MasterImage 3-D Inc. on Tuesday said that the venture capital unit of Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics Co. is investing $15 million in the company’s 3-D technology tools.

MasterImage is based in Hollywood but has offices in Seoul, Tokyo and the United Kingdom. It said its technology enables the creation of content for and the viewing of glasses-free 3-D media on smart phones, tablet computers and cinema screens.

A technology called parallax barrier is used deliver slightly different images to each eye, creating the effect of viewing content in three dimensions. Other companies also are developing parallax barrier approaches to 3-D, but MasterImage Chief Executive Younghoon Lee said his company’s approach enables viewers to get a 3-D effect in both landscape or portrait mode and with a wider viewing angle than competitors.

“Our investment in MasterImage 3D is consistent with our strategy to work closely with established market leaders,” Ilseok Yoon, managing director of San Jose-based Samsung Ventures America, said in a statement. “The company was early to market with auto-stereoscopic 3-D mobile displays and has built a significant business in 3-D cinema.”

MasterImage, founded in 2004, is competing with established 3-D tech companies such as RealD Inc. of Beverly Hills, whose technology is being rolled out in theaters across the country, and San Francisco-based Dolby Laboratories Inc.