The Beeb: not a fan of 3D TV. Well, not a fan of the confusion surrounding its deployment. The BBC, in a recent interview, said that it’s not sure which direction 3D TV is heading, so it cannot commit to anything, much less a full deployment, any time soon.
Said the Corporation, by way of Andy Quested, principal technologist, HD, BBC Future Media and Technology:
About 50% of the respondents said the current formats are OK for their current thinking, well current thinking is about three to five years out, so it would work if they had to do anything now. 33% said they wouldn’t work at all and everyone said we had to investigate what the DVB was doing and what is coming out of those discussions. We don’t believe we have to rush this just to get a 3D service out based on some of the frame compatible systems.
In other words, the BBC isn’t going to spend money on an unproven (in the sense that it might not be around for long) technology just to keep up with the likes of Sky.
Raise your hand if you own a 3D TV and have seen a Premier League game in 3D.
I don’t expect to see too many hands in the air.
If there’s any advice to give, it would be this: don’t rush into buying a 3D TV unless you’re cool with spending money on something that’s not quite “there” yet. How long did it take for the major networks to get behind high definition?
Let things simmer a bit, that’s all. Unless you need to be the guy on the block who always has the latest this-or-that.