GRAPHICS | ESPN.COM
The announcement of a three-dimensional sports channel conjures up images of major league fastballs or NFL tacklers appearing to bust through the television screen at the viewer. The reality is not so dynamic, although still impressive to those who have sampled early offerings. Like all new technology, it will not be immediately widely available, and it won’t be cheap.
3-D movies are the hot thing right now, with Pixar’s Up and James Cameron’s Avatar being to recent successes. ESPN, one of the early adopters of high definition broadcasting, is spearheading 3-D television.
After two years of testing and development by parent company Disney, ESPN 3D is slated to debut on June 11th, with a World Cup soccer match and 85 more live events throughout the next year including the Summer X games, NBA and college football and basketball games.
Each event will use seven 3-D cameras and high quality graphics along with standard 2-D cameras in order to create a high “depth-of-field” environment. In other words, a Tony Romo pass won’t appear to fly toward the viewer’s hands; that would require cameras mounted on Dallas Cowboy receivers. 3-D miniature cameras that players can wear are still down the road.
The effect will more closely approximate watching the game through an open window instead of a flat television screen. Foreground images will seem closer and more real, while background images will have more depth, creating a more “real world” sensation than typical television.
The high cost of producing the 3-D content will have several ramifications. ESPN 3D will be a subscription channel (not part of standard cable packages) and a strictly live network, causing repeat programming to go “dark” or off the air when no events are broadcast.
Not only will customers have to purchase a subscription to the network, they will need 3-D televisions, 3-D glasses and possibly 3-D cable boxes. All which would be pricey (Wired magazine suggests the TVs to sell in the $3,000 price range). Also, 3-D viewing has been known to cause eye strain and headaches in many viewers. Perhaps not least of all, how many people will want to watch the Super Bowl wearing those dorky 3-D glasses for four hours?
The tech industry doesn’t seem worried, however. Consumer Electronics Association predicted sales of 3-D television sets to reach over 2 million this year, with an increased market share of 25 percent within the next three years.
With Discovery Communications (The Discovery Channel, TLC) planning its own 3-D programming (who can’t wait for Toddler’s & Tiaras in 3-D?), the technology looks as if it will get a decent tryout with the consumer audience. ESPN is firmly committed to at least one year of broadcast, with evaluation on its future to follow. For now, the sports network seems confident in the new technology.
“ESPN is an industry leader in developing creative and dynamic technical innovations that enhance the experience for fans – such as being the first to launch a 24/7 high-definition network in March 2003,” ESPN Senior Vice President and Executive Producer of Event Production Jed Drake said in a statement.
“With 44 Sports Emmys for technology, it is only fitting that ESPN plays a cutting edge role in exploring the use of 3-D game telecasts to better serve the fans.”