FINDING innovative ways to entertain is an endless quest for the television industry. One approach getting the executives excited is to add an extra dimension to programmes. But will 3D TV find a receptive audience?
The set makers Panasonic and Sony certainly think so. Their 3D-ready TVs could be in homes as early as next year. Meanwhile, European broadcaster British Sky Broadcasting plans to launch its first 3D television channel.
The BSkyB system will use polarisation technology, which broadcasts two image streams 鈥� one for each eye 鈥� and uses filters on the TV and special glasses for the viewer to create the 3D effect.
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But success in the home market isn鈥檛 guaranteed, says Tom Morrod at media analysts . Because each eye sees only half the pixels on the screen, the result, he notes, falls short of the true high-definition 3D that viewers may expect. 鈥淭here鈥檚 not a market for this technology any more,鈥� he says, purely because Sony and Panasonic promise their televisions will offer full high-definition 3D.
That technology is based on an 鈥渁ctive glasses鈥� system. Two full HD image streams are flashed alternately on the screen, while the two lenses of the active glasses darken in sequence with the images on the screen. Again, each eye sees a different image, creating a 3D effect.
Beaming two HD streams increases broadcast costs, however, and even if a common approach to transmitting 3D programmes is agreed, other problems remain. 鈥淭he science of shooting in 3D is still young,鈥� says Mike Fisher at media analysts . 鈥淭he nuances of filming are still being learned and developed.鈥�
For example, UK-based production company Arena TV couldn鈥檛 find a commercially available 3D camera rig, so has improvised with its own design, strapping two lightweight HD cameras together on a fixed rig. The system works, but loses the versatility of a conventional rig, says Arena鈥檚 managing director Richard Yeowart, slowing down filming. Until these issues are resolved, viewers might find that although they can buy a 3D TV, there鈥檚 nothing to watch on it.
