With Britain's BSkyB already working on it and ESPN, Sony and Discovery all announcing earlier today that they will start 3D TV channels in America, you have to ask: anything for South African TV viewers regarding 3D television?
The answers is . . . No. But you can add: . . .Not yet.
Just before Avatar hit the big screen at the end of last year, I anticipated the huge buzz that 3D is going to generate this year. So I asked the TV channels what they're planning regarding 3D viewing. How for instance will M-Net show movies like Toy Story 3D, Up or Avatar later this year first - movies made to be enjoyed for the 3D aspect that is integral as a cinematography device to these films?
Click on READ MORE below and I will tell you EVERYTHING on the latest 3D television developments happening in South Africa!
First of all I need to tell you that the next generation of 3D television is here. It is coming, it will be big and it is workable, but it will be a while before South African TV viewers get 3D viewing as full TV channels in their homes. From a technology and infrastructure point of view, broadcasters and viewers need a few things however.
Required for 3D viewing in your home is:
1. A special flat screen television set, called a 3D HDTV. Sony is already working on one. Of course you can already see 3D television, but what we're talking about is the ''next generation''-level - Avatar-level of 3D watching in your home as a 3D TV channel, showing all programming on a channel in 3D.
2. TV material recorded and broadcast in 3D by the TV channel. This is expensive because just like the upgrade to high definition (HD), broadcasters will have to adapt again. Filming sport in 3D? Well, you'll need additional camera angles and some of the current angles won't do.
3. Your decoder or set top box will need a software upgrade to be able to receive and rework the 3D signal.
4. 3D glasses.
What all of this means is that South African TV viewers will have to contend with watching movies made and intended for 3D, as ''normal'' 2D movies. You will either have to go and see it when it's showing at the cinema, or lose out on the 3D effect the creators intended when you watch it at home on TV.
Neither the SABC or e.tv currently has plans for 3D TV channels, who are still working on getting to HD which in itself is still a long term project for these broadcasters. M-Net however is aware of it and is telling me that they're ''working'' on it, meaning that M-Net is investigating the possibilities, nature and logistics in a wide scope of what 3D television entails.
As I've said, this is ''brand-new'' technology and very expensive. There is also no uniform 3D glasses standard, further compounding the challenges. For different movies, you sometimes need different glasses.
''M-Net would love to present a 3D festival, but we don't have specific dates,'' says Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity. ''It's a long term project because the broadcast logistics involved with this, is complex. Viewers for instance needs different 3D glasses to look at different movies. But we're working on a plan.''
UPDATE - Thursday 7 January 2010, 18:15 - I have received word from MultiChoice on what MultiChoice is doing regarding 3D television. Multichoice tells me the satellite TV operator is tracking 3D television ''closely''. That story with info that I got first, you can read RIGHT HERE.
