Telegenic in Further 3D Investment

Telegenic is to build a second 3D-capable truck to produce live 3D coverage of Premiership football for the new Sky 3D channel. The outside broadcast firm is currently building the UK's first 3D truck in tandem with Sony, to be ready for the Sky 3D launch in April. Telegenic will manage the truck to Sky Sports editorial needs. It will be able to cater for legacy 2D work as needed.

The second truck "will hopefully be ready for the summer," said Telegenic's Eamonn Curtin. "For every stereo position you need two new cameras while the specialist rigs, no matter which manufacturer you choose, are expensive. If you take the overall cost of a new OB truck including the rigs, I'd say it's about 40% more than for today's HD vehicles."

Conventional HD scanners cost £1 million for the chassis and coachwork alone and regularly top £3 million when outfitted. Nonetheless Curtin reckons that if an outside broadcast company - particularly one holding existing Sky Sports contracts -- has a new HD truck planned, it should be 3D-capable.

Telegenic are also trialing a radio linked steadicam stereo rig using a bespoke set of twin cameras fitted into a single body although its use on day to day production is some way off. With 3D rigs are in short supply it may make sense for these trucks to make their way to South Africa to aid 3D coverage of select games from the FIFA World Cup although this is not on the agenda currently.

In the US Sony and New York-based outside broadcast supplier All Mobile Video are building a new 3D-capable truck to hit the road this summer. The 53-foot double Expando truck will feature 3Ality Digital 3D rigs using Sony HDC-1500 cameras, as well as Sony's MVS-8000G production switcher, SRW recording decks and HD production monitors.

Eric Duke, president of AMV says the new truck "is the first of the next generation of customised 2D/3D HD capable mobile production trailers giving producers a more efficient way of rapidly deploying services in 2D or 3D without the need for separate mobile units and crews."

Sony is also reportedly building the first 3D truck for the Japanese market.

By Adrian Pennington, TVB Europe