STV Leads with 3D

Following on from the success of the billion dollar box office hit Avatar, the Wall Street Journal recently reported that nineteen 3D movies are planned for release in the US in 2010.

The popularity of 3D is not just confined to the theatre with the rollout of 3D TV sets across a number of countries, including Australia, indicating that manufacturers and consumers are keen to try new and innovative products and services.

Subscription television content producers and channel operators are leading the way by offering new content to meet this growing consumer demand. Sky UK recently announced that they would launch Sky 3D, Europe’s first 3D TV channel on 3 April 2010, with the broadcast of a 3D Premier League Football match in over 1,000 pubs in the UK. 3D movies, sport, documentary and arts content will follow over 2010 for subscribers. In the US, a number of media companies such as Discovery Communications are partnering with TV manufacturers to develop 3D channels and applications. ESPN recently announced the launch of ESPN 3D which will broadcast the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match in 3D in the US on 11 June.

So far, the sale of 3D TV sets has looked promising with the first batch of Panasonic 3D-TVs selling out within days in the US. Coinciding with the launch of their 3D enabled Bravia LCD TV’s in the US Summer, Sony will also release a firmware update for their PS3 games console, giving it 3D capability. Samsung will launch 3D capable TVs in Australia in April with other manufacturers announcing that they will closely follow. The high costs of the TVs, the glasses and a lack of content have been raised as issues that may affect the take-up of the technology. At the recent ASTRA conference, Mike Fries from Liberty Global compared 3D to HD roughly ten years ago. He said that while it will take a long time to scale because of a lack of native 3D content, ‘it will happen’. David Wertheimer from the University of Southern California also stressed the importance of content in driving take-up but added that ‘consumers who have seen digital 3D know that the current state of the art is unlike any 3D they have seen in the past’.

Subscription television in Australia is already investing and lab testing 3D technology. John Porter CEO of AUSTAR recently said that the good news for the industry was that ‘our platforms are capable of managing 3D the same way as they are capable of managing HD’. FOXTEL CEO Kim Williams notes that ‘FOXTEL HD set top units have already carried 3D signals with terrific picture clarity,’ adding that FOXTEL will continue to run laboratory trials over the next year.

While 3D cinema has had intermittent success over the years, the latest trend to bring 3D into the home provides the perfect opportunity for subscription television in Australia to once again lead the way forward.