3D: ‘In All TV Sets in 3 Years’

A senior exec at ESPN says that within 3 years all new TV sets will have 3D technology embedded. Chuck Pagano, SVP/Technology at Disney-owned sports broadcaster ESPN, and already highly committed to 3D-TV, says that he expects viewers to have an appetite for 3D on television although admits he has no quantitative data to prove his theory. But his confidence is high. “I bet you in three years every new set will have 3D embedded into it,” he stated.

Pagano was talking ahead of the upcoming Satellite 2010 conference and exhibition in Washington, DC, where he is a speaker. As to ESPN’s more immediate plans, Pagano told Via Satellite, a trade magazine: “Right now, we are just looking at the first event that originates in South Africa in June. This is the initial push to make sure the processes we are putting together all work. They work wonderfully in a laboratory setting, but putting them on the air is the litmus test. The technology is not the real challenge, it's the new way of people getting around this, and the orchestration of putting the production together and shooting the event. You have to look at quality control in a different manner. You have to get all the systems to work, and this includes people systems. That is what we are focusing on, making sure that first event airs without a hiccup or a hitch. After that first one, the process should get smoother.”

ESPN also firmly believes they are backing a strong horse in the shape of 3D. “I, and a number of my colleagues, believe this is going to be a very important space for ESPN. We think live events will play a key role as it is a new way of telling the story and reaching audiences. The 3D push from the consumer electronics world is a function of what manufacturers can produce at higher frame rates and there will be a natural evolution of people playing in the 3D TV space.”

By Chris Forrester, Rapid TV News