This morning a historic event took place, the first 3D television signal began broadcasting in Australia. But you already knew that right ? Cause you have yourself a 3D TV don’t you ? Oh you don’t, well I’m sure the 3 people in Australia who do really appreciated it.
Of course I’m being a tad facetious, when really it is a technological achievement that should be commended. However, this technology is way ahead of its time. Often in technology there’s a chicken and egg problem, think of the recent example of Blu-ray. Movie companies wouldn’t produce movies on Blu-ray because not many consumers had Blu-ray players. Consumers had little incentive to buy Blu-ray because the selection was so limited.
In this case 3D content has arrived despite the very low number of TV’s in homes that support it. The licence required to transmit 3D content on a new free-to-air channel is currently jointly held by both Channel 9 and SBS.
The new 3D channel is currently only in trial phase in a specific area of Sydney, but will be rolled out to a number of major cities over the coming weeks. The footage for this mornings first broadcast (starting at midnight) was filmed in Canada, Panasonic was quick to point out it was done using their AG-3DA1 camera.
Whilst the initial offerings are pre-produced content, the first live 3D broadcast will come in the coming weeks and months. Naturally the first genre to benefit is Sports. Rugby are amongst the first on offer so if your a fan, make sure you have plenty glasses for you and your friends to watch in 3D.
Like most I forked out for a HDTV not long ago, so I won’t be rushing to replace it just for 3D anytime soon. Going forward in the next 12 months you’ll be hard pressed to find a TV that doesn’t support 3D. That means when you go to replace your current set, you’ll get a 3D-capable set wether your into 3D or not. Remember they still do 2D as well. I just hope the 3D format wars are resolved sooner rather than later.
More @ Broadcast Australia
