Archive for the ‘Sport’ Category

Ryder Cup golfing action will be broadcasted on Sky TV in 3D. It will mark the launch of Europe’s first 3D TV channel.

While it is already golf’s most high-profile global tournament, the launch of 3D watching experience is expected to attract a wealth of new viewers to the sport. It is estimated that the global television audience will reach a billion. Precisely how many people will be able to watch 3D TV is not known. However, the UK’s largest electronics retailer, DSG International (DSGi) said 25% of the TVs in its 670 Currys and PC World stores are now 3D-enabled and, earlier this month, John Lewis announced 15% of its TV sales over 40 inches are now 3D.

To get the full 3D experience, viewers will need a new 3D-enabled TV and Sky’s high-definition package.

Also Turner Sports and The PGA of America announced that they will offer coverage of the 92nd PGA Championship in 3D on Thursday, Aug. 12 and Friday, Aug. 13, on PGA.com and through TNT’s television distributors Bright House Networks, Cablevision, Comcast, Cox Communications, DIRECTV, and Time Warner Cable. The 3D coverage will focus on the par-3 12th and 17th holes at Whistling Straits from 3:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. ET each day. Host Vince Cellini who will be joined by 2002 PGA Champion Rich Beem will provide commentary and analysis on the holes. Beem also will provide analysis throughout the weekend during PGA.com’s extensive 2D online offerings.

The 3D production will use eight cameras produced specifically for 3D that will provide a unique look at course action and give fans a one-of-a-kind visual experience to watch the world’s best golfers play the course’s challenging par-3s.

“At Turner Sports we continually look to provide the fan with an innovative viewing experience through our ability to test and explore new opportunities,” said Lenny Daniels, Turner Sports EVP and COO. “The PGA Championship has always been a platform for forward thinking and interactive technology. During previous PGA Championship coverage on TNT and PGA.com, we have introduced our marquee follow coverage, live streaming action through mobile apps and included social networking within our linear broadcast. Introducing 3D coverage to this crown jewel event allows us another opportunity to better serve our audience and add to our multitude of platforms.”

“The PGA Championship has perennially been the source of many of the game’s most special moments,” said PGA of America Director of Broadcast & New Media Casey Morton. “The addition of 3D television and online technology unfolding at Whistling Straits, a spectacular venue for viewers, is yet another new level of excitement for fans to follow the world’s premier players. We anticipate that the addition of this bonus for viewers opens another chapter in PGA Championship tradition.”

The 2010 World Cup in South Africa is being filmed in 3D for the first time. Up to 25 of the games will be captured using 3D cameras.

Initially the 3D footage was planned to also be shown at public events in seven cities around the world.

Sony technology will be used to film the games in 3D.

The majority of existing 3D set-ups use two-camera systems to record images tailored specifically for the left and right eye of the viewer, which requires special polarised glasses for viewers.

However, earlier this year, Sony announced a single-lens camera, which is especially suited for sporting events. The camera takes a single image which then is split by mirrors and recorded on two sensors.

It is predicted there may be 13.6m 3D TV sets installed in Europe by 2013.

In 2008, the BBC broadcast the world's first live sporting event in 3D, beaming back an England vs. Scotland game from the Six Nations to a cinema in London.

Due to the World Cup, the most watched football tournament in the world, Korea's electronics producers are enjoying a major boost in the sale of 3D television sets.

Samsung Electronics reported it sold more than 6,000 3D TVs here in the first two weeks of June, compared to a monthly average of 5,000 sold during the February to May period.

Driven by the World Cup, Samsung expects domestic sales to surpass 10,000 units by the end of this month.

Although the price of Samsung 3D TVs ranges from US$2,388 to $8,154, there is not enough in stock to meet the rising demand.

LG Electronics also saw a jump in 3D TV sales, selling more than 3,000 units at home in June. Experts forecasts that LG will sell 10,000 sets in the domestic market before releasing models overseas later this year.

3D TV along with Apple's new iPad, is forming a hot trend in consumer electronics. However in these early days consumers might want to wait for the technology to mature before making a purchase decision.

Every major TV maker from Samsung to LG to Sony to Panasonic promised to launch their new 3D capable TV sets in the first half of 2010, it was featured at the Consumer Electronics Show 2010 in Las Vegas. The 3D feature is hoped to help achieve new sales of TVs.

New 3D ready content is being created and presented almost every week, like the Masters golf tournament, produced by the Augusta National Golf Club. Everyone knows about James Cameron's 3D blockbuster "Avatar," which has opened the growing era for 3D TV.

Problem 1
Despite the available limited 3D content, experts agree that 3D TV is still in its infant phase. Some technical improvements on the TVs will need to be implemented in this respect. Those consumers who recently bought a new HD TV set do not need to rush to get a new 3D enabled one before everything (technology and content wise) falls into place.

Problem 2
Prices have come down dramatically on TVs. And it makes manufacturers now look for something new to offer to keep consumers paying a premium for new products. Some manufacturers started offering Internet features in their TV sets. 3D could become the next feature to boost premium sales. Watching a movie or sporting event broadcast in 3D requires viewers to have a new 3D-capable TV. Current offering on the market have hefty price tags.

The success of "Avatar" has also grabbed Hollywood's attention. Now movie studios are staring to produce new 3D movies and retrofitting older ones with 3D. Even recently released movies are getting the 3D treatment post-production, such as the new "Clash of the Titans" remake in theaters now.

New Blu-Ray players that can play 3D movies for the new 3D TVs have been offered on the market, and movie studios are promising at least 70 titles of Blu-Ray 3D movies by the end of the year. "Avatar" will be one of them.

Problem 3
Similar to what happened with HD television, sports programs in 3D should be popular with viewers. ESPN will be broadcasting some content in 3D this summer with a World Cup soccer match, not to mention the Summer X Games, NBA games, and college basketball and football in 3D. However we sould remember that HDTV, though developed in the 1970s, didn't get widely popular due to cost of parts and processes until the late 1990s. People are still not buying HDTV at the rate of regular color TVs in the past.

The emerging 3D technology is ideal for showing events, while news broadcasting will be hardly something that people would want to see in 3D.

Problem 4
The most obvious hurdle is the fact that viewers still need to wear glasses when they watch 3D TV. TV manufacturers are working on technology for no-glass 3D viewing. However, it's still years away from showing up in consumer TVs.

Simply getting people to even wear special glasses isn't the biggest problem. The real issue is that the glasses that work with the current version of "active" 3D TVs require crystal shutter glasses, which work by very quickly blocking each eye in sequence. The glasses, in addition to the liquid-crystal lenses, contain electronics and batteries, typically good for 80 or more hours, that sync to the TV via an infrared or Bluetooth signal. These glasses cost about $150 a pop. And to make matters worse, glasses made for one manufacturer's TV won't work with a competitor's TV, even though it uses the same "active" 3D technology.

A more advanced version of the 3D TV technology called "passive" 3D doesn't require battery powered glasses. Viewers can wear cheap glasses that many people are already wearing in theaters for 3D movies. Instead of spending $150, these glasses cost only about $1 to $1.50 a piece. That said, the passive 3D TVs are likely to be more expensive. Exactly, how much more expensive is unclear. Some experts estimate that these TVs will be $500 to $1,000 more expensive than the active 3D TVs.

Another issue is that the "3D effect" of a 3D picture is different for different people. For example, animated films actually have less of a 3D effect because they are designed for children, whose eyes are set closer together than adults. Some TVs, such as the Samsung 3D TV available now, allows consumers to adjust the 3D-ness of the picture. Ideally, the adjustment should be made in the glasses.

Among other uses for 3D technology there are 3D games.

Those who have old TVs (either HD or not) should not fear that they would not be able to watch 3D films or programs on their equipment. Older TV sets without 3D feature will still show the picture in 2D as before, even if all TV channels convert to 3D format.

Problem 5
Another concern that medical experts are researching, is that watching 3D significantly increases the workload on your eyes and brain, which are not designed for 3D at all. Eyes' accommodation mechanism experiences a huge stress and some people already do get headache while watching 3D movies. It is said to depend on the distance to the screen. If you can choose a back row seat in a cinema, it is more difficult to do at home in front of your 3d TV.

So there are more questions than answers at this moment.

Sitting on your living room couch, you can experience the wonders of sports on 3D TV: a football flies through the goal posts and smack dab into your face, an image so real you flinch and move out of the way. The NBA and a few of its member organizations began flirting with 3D technology back in 2007.

ESPN is to launch a 3D channel in June 2010, aiming to broadcast 85 live events, including the World Cup and BCS national championship game. Fox is also working with DIRECTV to produce its 2010 MLB All-Star game in 3D. Discovery is also going to launch a 3D network in 2011.

"It's going to be an evolution, not a revolution, but it's going to be changing the way we look at television in the household," said Chuck Pagano, ESPN vice president of technology. "We don't know what the appetite is yet, but we are going to learn a lot in this next year."

There are certain hurdles to 3D sports production like getting the graphics right—and deciding where to put the box score and statistics is as important as creating the graphics themselves. Because the broadcast has depth, graphics had to be placed in a way that wouldn't lead to players constantly running through them and distracting from the game. 3ality doesn't put the graphics far in front of everything because they found most people didn't mind if players occasionally blocked them.

Television manufacturers see an opportunity to grow their market and are beginning to sell 3D TVs in the United States. Hollywood released about 14 3D movies last year, none bigger than blockbuster Avatar, which surpassed Titanic as the highest worldwide grossing film of all-time with $2.5 billion in sales.

Besides movies that come from cinemas to home TV, more content for TV is going to have to be produced to make it worth the investment for the consumer to buy a 3D TV set.

There is another issue to watching 3D at home - those glasses, another requirement to watch in 3D. High-tech glasses are sold separately and range in price from $35 to $300.

Not all consumers are prepared to put on glasses at home to watch TV programs.