3D television (3DTV) is
television
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...
that conveys
depth perception to the viewer by employing techniques such as
stereoscopic display,
multi-view display,
2D-plus-depth
2D-plus-Depth is a stereoscopic video coding format that is used for 3D displays, such as Philips WOWvx. Philips discontinued work on the WOWvx line in 2009, citing "current market developments". Currently, this Philips technology is used by See ...
, or any other form of
3D display
A 3D display is a display device capable of conveying depth to the viewer. Many 3D displays are stereoscopic displays, which produce a basic 3D effect by means of stereopsis, but can cause eye strain and visual fatigue. Newer 3D displays such ...
. Most modern 3D
television set
A television set or television receiver, more commonly called the television, TV, TV set, telly, tele, or tube, is a device that combines a tuner, display, and loudspeakers, for the purpose of viewing and hearing television broadcasts, or using ...
s use an
active shutter 3D system or a
polarized 3D system
A polarized 3D system uses polarization glasses to create the illusion of three-dimensional images by restricting the light that reaches each eye (an example of stereoscopy).
To present stereoscopic images and films, two images are projected s ...
, and some are
autostereoscopic without the need of glasses. As of 2017, most 3D TV sets and services are no longer available from manufacturers.
History
The
stereoscope
A stereoscope is a device for viewing a stereoscopic pair of separate images, depicting left-eye and right-eye views of the same scene, as a single three-dimensional image.
A typical stereoscope provides each eye with a lens that makes the ima ...
was first invented by
Sir Charles Wheatstone
Sir Charles Wheatstone FRS FRSE DCL LLD (6 February 1802 – 19 October 1875), was an English scientist and inventor of many scientific breakthroughs of the Victorian era, including the English concertina, the stereoscope (a device for dis ...
in 1838.
[Contributions to the Physiology of Vision.—Part the First. On some remarkable, and hitherto unobserved, Phenomena of Binocular Vision. By CHARLES WHEATSTONE, F.R.S., Professor of Experimental Philosophy in King's College, London]
Stereoscopy.com
It showed that when two pictures are viewed stereoscopically, they are combined by the brain to produce 3D
depth perception. The stereoscope was improved by Louis Jules Duboscq, and a famous picture of
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...
was displayed at
The Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary structure in which it was held), was an international exhibition which took p ...
in 1851. In 1855 the
Kinematoscope The Kinematoscope (a.k.a. Motoscope) was patented in 1861 (United States Patent 31357), a protean development in the history of cinema. The invention aimed to present the illusion of motion.
The patent was filed by Coleman Sellers of Philadelphia ...
was invented. In the late 1890s, the British film pioneer
William Friese-Greene
William Friese-Greene (born William Edward Green, 7 September 1855 – 5 May 1921) was a prolific English inventor and professional photographer. He was known as a pioneer in the field of motion pictures, having devised a series of cameras in 1 ...
filed a patent for a 3D movie process. On 10 June 1915, former Edison Studios chief director
Edwin S. Porter
Edwin Stanton Porter (April 21, 1870 – April 30, 1941) was an American film pioneer, most famous as a producer, director, studio manager and cinematographer with the Edison Manufacturing Company and the Famous Players Film Company. Of over ...
and William E. Waddell presented tests in red-green
anaglyph to an audience at the Astor Theater in New York City and in 1922 the first public 3D movie ''
The Power of Love'' was displayed.
Stereoscopic 3D television was demonstrated for the first time on 10 August 1928, by
John Logie Baird
John Logie Baird FRSE (; 13 August 188814 June 1946) was a Scottish inventor, electrical engineer, and innovator who demonstrated the world's first live working television system on 26 January 1926. He went on to invent the first publicly dem ...
in his company's premises at 133 Long Acre, London. Baird pioneered a variety of 3D television systems using electro-mechanical and cathode-ray tube techniques. The first 3D TV was produced in 1935, and stereoscopic 3D still cameras for personal use had already become fairly common by the Second World War. Many 3D movies were produced for theatrical release in the US during the 1950s just when television started to become popular. The first such movie was ''
Bwana Devil
''Bwana Devil'' is a 1952 American adventure B movie written, directed, and produced by Arch Oboler, and starring Robert Stack, Barbara Britton, and Nigel Bruce. ''Bwana Devil'' is based on the true story of the Tsavo maneaters and filmed wit ...
'' from
United Artists
United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the stud ...
that could be seen all across the US in 1952. One year later, in 1953, came the 3D movie ''
House of Wax'' which also featured
stereophonic sound.
Alfred Hitchcock produced his film ''
Dial M for Murder
''Dial M for Murder'' is a 1954 American crime thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings, Anthony Dawson, and John Williams. Both the screenplay and the successful stage play on which it was b ...
'' in 3D, but for the purpose of maximizing profits the movie was released in 2D because not all cinemas were able to display 3D films. In 1946 the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
also developed 3D films, with ''
Robinzon Kruzo
''Robinson Crusoe'' (russian: Робинзон Крузо, Robinzon Kruzo) is a 1947 Soviet adventure 3-D film.
Plot
The story of the film is based on the 1719 novel ''Robinson Crusoe'' by Daniel Defoe.
Cast
* Pavel Kadochnikov - Robinson Crus ...
'' being its first full-length 3D movie. People were excited to view the 3D movies, but were put off by their poor quality. Because of this, their popularity declined quickly. There was another attempt in the 1970s and 1980s to make 3D movies more mainstream with the releases of ''
Friday the 13th Part III
''Friday the 13th Part III'' is a 1982 American slasher film directed by Steve Miner, produced by Frank Mancuso Jr., and starring Dana Kimmell, Paul Kratka, and Richard Brooker. It is the third installment in the ''Friday the 13th'' franchise. ...
'' (1982) and ''
Jaws 3-D
''Jaws 3-D'' (titled ''Jaws III'' in its 2-D form) is a 1983 American thriller film directed by Joe Alves and starring Dennis Quaid, Bess Armstrong, Lea Thompson and Louis Gossett Jr. It is the second sequel to Steven Spielberg's '' Jaws'' and t ...
'' (1983).
Matsushita Electric (now Panasonic) developed a 3D television that employed an
active shutter 3D system in the late 1970s. They unveiled the television in 1981, while at the same time adapting the technology for use with the first
stereoscopic video game,
Sega's arcade game ''
SubRoc-3D'' (1982).
3D film showings became more popular throughout the 2000s, culminating in the success of 3D presentations of ''
Avatar
Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'' in December 2009 and January 2010.
Though 3D movies were generally well received by the public, 3D television did not become popular until after the
CES 2010 trade show, when major manufacturers began selling a full lineup of 3D televisions, following the success of ''Avatar''. Shortly thereafter, consumer and professional
3D camcorder
A 3D camcorder can record 3D video.
The first consumer 3D camcorder was the Toshiba SK-3D7K, exhibited at CES 1988 in Las Vegas, and available for purchase in 1989; 500 were produced.http://pubpages.unh.edu/~wfc/Toshiba/index.html It had a dual ...
s were released to the public by Sony and Panasonic. These used two lenses, one for each eye. According to DisplaySearch, 3D television shipments totaled 41.45 million units in 2012, compared with 24.14 in 2011 and 2.26 in 2010. In late 2013, the number of 3D TV viewers started to decline, and in 2016, development of 3D TV is limited to a few premium models. Production of 3D TVs ended in 2016.
Technologies
There are several techniques to produce and display 3D moving pictures. The following are some of the technical details and methodologies employed in some of the more notable 3D movie systems that have been developed.
The future of 3D television is also emerging as time progresses. New technology like WindowWalls (wall-size displays) and
Visible light communication
In telecommunications, visible light communication (VLC) is the use of visible light (light with a frequency of 400–800 THz/wavelength of 780–375 nm) as a transmission medium. VLC is a subset of optical wireless communications tec ...
are being implemented into 3D television as the demand for 3D TV increases. Scott Birnbaum, vice president of Samsung's LCD business, said that the demand for 3D TV would skyrocket in the next couple of years, fueled by televised sports (but this did not happen). One might be able to obtain information directly onto their television due to new technologies like the Visible Light Communication that allows for this to happen because the LED lights transmit information by flickering at high frequencies.
Displaying technologies
The basic requirement is to display offset images that are filtered separately to the left and right eye. Two strategies have been used to accomplish this: have the viewer wear eyeglasses to filter the separately offset images to each eye, or have the light source split the images directionally into the viewer's eyes (no glasses required). Common 3D display technology for projecting stereoscopic image pairs to the viewer include:
* With filters/lenses:
**
Anaglyph 3D
Anaglyph 3D is the stereoscopic 3D effect achieved by means of encoding each eye's image using filters of different (usually chromatically opposite) colors, typically red and cyan. Anaglyph 3D images contain two differently filtered colored ...
– with passive color filters
**
Polarized 3D system
A polarized 3D system uses polarization glasses to create the illusion of three-dimensional images by restricting the light that reaches each eye (an example of stereoscopy).
To present stereoscopic images and films, two images are projected s ...
– with passive polarization filters
**
Active shutter 3D system – with active shutters
**
Head-mounted display
A head-mounted display (HMD) is a display device, worn on the head or as part of a helmet (see Helmet-mounted display for aviation applications), that has a small display optic in front of one ( monocular HMD) or each eye ( binocular HMD). An ...
– with a separate display positioned in front of each eye, and lenses used primarily to relax eye focus
* Without lenses:
Autostereoscopic displays, sometimes referred to commercially as Auto 3D.
* Others:
In a
CEATEC Combined Exhibition of Advanced Technologies (also known as CEATEC) is an annual trade show in Japan. It is regarded as the Japanese equivalent of Consumer Electronics Show. It is Japan's largest IT and electronics exhibition and conference.
...
2011 exhibition,
Hitachi released glasses-free 3D projection systems that use a set of 24 projectors, lenses, and translucent half mirrors to superimpose 3D images with a horizontal viewing angle of 60 degrees and a vertical viewing angle of 30 degrees. Besides Hitachi,
Sony
, commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professiona ...
is also working on similar technologies.
Single-view displays project only one stereo pair at a time. Multi-view displays either use head tracking to change the view depending on the viewing angle, or simultaneous projection of multiple independent views of a scene for multiple viewers (automultiscopic). Such multiple views can be created on the fly using the
2D-plus-depth
2D-plus-Depth is a stereoscopic video coding format that is used for 3D displays, such as Philips WOWvx. Philips discontinued work on the WOWvx line in 2009, citing "current market developments". Currently, this Philips technology is used by See ...
format.
Various other display techniques have been described, such as holography,
volumetric display
A volumetric display device is a display device that forms a visual representation of an object in three physical dimensions, as opposed to the planar image of traditional screens that simulate depth through a number of different visual effects. ...
, and the
Pulfrich effect
The Pulfrich effect is a psychophysical percept wherein lateral motion of an object in the field of view is interpreted by the visual cortex as having a depth component, due to a relative difference in signal timings between the two eyes.
Overvie ...
, which was used in ''Doctor Who'' Dimensions in Time, in 1993, by ''3rd Rock From The Sun'' in 1997, and by the Discovery Channel's ''Shark Week'' in 2000.
3D glasses may reduce image brightness.
Producing technologies
Stereoscopy is the most widely accepted method for capturing and delivering 3D video. It involves capturing stereo pairs in a two-view setup, with cameras mounted side by side and separated by the same distance as is between a person's pupils. If we imagine projecting an object point in a scene along the line-of-sight for each eye, in turn; to a flat background screen, we may describe the location of this point mathematically using simple algebra. In rectangular coordinates with the screen lying in the Y–Z plane, with the Z axis upward and the Y axis to the right, with the viewer centered along the X axis; we find that the screen coordinates are simply the sum of two terms. One accounting for perspective and the other for binocular shift. Perspective modifies the Z and Y coordinates of the object point, by a factor of D/(D–x), while binocular shift contributes an additional term (to the Y coordinate only) of s·x/(2·(D–x)), where D is the distance from the selected system origin to the viewer (right between the eyes), s is the eye separation (about 7 centimeters), and x is the true x coordinate of the object point. The binocular shift is positive for the left-eye-view and negative for the right-eye-view. For very distant object points, the eyes will be looking along essentially the same line of sight. For very near objects, the eyes may become excessively "cross-eyed". However, for scenes in the greater portion of the field of view, a realistic image is readily achieved by superposition of the left and right images (using the polarization method or synchronized shutter-lens method) provided the viewer is not too near the screen and the left and right images are correctly positioned on the screen. Digital technology has largely eliminated inaccurate superposition that was a common problem during the era of traditional stereoscopic films.
Multi-view capture uses arrays of many cameras to capture a 3D scene through multiple independent video streams.
Plenoptic camera
A light field camera, also known as a plenoptic camera, is a camera that captures information about the '' light field'' emanating from a scene; that is, the intensity of light in a scene, and also the precise direction that the light rays are ...
s, which capture the
light field
The light field is a vector function that describes the amount of light flowing in every direction through every point in space. The space of all possible '' light rays'' is given by the five-dimensional plenoptic function, and the magnitude of e ...
of a scene, can also be used to capture multiple views with a single main lens. Depending on the camera setup, the resulting views can either be displayed on multi-view displays, or passed along for further image processing.
After capture, stereo or multi-view image data can be processed to extract
2D plus depth
2D-plus-Depth is a stereoscopic video coding format that is used for 3D displays, such as Philips WOWvx. Philips discontinued work on the WOWvx line in 2009, citing "current market developments". Currently, this Philips technology is used by See ...
information for each view, effectively creating a device-independent representation of the original 3D scene. These data can be used to aid inter-view image compression or to generate stereoscopic pairs for multiple different view angles and screen sizes.
2D plus depth processing can be used to recreate 3D scenes even from a single view and convert legacy film and video material to a 3D look, though a convincing effect is harder to achieve and the resulting image will likely look like a cardboard miniature.
3D production
Production
Production may refer to:
Economics and business
* Production (economics)
* Production, the act of manufacturing goods
* Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services)
* Production as a stati ...
of events such as live sports broadcasts in 3D differs from the methods used for 2D broadcasting. A high technical standard must be maintained because any mismatch in color, alignment, or focus between two cameras may destroy the 3D effect or produce discomfort in the viewer. Zoom lenses for each camera of a stereo pair must track over their full range of
focal lengths.
Addition of graphical elements (such as a scoreboard, timers, or logos) to a 3D picture must place the synthesized elements at a suitable depth within the frame, so that viewers can comfortably view the added elements as well as the main picture. This requires more powerful computers to calculate the correct appearance of the graphical elements. For example, the
line of scrimmage
In gridiron football, a line of scrimmage is an imaginary transverse line (across the width of the field) beyond which a team cannot cross until the next play has begun. Its location is based on the spot where the ball is placed after the end o ...
that appears as a
projected yellow line on the field during an
American football
American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...
broadcast requires about one thousand times more processing power to produce in 3D compared to a 2D image.
Since 3D images are effectively more immersive than 2D broadcasts, fewer
fast cuts between camera angles are needed. 3D
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
broadcasts cut between cameras about one-fifth as often as in 2D broadcasting. Rapid cuts between two different viewpoints can be uncomfortable for the viewer, so
directors
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
may lengthen the transition or provide images with intermediate depth between two extremes to "rest" the viewer's eyes. 3D images are most effective if the cameras are at a low angle of view, simulating presence of the viewer at the event; this can present problems with people or structures blocking the view of the event. While fewer camera locations are required, the overall number of cameras is similar to a 2D broadcast because each position needs two cameras. Other live sport events have additional factors that affect production; for example, an ice rink presents few cues for depth due to its uniform appearance.
TV sets
These TV sets were high-end and generally included
Ethernet
Ethernet () is a family of wired computer networking technologies commonly used in local area networks (LAN), metropolitan area networks (MAN) and wide area networks (WAN). It was commercially introduced in 1980 and first standardized in 1 ...
,
USB player and recorder,
Bluetooth
Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances and building personal area networks (PANs). In the most widely used mode, transmission power is limi ...
and USB
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...
.
3D-ready TV sets
3D-ready TV sets are those that can operate in 3D mode (in addition to regular 2D mode) using one of several display technologies to recreate a
stereoscopic image. These TV sets usually supported
HDMI 1.4 and a minimum output
refresh rate
The refresh rate (or "vertical refresh rate", "vertical scan rate", terminology originating with the cathode ray tubes) is the number of times per second that a raster-based display device displays a new image. This is independent from frame rate ...
of 120 Hz; glasses may be sold separately.
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
was developing a 3D television set that would be available for the consumer market by about 2011 without the need for special glasses (
autostereoscopy
Autostereoscopy is any method of displaying stereoscopic images (adding binocular perception of 3D depth) without the use of special headgear, glasses, something that affects vision, or anything for eyes on the part of the viewer. Because headg ...
).
[ Republished and archived b]
Archive.org
as
. Retrieved 6 January 2010. However it was canceled because of the slow adoption of customers going from 2D to 3D.
In August 2010, Toshiba announced plans to bring a range of autostereoscopic TVs to market by the end of the year.
The Chinese manufacturer
TCL Corporation
TCL Technology (originally an abbreviation for Telephone Communication Limited) is a Chinese electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong Province. It designs, develops, manufactures, and sells consumer products including televisi ...
has developed a LCD 3D TV called the TD-42F, which is currently available in China. This model uses a
lenticular system and does not require any special glasses (autostereoscopy). It currently sells for approximately $20,000.
Onida,
LG,
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
, Sony, and Philips intended to increase their 3D TV offering with plans to make 3D TV sales account for over 50% of their respective TV distribution offering in 2012. It was expected that the screens would use a mixture of technologies until there is standardization across the industry. Samsung offers the LED 7000, LCD 750, PDP 7000 TV sets and the Blu-ray 6900.
Full 3D TV sets
Full 3D TV sets included
Samsung
The Samsung Group (or simply Samsung) ( ko, 삼성 ) is a South Korean multinational manufacturing conglomerate headquartered in Samsung Town, Seoul, South Korea. It comprises numerous affiliated businesses, most of them united under the ...
Full HD 3D (1920×1080p, 60 Hz) and
Panasonic
formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka. It was founded by Kōnosuke Matsushita in 1918 as a lightbulb ...
Full HD 3D (1920×1080p, 60 Hz).
A September 2011 Cnet review touted
Toshiba
, commonly known as Toshiba and stylized as TOSHIBA, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. Its diversified products and services include power, industrial and social infrastructure systems, ...
's 55ZL2 as "the future of television". Because of the demanding nature of auto-stereoscopic 3D technology, the display features a 3840x2160 display; however, there was at the time no video content available at this resolution. That said, it utilizes a
multi-core processor
A multi-core processor is a microprocessor on a single integrated circuit with two or more separate processing units, called cores, each of which reads and executes program instructions. The instructions are ordinary CPU instructions (such ...
to provide excellent upscaling to the "4k2k" resolution. Using a directional lenticular lenslet filter, the display generates nine 3D views. This technology commonly creates dead spots, which Toshiba avoids by using an eye-tracking camera to adjust the image. The reviewers also note that the 3D resolution for a 1080p signal looks more like 720p and lacks
parallax, which reduces immersion.
Standardization efforts
The entertainment industry was expected to adopt a common and compatible standard for 3D in home electronics. To present faster
frame rate in
high definition to avoid
judder
Telecine ( or ) is the process of transferring film into video and is performed in a color suite. The term is also used to refer to the equipment used in the post-production process.
Telecine enables a motion picture, captured originally on ...
(non-smooth, linear motion), enhancing
3-D film
3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pic ...
, televisions and
broadcasting
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting beg ...
, other unresolved standards are the type of
3D glasses
Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
(passive or active), including
bandwidth
Bandwidth commonly refers to:
* Bandwidth (signal processing) or ''analog bandwidth'', ''frequency bandwidth'', or ''radio bandwidth'', a measure of the width of a frequency range
* Bandwidth (computing), the rate of data transfer, bit rate or thr ...
considerations,
subtitles,
recording format
A recording format is a format for encoding data for storage on a storage medium. The format can be container information such as sectors on a disk, or user/audience information (content) such as analog stereo audio. Multiple levels of encodi ...
, and a
Blu-ray
The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...
standard. With improvements in digital technology, in the late 2000s,
3D movies
3D films are motion pictures made to give an illusion of three-dimensional solidity, usually with the help of special glasses worn by viewers. They have existed in some form since 1915, but had been largely relegated to a niche in the motion pict ...
became more practical to produce and display, putting competitive pressure behind the creation of 3D television standards. There are several techniques for
Stereoscopic Video Coding, and stereoscopic distribution formatting including
anaglyph,
quincunx
A quincunx () is a geometric pattern consisting of five points arranged in a cross, with four of them forming a square or rectangle and a fifth at its center. The same pattern has other names, including "in saltire" or "in cross" in heraldry (d ...
, and
2D plus Delta
2D Plus Delta (also 2D+Delta) is a method of encoding 3D image listed as a part of MPEG2 and MPEG4 standards, specifically on the H.264 implementation of the Multiview Video Coding extension. This technology originally started as a proprietary me ...
.
Serial digital interface is used to carry 3D TV signals within TV stations.
Content providers, such as
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
,
DreamWorks, and other Hollywood studios, and technology developers, such as
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
, asked
SMPTE
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) (, rarely ), founded in 1916 as the Society of Motion Picture Engineers or SMPE, is a global professional association of engineers, technologists, and executives working in the m ...
for the development of a 3DTV standard in order to avoid a
battle of formats and to guarantee consumers that they will be able to view the 3D content they purchase and to provide them with 3D home solutions for all pockets. In August 2008, SMPTE established the "3-D Home Display Formats Task Force" to define the parameters of a stereoscopic 3D mastering standard for content viewed on any fixed device in the home, no matter the delivery channel. It explored the standards that need to be set for 3D content distributed via broadcast, cable, satellite, packaged media, and the Internet to be played-out on televisions, computer screens and other tethered displays. After six months, the committee produced a report to define the issues and challenges, minimum standards, and evaluation criteria, which the Society said would serve as a working document for SMPTE 3D standards efforts to follow. A follow-on effort to draft a standard for 3D content formats was expected to take another 18 to 30 months.
Production studios were developing an increasing number of 3D titles for the cinema and as many as a dozen companies were actively working on the core technology behind the product. Many had technologies available to demonstrate, but no clear road forward for a mainstream offering emerged.
Under these circumstances, SMPTE's inaugural meeting was essentially a call for proposals for 3D television; more than 160 people from 80 companies signed up for this first meeting. Vendors that presented their respective technologies at the task force meeting included
SENSIO Technologies,
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
, Dynamic Digital Depth (DDD),
TDVision TDVision Systems, Inc., was a company that designed products and system architectures for stereoscopic video coding, stereoscopic video games, and head mounted displays. The company was founded by Manuel Gutierrez Novelo and Isidoro Pessah in Mex ...
, and
Real D, all of which had 3D distribution technologies.
There were many active 3D projects in SMPTE for both TV and filmmakers in the late 2000s. The SMPTE 35PM40 Working Group decided (without influence from the SMPTE Board or any other external influence) that the good progress being made on 3D standards within other SMPTE groups (including the IMF Interoperable Master Format) meant that its "overview" project would be best published as an Engineering Report. However, by 2011, the SMPTE board had "abandoned all further work on 3D television".
However, SMPTE was not the only 3D standards group. Other organizations such as the
Consumer Electronics Association
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) is a standard and trade organization representing 1,376 consumer technology companies in the United States. CTA works to influence public policy, holds events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CE ...
(CEA),
3D@Home Consortium,
ITU
The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Unio ...
and the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC), at
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts (SCA) houses seven academic divisions: Film & Television Production; Cinema & Media Studies; John C. Hench Division of Animation + Digital Arts; John Wells Division of Writing for Sc ...
have created their own investigation groups and have already offered to collaborate to reach a common solution. The
Digital TV Group
The DTG (Digital TV Group) is the association for British digital television broadcasters and annually publish and maintain the technical specifications for digital terrestrial television (DTT) in the United Kingdom, which is known as the D-Boo ...
(DTG), has committed to profiling a UK standard for 3DTV products and services. Other standard groups such as
DVB
Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is a set of international open standards for digital television. DVB standards are maintained by the DVB Project, an international industry consortium, and are published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) o ...
,
BDA,
ARIB
The , commonly known as , is a standardization organization in Japan. ARIB is designated as the center of promotion of the efficient use of the radio spectrum and designated frequency change support agency. Its activities include those previously ...
,
ATSC,
DVD Forum
The DVD Forum is an international organization composed of hardware, software, media and production companies that use and develop the DVD and formerly HD DVD formats. It was initially known as the DVD Consortium when it was founded in 1995.
H ...
,
IEC and others were involved in the process.
MPEG
The Moving Picture Experts Group (MPEG) is an alliance of working groups established jointly by ISO and IEC that sets standards for media coding, including compression coding of audio, video, graphics, and genomic data; and transmission and f ...
has been researching multi-view, stereoscopic, and
2D plus depth
2D-plus-Depth is a stereoscopic video coding format that is used for 3D displays, such as Philips WOWvx. Philips discontinued work on the WOWvx line in 2009, citing "current market developments". Currently, this Philips technology is used by See ...
3D video coding since the mid-1990s; the first result of this research is the
Multiview Video Coding
Multi view Video Coding (MVC, also known as MVC 3D) is a stereoscopic video coding standard for video compression that allows for the efficient encoding of video sequences captured simultaneously from multiple camera angles in a single video str ...
extension for
MPEG-4 AVC
Advanced Video Coding (AVC), also referred to as H.264 or MPEG-4 Part 10, is a video compression standard based on block-oriented, motion-compensated coding. It is by far the most commonly used format for the recording, compression, and distr ...
that is currently undergoing standardization. MVC has been chosen by the Blu-ray disc association for 3D distribution. The format offers backwards compatibility with 2D Blu-ray players.
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...
version 1.4, released in June 2009, defines a number of 3D transmission formats. The format "Frame Packing" (left and right image packed into one video frame with twice the normal bandwidth) is mandatory for HDMI 1.4 3D devices. All three resolutions (720p50, 720p60, and 1080p24) have to be supported by display devices, and at least one of those by playback devices. Other resolutions and formats are optional. While HDMI 1.4 devices will be capable of transmitting 3D pictures in full 1080p, HDMI 1.3 does not include such support. As an out-of-spec solution for the bitrate problem, a 3D image may be displayed at a lower resolution, like interlaced or at
standard definition
Standard-definition television (SDTV, SD, often shortened to standard definition) is a television system which uses a resolution that is not considered to be either high or enhanced definition. "Standard" refers to it being the prevailing sp ...
.
DVB 3D-TV standard
DVB
Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB) is a set of international open standards for digital television. DVB standards are maintained by the DVB Project, an international industry consortium, and are published by a Joint Technical Committee (JTC) o ...
has established the
DVB 3D-TV Specification. The following 3D-TV consumer configurations will be available to the public:
* 3D-TV connected to
3D Blu-ray Player for packaged media.
* 3D-TV connected to HD Games Console, e.g.
PS3 for 3D gaming.
* 3D-TV connected to HD STB for broadcast 3D-TV.
* 3D-TV receiving a 3D-TV broadcast directly via a built-in tuner and decoder.
For the two broadcast scenarios above, initial requirements are for
Pay-TV
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but ...
broadcasters to deliver 3D-TV services over existing
HD broadcasting infrastructures, and to use existing receivers (with
firmware upgrade, as required) to deliver 3D content to 3D-TV sets, via an
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface (HDMI) is a proprietary audio/video interface for transmitting uncompressed video data and compressed or uncompressed digital audio data from an HDMI-compliant source device, such as a display controlle ...
or equivalent connection, if needed. This is termed
Frame Compatible. There are a range of Frame Compatible formats. They include the Side by Side (SbS) format, the Top and Bottom (TaB) format, and others.
Broadcasts
3D channels
In 2008, 3D programming was broadcast on Japanese satellite
BS11 approximately four times per day.
Cablevision
Cablevision Systems Corporation was an American cable television company with systems serving areas surrounding New York City. It was the fifth-largest cable provider and ninth-largest television provider in the United States. Throughout its ex ...
launched a 3D version of its
MSG
Monosodium glutamate (MSG), also known as sodium glutamate, is the sodium Salt (chemistry), salt of glutamic acid. MSG is found naturally in some foods including tomatoes and cheese in this glutamic acid form. MSG is used in cooking as a fl ...
channel on 24 March 2010, which was a limited service that was only available only to Cablevision subscribers on channel 1300. The channel was dedicated primarily to sports broadcasts, including MSG's 3D broadcast of a
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
-
New York Islanders game, limited coverage of the
2010 Masters Tournament
The 2010 Masters Tournament was the 74th Masters Tournament, played April 8–11 at Augusta National Golf Club.
Phil Mickelson won his third Masters and fourth major title, three shots ahead of runner-up Lee Westwood.
Field
The Masters has t ...
, and (in cooperation with
YES Network
The Yankee Entertainment and Sports Network (YES) is an American pay television regional sports network owned by Yankee Global Enterprises (the largest shareholder with 26%), Sinclair Broadcast Group and Entertainment Studios (which owns 20%), ...
) a game between the
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
and
Seattle Mariners
The Seattle Mariners are an American professional baseball team based in Seattle. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) West division. The team joined the American League as an expansion team ...
.
The first Australian program broadcast in high-definition 3D was Fox Sports coverage of the soccer game Australia-New Zealand on 24 May 2010.
Also in Australia, the
Nine Network and
Special Broadcasting Service
The Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) is an Australian hybrid-funded public service broadcaster. About 80 percent of funding for the company is derived from the Australian Government. SBS operates six TV channels ( SBS, SBS Viceland, SBS World ...
brought the
State of Origin
A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...
(matches on 26 May, 16 June and 7 July 2010) (Nine) and
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
(SBS) in 3D on Channel 40 respectively.
In early 2010, Discovery Communications, Imax, and Sony announced plans to launch a 3D TV channel in the US with a planned launch in early 2011. At the same time, a Russian company
Platform HD
Platforma HD (russian: Платформа HD) was a Russian operator of satellite TV which broadcasts a package of HD-quality channels over the European territory of Russia. In addition, the package of channels of high-definition was avail ...
and its partners – General Satellite and Samsung Electronics – announced about their 3D television project, which would be the first similar project in Russia.
In Brazil
Rede TV! became the first Terrestrial television to transmit 3D signal freely for all 3D enabled audience on 21 May.
Starting on 11 June 2010,
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). Th ...
launched a new channel,
ESPN 3D
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The co ...
, dedicated to 3D sports with up to 85 live events a year in 3D.
On 1 January 2010, the world's first 3D channel, SKY 3D, started broadcasting nationwide in
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korean Peninsula and sharing a land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed by the Yellow Sea, while its eas ...
by Korea Digital Satellite Broadcasting. The channel's slogan is "World No.1 3D Channel". This 24/7 channel uses the Side by Side technology at a resolution of 1920x1080i. 3D contents include education, animation, sport, documentary and performances.
A full 24-hour broadcast channel was announced at the 2010 Consumer Electronics show as a joint venture from IMAX, Sony, and the Discovery channel. The intent was to launch the channel in the United States by year end 2010. However, this did not materialize in time.
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
and Panasonic launched 2 broadcast channels and 1
Video on demand
Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of ...
channel with 3D content in June 2010. DirecTV previewed a live demo of their 3D feed at the
Consumer Electronics Show held 7–10 January 2010.
In Europe,
British Sky Broadcasting
Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...
(Sky) launched a limited 3D TV broadcast service on 3 April 2010. Transmitting from the
Astra 2A satellite at
28.2° east,
Sky 3D
The sky is an unobstructed view upward from the surface of the Earth. It includes the atmosphere and outer space. It may also be considered a place between the ground and outer space, thus distinct from outer space.
In the field of astronomy, ...
broadcast a selection of live English Premier League football matches to over 1000 British pubs and clubs equipped with a Sky+HD Digibox and 3D Ready TVs, and preview programmes provided for free to top-tier Sky HD subscribers with 3D TV equipment. This was later expanded to include a selection of films, sports, and entertainment programming launched to Sky subscribers on 1 October 2010.
On 28 September 2010, Virgin Media launched a 3D TV on Demand service.
Several other European
pay-TV
Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, but ...
networks are also planning 3D TV channels and some have started test transmissions on other
Astra satellites, including French pay-TV operator
Canal+
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flo ...
which has announced its first 3D channel is to be launched in December 2010. Also the Spanish Canal+ has started the first broadcastings on 18 May 2010 and included 2010
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply called the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of the ' ( FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The tournament ha ...
matches in the new
Canal+ 3D channel. Satellite operator
SES
SES, S.E.S., Ses and similar variants can refere to:
Business and economics
* Socioeconomic status
* Scottish Economic Society, a learned society in Scotland
* SES, callsign of the TV station SES/RTS (Mount Gambier, South Australia)
* SES S.A., ...
started a
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscripti ...
3D demonstration channel on the
Astra satellite at
23.5° east on 4 May 2010 for the opening of the 2010 ANGA Cable international trade fair using 3D programming supplied by 3D Ready TV manufacturer Samsung under an agreement between Astra and Samsung to co-promote 3D TV.
By November 2010, there were eight 3D channels broadcasting to Europe from three Astra satellite positions, including demonstrations provided by Astra, pay-TV from BSkyB, Canal+ and others, and the Dutch Brava3D cultural channel, which provides a mix of classical music, opera and ballet free-to-air across Europe from
Astra 23.5°E
Astra 23.5°E is a group of Astra (satellite), Astra communications satellites co-located at the 23.5° east position in the Clarke Belt owned and operated by SES S.A., SES based in Betzdorf, Luxembourg. 23.5° east is one of the major TV satellite ...
.
In April 2011, HIGH TV (a 3D family entertainment channel) launched. Headquartered in NY with offices in Hong Kong and London, the channel broadcasts through eight satellites round the world, covering Europe, Asia, the Nordic region, Russia, South America, Africa, Middle East and North America.
3flow is a 3D channel that began broadcasting on
Freebox
The Freebox is an ADSL-VDSL-FTTH modem and a set-top box that the French Internet service provider named Free (part of the Iliad group) provides to its DSL-FTTH subscribers.
Its main use is as a high-end fixed and wireless modem (802.11g MIMO), ...
in France on 1 April 2011. Made up entirely of native stereoscopic programming produced and owned by WildEarth and Sasashani (WildEarth's parent company). Initially the focus was mostly safari and has now widened to include underwater, extreme sports and other 3D content from around the world. WildEarth and Sasashani also distribute 3D series and shows through 3D Content Hub.
On 1 January 2012, China's first 3D Test Channel launched on
China Central Television and 5 other networks.
On 1 February 2012: The Extreme Sports Channel – the home of Extreme Sports launched in Italy on Sky Italia marking its international début in high definition (HD).
The channel's HD feed will be a simulcast of the standard definition feed launched in 1999, which now broadcasts to subscribers in 66 territories and in 12 languages across Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). The inaugural launch on Italy's Sky platform sees the channel's entrance into the HD market and from there it will begin rolling out to operators across the EMEA region.
In February 2012 Telecable de Tricom, a major Dominican cable TV provider, announced the launch of the first 3D TV programming package in Latin America. As of 3 July 2012, the only 3D channels available are 3flow and HIGH TV 3D.
In July 2013 the BBC announced that it would be indefinitely suspending 3D programming due to a lack of uptake. Only half of the estimated 1.5 million households in the UK with a 3D-enabled television watched the 2012 summer's Olympics opening ceremony in 3D.
In 2013, in the US,
ESPN 3D
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The co ...
was shut down due to lack of demand, followed by
Xfinity 3D and all
DirecTV
DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...
3D programming in 2014.
List of 3D TV channels
Standard HD channels have also broadcast in 3D.
BBC HD
BBC HD was a 24-hour high-definition television channel provided by the BBC. The service was initially run as a trial from 15 May 2006 until becoming a full service on 1 December 2007 before its discontinuation on 26 March 2013. It broadcast ...
occasionally broadcast high-profile events in 3D including the Wimbledon men's & ladies' singles finals and the opening and closing ceremonies of the
2012 Summer Olympics. However the BBC abandoned 3D broadcasting following the 2013 Wimbledon tennis championships.
3D episodes and shows
There have been several notable examples in television where 3D episodes have been produced, typically as one-hour specials or special events.
1980s
The first-ever 3D broadcast in the UK was an episode of the weekly science magazine ''The Real World'', made by
Television South
Television South (TVS) was the ITV franchise holder in the South and South East of England between 1 January 1982 at 9.25 am and 31 December 1992 at 11.59 pm. The company operated under various names, initially as 'Television South plc' and ...
and screened in the UK in February 1982. The program included excerpts of test footage shot by
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), commonly shortened to Philips, is a Dutch multinational conglomerate corporation that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, it has been mostly headquartered in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarters i ...
in the Netherlands. Red/green 3D glasses were given away free with copies of the
TV Times
''TV Times'' is a British television listings magazine published by Future plc. It was originally published by Independent Television Publications, owned by the participating ITV companies. The magazine was acquired by IPC Media in 1989, which ...
listings magazine, but the 3D sections of the programme were shown in monochrome. The experiment was repeated nationally in December 1982, with red/blue glasses allowing color 3D to be shown for the first time. The program was repeated the following weekend followed by a rare screening of the
Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western world, countries that id ...
''
Fort Ti
''Fort Ti'' is a 1953 American 3-D Western film directed by William Castle, and starring George Montgomery and Joan Vohs. Written by Robert E. Kent, the film is the first Western to be released in 3-D and the first 3-D feature to be released ...
'' starring
George Montgomery and
Joan Vohs
Joan Vohs (July 30, 1927 – June 4, 2001) was an American model and film and television actress.
Early years
Vohs was a native of St. Albans, Queens, in New York City, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs William Vohs, who also had two younger daughter ...
.
In 1985 Portugal's national TV channel
RTP 1
RTP1 (''RTP um'') is a Portuguese free-to-air television channel owned and operated by state-owned public broadcaster Rádio e Televisão de Portugal (RTP). It is the company's flagship television channel, and is known for broadcasting mainst ...
broadcast the movie ''
Creature from the Black Lagoon
''Creature from the Black Lagoon'' is a 1954 American black-and-white 3D monster horror film produced by William Alland and directed by Jack Arnold, from a screenplay by Harry Essex and Arthur Ross and a story by Maurice Zimm. It stars ...
'' in anaglyph format. Red/cyan 3D glasses were sold with magazines.
1990s
In November 1993, the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
technique. 3D glasses were sold in shops around the UK, a percentage of the sales going to the
charity. The week's programming concluded with a screening of the 3D ''
on U.S. television during the May 1997 sweeps. The sitcom ''
", where several of the characters' dreams are shown in 3D. The episode cued its viewers to put on their 3D glasses (which used the
) by including "3D on" and "3D off" icons in the corner of the screen as a way to alert them as to when the 3D sequences would start and finish. Customers were given free glasses courtesy of a joint venture between
Root Beer. Also in May 1997, ABC had a special line-up of shows that showcased specific scenes in 3D. The shows included ''
''. Similar to ''3rd Rock'', an icon alerted viewers when to put on the 3D glasses. Customers were given free anaglyph glasses at
for the promotion. Nickelodeon had a special lineup of shows in 1997 that also showcased specific scenes in 3D promoted as Nogglevision;
was the technology of choice for Nickelodeon's 3D.
in the UK ran a short season of 3D programming in November 2009 including Derren Brown and The Queen in 3D. Unlike previous British 3D TV experiments, the programmes were transmitted in
broadcast several shows in anaglyph format ("Real 3D") for a week. Red/cyan 3D glasses were sold exclusively by a hypermarket chain.
became the first broadcaster in the world to show a live sports event in 3D when
featured a Michael Jackson Tribute Sequence in 3D, using anaglyph format.
The very first stereoscopic indie live action comedy one-hour show called ''Safety Geeks : SVI : 3D'' specifically for 3DTV and 3D VOD was produced and released in March 2010 through Digital Dynamic Depth / Yabazam and their Yabazam website portal. ''Safety Geeks:SVI'' is the comic adventures of an elite force of safety experts, the P.O.S.H. (Professional Occupational Safety Hazard) team. Obsessed with making the world safer, the CSI-like team investigates accidents to find out what went wrong and who is to blame. It won the Los Angeles 3D film Festival in 2010 as best pilot or series in 3D.
In April 2010, the
tennis tournament in Paris, from 23 May to 6 June 2010, was filmed in 3D (center court only) and broadcast live via ADSL and fiber to Orange subscribers throughout France in a dedicated
on 26 May 2010.
On 29 May 2010, Sky broadcasts Guinness Premiership Final in 3D in selected pubs and clubs.
25 matches in the
on 30 June 2010 was the first presidential inauguration to telecast in live 3D by
. However, the telecast was only available in select places.
The
on 11 July 2010 in 3-D on their B.yond service.
Satellite delivered Bell TV in Canada began to offer a full-time pay-TV, 3D channel to its subscribers on 27 July 2010.
The
was broadcast in 3D for four hours on 13 August 2010, from 3–7 pm EDT. The broadcast was available on DirecTV, Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Cox Communications, and Cablevision.
In September 2010, the
as well as 3D video of her 2010 tour of Canada. This marks the first time the historical 3D images have been seen anywhere on television as well as the first broadcast of a Canadian produced 3D programme in Canada.
FioS and the
in 3D. The game was only broadcast in 3D in the northeast.
The
'' aired a 3D Halloween Bash on 29 October 2010.
The first Japanese television series in 3D, ''
'', premiered on 19 January 2011.
In May 2011, 3net released the first docu-reality TV series entitled ''Bullproof'' filmed in native 3D made by Digital Revolution Studios.
The 2011 3D Creative Arts Awards "Your World in 3D" was the first award show filmed in native 3D and televised on 3net 3D channel broadcast on DirectTV. The production was filmed at the
in Hollywood.
On 16 July 2011 – The Parlotones (South African Rock Act) became the first band to broadcast a Live Rock Opera to Terrestrial CInema in 3D, a Live 3D feed to DIRECT TV in the US and Facebook pay per view. It was called "Dragonflies & Astronauts".
The semi-finals, Bronze Final and Final matches of the
will be broadcast in 3D.
Singapore based Tiny Island Productions is currently producing ''
3D formats.
, which acquired the series, describes it as the first stereoscopic children's series and will air on 25 September 2011.
In July 2011, the
...