The 3D Digital team

Many of us already watch television in 3D. But for those who are stuck in a 2D world, a new Seattle startup called 3D Digital wants to help. The company, led by former Microsoftie Raif Khassanov and entrepreneur Eugene Gershman, is working on a method for people to watch 3D programming on 2D screens.

Still in the early stages of development, the company is hoping to embed the technology in set-top boxes.

We caught up with the company for the latest installment of Startup Spotlight.

Explain what you do so our parents can understand it: “We enable 3D programming such as movies and sports be available on regular 2D televisions.”

Inspiration hit us when” “World Cup 2010 was shot in 3D for all the 3D television owners. One of our founders has a 103-inch plasma and we just had to convert it into 3D for the full mind blowing experience. Why would we stop there? We decided to make it a priority to provide everyone with a 3D experience on their regular TVs.”

VC, Angel or Bootstrap: “We are self-funded seed stage and are now looking for angel (financing to) … go forward. We believe in this company and product, so we put our own funds to get the business going. Now that we have a prototype developed, we are looking for an angel investor to take us to the next level. We are not quite ready to go the VC route. Bootstrap route is an option, too. We are working on securing a few enterprise contracts that would help us advance forward.”

Our ‘secret sauce’ is: “We are unwilling to put out a mediocre product. We work unrelentingly toward the perfection of the viewing quality of our hardware demo, which is a product of our image processing technology. We also will only work with ethical and honest people that deliver what they say and this transfers over to who we partner with. We place a huge emphasis on the quality of our glasses. Our Active Anaglyph glasses technology … mitigates many of the problems some people experience with regular active shutter glasses. The idea … is to provide the best viewing experience in terms of the color, contrasts, resolution, all while reducing flickering and ghosting, which are common side effects of 3D viewing.”

The smartest move we’ve made so far: “Not listening to negative criticism from people. We have come across a lot of doubters, the naysayers and so on. We let our passion overcome negativity by not taking criticism to heart. All the while we have been hearing the advice and points of constructive feedback from our friends, family members, and industry experts; and we continue to implement their independent perspective for our benefit.”

The biggest mistake we’ve made so far: “We, like many startups, had team members wearing many hats; and in some cases the wrong hats. We wanted to be respectful of all of our team members and wanted everyone to have a say and participate in all meetings. The result of having meetings like this in practice can provide for scatter-braininess and inefficiency.”

Would you rather have Gates, Jobs, Zuckerberg or Bezos in your corner: “That would be nice given their backgrounds and success they have reached. Our team is important to us though, so these gentlemen would only add and never replace us.”

Our world domination strategy starts when: “When Active Anaglyph technology becomes an industry standard.”

Rivals should fear us because: “Our technology is patent protected and it is the only way to display 3D on non-3D TVs while maintaining full color and resolution.”

We are truly unique because: “Our unbeatable team and the technology that we’ve developed is a match made in heaven.”

The biggest hurdle we’ve overcome is: “Making people understand what exactly our technology does. We do not convert 2D to 3D, we enable you to watch 3D content on 2D screens.”

What’s the one piece of advice you’d give to other entrepreneurs just starting out: “Be patient and do your math. It’ll take some time to get going, meet people, analyze competition and make things work. Don’t give up on your idea and/or your investment.”

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.