact, no need for additional bandwidth for any high-resolution content, either.” The company went on to state, “One can experience a standard 3D format after just plug in” and “Aries Epica has achieved the best in terms of viewing experience to an absolute 140 degree. Epica’s TV will have fully integrated 2D and 3D technology.”
Clearly, the information provided by the company about the new 3D product is minimal and embedded within a great deal of marketing speak. The illustration below is reported to be of TVs on the production floor.
The reason for reporting the upcoming availability of these products is two-fold. First, the Dimenco technology is entirely creditable. Second, the prospect of manufacturing 3D products in India is, at this time, still unusual and, potentially, low cost. Based on these two factors, it would seem to be worthwhile to watch the development of the Aries Epica 3D product lines.
To this last point, Epica is planning additional autostereoscopic products, including a 3D laptop, a 3D desktop monitor, a seven-inch 3D tablet and a 3D smartphone.
It can also be noted that one of the Aries Epic Group subsidiaries, Epica Studio (Kerala, India), is a content producer. The company develops content ranging from animations to the conversion of 2D content to 3D content. -Arthur Berman
Epica Studio, +91 471 2302010, [email protected]
