Redrover quenches thirst for 3-D content

Redrover, a Korean brand of optical three-dimensional monitors, is carving out a big chunk of the global 3-D content market, armed with savvy technology and the right ideas.

“Our 3-D content is hands-down the best solution out there thanks to a wide selection and sophisticated picture quality that’s bound to make 3-D vision a most pleasurable experience,” said Ha Hoe-jin, CEO of Redrover in an interview with The Korea Herald. 

This is because Redrover has added 3-D content to its hardware-edge in aims to offer the 3-D television and monitor market the much-needed software.

The 3-D content Redrover offers is mostly animated films developed to optimize the 3-D experience, going by titles such as “The Nut Job,” “Bolts and Blip” and “The Beet Party,” some of them running as mini-series with up to 26 different episodes.

“We’re a big presence overseas, and now we are looking to provide more 3-D content at home,” Ha said.

Redrover currently produces its 3-D animation series and films in collaboration with “Toonbox Entertainment” based in the U.S.

As the CEO points out, the global content industry has not been able to keep up with the rising demand and interest in 3-D televisions, meaning customers were left to ponder what to watch on their new sets.

Another solution Redrover offers for the drought-stricken 3-D content industry is software that allows users to easily convert 2-D vision to 3-D.

Based on its success in developing 3-D content and related software, Ha said more than 60 percent of Redrover’s sales come from content, while the remainder relies on its traditional customer base in hardware.

“We believe that we’re now fast approaching an era where all visual content is being created not by the experts, but ordinary users, and we wanted to help them in that process,” Ha said.

But monitors still remain the mainstay product for the firm.

Redrover’s monitors are not for the ordinary home; these costly devices cater to mostly higher-end customers in need of intricate 3-D vision, such as research institutes and medical clinics.

“By using the so-called ‘half-mirror’ technology, our monitors are free of all the glitches that come with other 3-D panels,” Ha said.

He is targeting up to 40 billion won ($37 million) of sales this year, with an operating profit of 10 billion won.

Redrover still has a lot of growing to do, the CEO said, but he looked back with a smile on the “dark days” when he was unable to pay his employees.

“That’s a thing of the past now,” he said.

But Ha stressed the steady investment in research and development was the only way his business can expect to continue to prosper.

Redrover currently spends around 15-20 percent of its sales on research and development.

It has branches in China, Japan and the U.S.

By Kim Ji-hyun  (jemmie@heraldcorp.com)