Opinion
Broadcaster focus
Sky’s 3d channel plans
Saturday 3rd April witnessed the launch of the Sky 3d Channel with a Barclays Premier League clash between Manchester United and Chelsea. Sky 3d will then show at least a further five Premier League games before the end of the current season, as well as the Coca-Cola Football League play-off finals from Wembley Stadium at the end of May. Over a thousand pubs and clubs in the UK and Ireland have already signed up to the channel. “We’re looking to have between six and eight hours a week of
programming content to start and, as we get a library of content, that will grow,” said Brian Lenz, Sky’s director of product design and TV product development. “We think 3d is an ‘appointment to view’ proposition. It’s not about trying to fill six hours of programming an evening, it’s about providing a couple of great shows per week.” The company is investing heavily in 3d support hardware for OB
programming. Sky has a dedicated 3d production team and purpose-built 3d outside broadcast truck, which was developed by Telegenic and Sony’s Professional Services division to enable live mixing between camera positions, slow motion replays and the use of innovative 3d graphics. Sony 3d technology will be widely used on the channel, such as the recently developed ‘3d Processor Box’ to acquire live corrected and aligned stereo images. While sport and live events will be the initial ‘appointments to view’,
they aren’t the only type of content to be set for the next dimension. Lenz says movies, entertainment, natural history and music would be on the channel and the broadcaster would be announcing a wider schedule in the autumn. This is when the technology is expected to have greater domestic penetration. Sky will then deliver live 3d programming on the existing Sky+HD box network to all customers equipped with a 3d Ready TV. “2010 is the year for 3d television,” adds Gerry O’Sullivan, Sky’s
director of strategic product development. “People have already embraced 3d cinema and because Sky’s 3d service uses the same kind of technology, we’re confident there will be demand for sport, movies, concerts and drama in 3d.” Sky has published production guidelines for the channel, which include
a requirement that programmes must contain a minimum of 90% native 3d footage. Any remaining 2d originated footage must be HD, and conversions of 2d HD content to 3d are not acceptable. Lenz says the key is for producers to now invest in themselves and
become experts in 3d: “Off the back of our commitment to commission content, we’re asking the production industry to invest their time in becoming good at 3d.” Lenz firmly believes 3d offers producers a new way of creative
storytelling, as well as a strong business model. There has also been great interest from the advertising industry, so expect to see new commercials using 3d to its best advantage from the channel’s launch.
in my view
Spring 2010 theproducer 7
MICHAEL BURNS
Freelance writer
Michael Burns is a freelance writer with 13 years experience covering new media, broadcast and
design industries. He contributes regularly to Digital Arts, 3D World, Computer Arts and Televisual and also produces books on digital content creation.
Sky’s new 3d channel aims to deliver on a technological promise that’s been making the broadcast world buzz with excitement
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