Sky brings 3D TV to life

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TV moved beyond mere high definition broadcasts yesterday as

Sky, the UK's subscription based satellite broadcaster, began transmitting trial broadcasts for a 3D TV platform.

Sky said it will be developing the service over the next few years, but at the moment it requires viewers to don a pair of polarising glasses and have a compatible TV that currently costs around £2,000, though prices are expected to drop as the technology advances. However, the service will be able to be received by existing Sky HD boxes. The test TV used in the demo was reportedly manufactured by Hyundai.

“We’re just exploring right now, but the next step is going to be to find out whether 3DTV is something people are going to be interested in,” Brian Lenz, Sky's head of product design and innovation, told the Times newspaper.

The broadcaster demonstrated test 3D footage using Liverpool Champions League football games, the Sky show Gladiators and a Ricky Hatton boxing match.

The system works by having two adjacent cameras filming the action. These images are then merged and the polarising glasses are then used to trick the brain into seeing a single three-dimensional image.

Cinemas are currently fitting themselves out for the technology in a bid to bolster revenues and last September, at CEATEC 2008, the Japanese consumer trade show, Panasonic demoed 3D technology based on Blu-ray.

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