Discovery Prez: New 3D Net Will Need 6MHz
Cable operators will need to dedicate 6MHz of bandwidth -- equal to a full analog channel -- in order to carry an upcoming, full-time 3D network from Discovery Communications, Sony and IMAX, executives suggested late Tuesday. However, the unnamed channel, which is scheduled to launch in 2011 and be delivered in MPEG-4, would demand the same amount of bandwidth as a high-definition channel, according to Discovery president David Zaslav, who said he’ll begin shopping the channel to cable and satellite distributors on Wednesday.
Those statements, however, do raise questions about how much bandwidth the new network will truly require. Depending on channel mixes, MSOs tend to multiplex up to three MPEG-2 high-definition television channels into one 6MHz slot, though a new breed of encoders from suppliers such as Arris Group are promising capacities that allow 4:1 HD compression. Although Discovery says its new 3D channel will demand the same amount of spectrum as a regular HD feed, the suggestion that the network will require a full 6MHz channel, which holds about 38Mbit/s of data, appears to indicate that it will require much more bandwidth headroom than a traditional 2D HD network does now.
If the new network will really require a full 6MHz, it probably won't be an easy sell early on. Although Comcast, Time Warner Cable and other MSOs are using tools like analog reclamation and switched digital video (SDV) to free up bandwidth for more HD channels and services like Docsis 3.0, they still don't have much spectrum sitting idle for a new service that will likely benefit a relatively small batch of consumers during the budding days of 3DTV.
Discovery founder John Hendricks said he expects the channel will be popular immediately with early adopters, but allowed that it will be several years before 3DTV reaches a mass market audience.
“I’m convinced that in five to 10 years from now we’ll see a mass rollout of this,” Hendricks said on a conference call with reporters. He repeatedly described the experience of 3DTV as “closer to reality” television.
Hendricks noted that there are 5 million homes that are viewed as early adopters in the United States, which he said “will go after 3D very quickly in the next 24 to 36 months.” About 20 million affluent homes will “come out pretty quickly” after the early adopters, he added.
Zaslav said Discovery, Sony, and IMAX are banking on consumers that buy the new 3DTVs on display this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas to help drive carriage deals for the channel. “They [3DTV owners] will call their distributor,” Zaslav predicted.
Zaslav wouldn’t detail the programming strategy for the network, other than noting that it will be a “general entertainment channel.”
Subscribers will need to wear 3D glasses in order to see the programming the way it’s supposed to be viewed, but Sony CEO Howard Stringer said he sees the day when viewers will be able to watch 3D programming without the glasses. “It’s clearly on the horizon,” Stringer said.
The Discovery, Sony, and IMAX executives didn’t say whether they’ll offer 3D video-on-demand programming to MSOs through their joint venture.
By Steve Donohue, LightReading
