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Sky concerned Channel 4 3D will give viewers wrong idea

Posted by Daniel Bennett on Mon 16 Nov 2009

Sky keen to bring 3D into the future

Channel 4 starts its 3D week today using anaglyph technology, but Sky is concerned that this could give viewers the wrong idea about 3D TV.

Channel 4 will use 20-year-old technology to broadcast in 3D across standard TV sets. This requires the viewer to wear the infamous cardboard-cut-out glasses and means that the actual three-dimensional action is fairly limited.

- Channel 4’s 3D week programme schedule
- 3D technology you can enjoy right now
- 10 ways 3D used to be rubbish

A spokesperson for Sky told us that they welcome other broadcasters’ experimentation with the 3D format, but they also want to make it clear that the 3D experience has “moved on considerably from the red and green glasses of the 1980s.”

They added: “Sky is currently using similar polarisation technology to that being employed very successfully in many of today’s cinemas. It’s a rich, immersive experience and one which we believe has a commercial future, hence our commitment to launch a channel next year.”

Essentially, Channel 4’s broadcast will look more like the implausibly bad Jaws 3D film from the 1980s than the effects seen in the latest 3D movies such as The Final Destination (though much can’t be said about the film itself). Sky's own 3D broadcasts will launch in 2010 with their first dedicated 3D channel.

Here at T3, when we first heard about Channel 4’s 3D week, we were looking forward to seeing the likes Dr Gunther Von Hagens’ Live Autopsy and True Blood in 3D. Instead, the line-up is a toothless affair, featuring 50-year-old footage of the Queen’s coronation and a Hannah Montana concert in 3D.

Interestingly, at the end of our talk with Sky, they were keen to send out an invitation to other broadcasters. “We’d welcome the opportunity for those experimenting with 3D to share content with us, so we can put it through its paces over a 21st century 3D infrastructure, to whet their appetite for the opportunity ahead.”

Link: Sky