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Sky premieres live 3DTV – yawn

Robin Hague

Peculiar milestone in consumer-free 3DTV fairyland

With little or no fanfare, Sky in the UK has premiered a world-first of sorts, screening the first-ever live sports TV broadcast in 3D, albeit to a cheery bunch of sports fans in just nine pubs across the country. A world-first of sorts in that who cares?

The spectacle-wearing spectacle watchers were treated to a thrilling Premiership football clash between title chasers Arsenal and Manchester United. This was to showcase Sky’s plans for a 3DTV channel, to be launched later this year, screening the vast array of quality 3D movies, entertainment and sports. By vast array, think virtually no array.

The addition of so-called three-dimensional value is supposed to provide a boost to HD in the UK, where many HD television set owners have yet to switch to a high-definition service.

Herein lies the biblical-size big lesson for manufacturers and platforms alike – there is only so much demand for new services, particularly in a recession. Consumers don’t see a benefit in HD, much as they don’t see an advantage in Super Audio CD, which has yet to take-off outside the audiophile community, or DAB over FM radio – added quality isn’t a must have or even a need for most consumers.

How can they be persuaded there is a benefit in 3DTV?

FreebandTVNews has addressed the 3DTV issue before, just after Channel 4’s disastrously laughable 3D venture in the UK last November. Nothing has changed other than that the global successes of the 3D movies Up and Avatar have helped persuade TV and electronics executives that there is significant demand to try to foist yet more technology on the consumer.

However, there is a vast difference between spending little money on a couple of hours at the cinema and spending thousands on a new 3D-Ready TV set, especially after having recently spent money on an HD-Ready set.

There is little in the way of consumer research into any demand for 3DTV. However, In-Stat has released a report; “3DTV Coming Soon to a Home Near You”, which claims 2010 will be the big year for 3D television.

"Exposure to 3D films is important to the debut of 3D TV, because consumers who have seen 3D films are more interested than the general population in being able to view 3D content at home," says Michelle Abraham, In-Stat analyst. " Our 3D consumer survey shows that 64 percent consumers are at least somewhat interested in 3D in the home.

“For those who have seen a 3D movie in the last 12 months, the percentage increases to 76 percent." In-Stat forecasts worldwide 3D TV shipments will reach 41 million in 2014, with North America the largest market.

However, according to In-Stat, pricing is a major obstacle, with consumers resistant to paying a premium for 3D television sets.

They’ll be even more resistant when they realise there is little 3DTV content available, other than movies and not many of them that anyone would want to watch. And 41 million 3D TV shipments over the next 4 years, spread among a number of manufacturers, is hardly the three-dimensional Trojan Horse the manufacturing industry needs to make this worthwhile.

Nor does this situation encourage content producers to create more 3DTV programming. Switching to wholly new camera technology, post-production and directing disciplines are only worthwhile when there is a critical mass of demand.

It is difficult not to sound peevish when contemplating 3DTV. It’s an easy target, with TV executives seemingly wilfully blind to the biggest of big elephants in the room – there is little or no demand.

It is currently a meaningless enterprise that is potentially good only for manufacturers, certainly not consumers. With the recession in full swing, consumers are becoming far more astute in their purchasing habits and are unlikely to welcome technology they have not sought or see a need for.

Certainly, there have been products that have seized the public imagination, where before there was no demand.  The Sony Walkman for example and its 21st Century incarnation, the iPod., CD and DVD technology, PVRs and IPTV.

3DTV does not yet belong in that group. Perhaps the way forward is through gaming. The gaming industry is always seeking new ways of attracting new consumers and 3D gaming on TV will help bridge the content gap.

However, 3DTV also comes up against other television technologies, such as IPTV.  The demand for IPTV is real and already much greater than 3DTV, with time-poor consumers perceiving genuine benefits, most importantly, content-on-demand.

No matter the singular issues confronting it, IPTV is a genuine step forward.  Those promoting 3DTV will have to make a compelling case on its behalf before consumers are persuaded to make the investment.

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