Delivering 3D experience to the living room

* World-first solution delivers 3D movie-theater experience to the living room
* Soaring demand for 3D TVs - revenues set to hit USD 60 billion in five years
* Complete solution for delivering 3D from venue to viewer at home

Blockbuster movies such as Avatar have introduced hundreds of millions of people to the thrill of 3D. Now, more and more viewers want that same experience in the comfort of their living rooms. Some analysts predict that close to 80 million 3D TV sets will be sold by 2015 - remarkable given that they were launched only at the beginning of this year. Total revenues are expected to top USD 60 billion within five years.

Demand for mass-market 3D TV is soaring. Broadcasters and operators at the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) Show in Las Vegas on April 12-15 will learn how Ericsson’s (NASDAQ:ERIC) new solution for both direct-to-home (DTH) and contribution and distribution of 3D content will allow them to meet viewers’ demands.

Staffan Pehrson, Head of Solution Area TV, Ericsson, says that advances in camera, delivery, and display technologies now make it possible to effectively deploy 3D television to the home. Pehrson says: “Consumers will be able to get the same enhanced experience in their living room as they do at the movie theater. At NAB, we will launch a complete solution to enable broadcasters and operators to introduce 3D consumer services today.” The launch builds on Ericsson’s understanding and expertise in content distribution and high definition video.

The Ericsson 3D solution addresses challenges in both contribution and distribution as well as direct-to-home delivery of 3D content. The challenges for live 3D contribution differ greatly from DTH, with the utmost being the need for the best picture quality possible including full spatial resolution. Ericsson’s large contribution and distribution portfolios have been optimized to ensure that 3D feeds are compressed and delivered correctly.

The expertise in the TV area comes from Ericsson’s acquisition of Tandberg Television and its video compression technology three years ago. Thanks to its established position in the market, Ericsson can enable these 3D services to a rapidly expanding consumer group.

Notes to editors:

Ericsson will demonstrate a range of complete solutions for advanced television platforms, including 3D, at NAB 2010 (booth #SU3308).

About Ericsson 3D Content Delivery Solution:

The Ericsson CExH42 MPEG-4 AVC HD Contribution Encoder provides a natural platform for 3D contribution links, ensuring full control of encoding parameters, exact synchronization and time-stamping of the compressed frames and the generation of a fully packaged 3D simulcast.

Ericsson RX8200 Receiver: new technology for these receivers ensures that the exact temporal and spatial relationship between left and right feeds is also maintained at the receive end, avoiding possibly severe reductions in early 3D customer experience.

Ericsson EN8190 HD encoder: for today’s DTH delivery, it is paramount that 3D deployments using frame-compatible methods use the best available compression technology to maximize the consumer 3D experience. This encoder provides the MPEG-4 AVC HD compression, using new in-house technology designed to enable conversion to an all-HD world.

Encoding and video processing

Ericsson’s integrated receiver decoders

Ericsson Television web site

Our multimedia content is available at the broadcast room: www.ericsson.com/broadcast_room

Ericsson is the world’s leading provider of technology and services to telecom operators. Ericsson is the leader in 2G, 3G and 4G mobile technologies, and provides support for networks with over 2 billion subscribers and has the leading position in managed services. The company’s portfolio comprises mobile and fixed network infrastructure, telecom services, software, broadband and multimedia solutions for operators, enterprises and the media industry. The Sony Ericsson and ST-Ericsson joint ventures provide consumers with feature-rich personal mobile devices.

Ericsson is advancing its vision of being the “prime driver in an all-communicating world” through innovation, technology, and sustainable business solutions. Working in 175 countries, more than 80,000 employees generated revenue of SEK 206.5 billion (USD 27.1 billion) in 2009. Founded in 1876 with the headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, Ericsson is listed on OMX NASDAQ, Stockholm and NASDAQ New York.

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UPCOMING EVENTS

Ericsson’s Capital Markets Day, Stockholm, Sweden, May 5-6
Ericsson Business Innovation Forum, Shanghai, China, May 17-18