While the US was suffering through a 3D song broadcast at the Grammys that used those piddly red/blue-lensed glasses, News Corp’s BSkyB was kicking off its first true 3D TV broadcast for a match between Manchester United and the Arsenal at a few pubs.
So far, reviews from around the Web have been overwhelmingly positive. There are scattered complaints that users had to stay directly in front of the 3D sets and that long shots of the field didn’t give an eye-popping visual, but all that was washed away when it came to live close-ups and slow motion replays.
"It’s brilliant; the corner and back of the goal views are just amazing," Pocket-Lint quoted viewer Kate Cobley. "If it’s in 3D, then I would definitely be more likely to come to the pub to watch sport."
The big test will come with April’s full rollout followed by a summer’s worth of World Cup matches and, eventually, ESPN’s foray into 3D for the US market.
Sky billed the event as the world’s first live 3D sports broadcast.
"The best bit was when the players came out of the tunnel — it was amazing. They looked like they were running right past you," John Cormican told The Guardian, saying 3D was much more impressive than high-definition TV.
For this first showing, nine pubs across the UK and Ireland received the trial broadcast by Sky, which is to launch Europe’s first dedicated 3D channel later this year. Starting in April, it’s planning to broadcast one premiership match a week in 3D.
Various papers and blogs asked for user opinions. The consensus seems to be that 3D adds a lot of benefit for sports and that while users would likely buy sets more often than not because of sports, most seem to be willing to wait for the price to drop down a significant amount. |
