3D TV CHANNEL

After many years of hype 3D TV became a reality on 22nd April 2010 when John Lewis became the first UK retailer to sell 3D TV for the home. The rave reviewed Samsung C7000 is a 40" 3D Ready High Definition television that is available online and at the company's flagship Oxford Street store.
                         
The Samsung UE40C7000 is a superb 2D HD TV as well as being 3D Ready; At just 3cm thin the LED television offers full 1080p HD resolution, SRS Theatre Surround Sound and a built-in Freeview HD tuner.

Following on from the worldwide record-breaking success of 3d films like Avatar, the next generation of TV sets are almost here.

Armed with nothing more than a 3D television and a pair of 3D glasses, you could soon be experiencing the breathtaking realism of three dimensional movies in your own home. 3D TV is set to revolutionise home viewing the same way that colour screens changed black and white tv forever.

Companies that have so far announced plans to launch 3D TV include Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, LG, Toshiba and Mitsubishi. Hollywood studios including Disney and Dreamworks are already developing a number of 3D titles for both cinema and home use. Sky Television has also announced it will launch a 3D Tv channel in 2010.

“Well over a million homes have future-proofed themselves with Sky + HD, a platform for choice, quality and future innovation. With Sky + as standard, our customers are already enjoying amazing picture and sound quality on a range of high-quality HD channels which cater to the interests and passions of the whole family.

“Next year we will make our HD boxes work even harder for customers by launching Europe’s first 3D TV channel, as well as introducing a comprehensive video-on-demand service to complement Sky + and the current Sky Anytime service.

“3D is a genuinely ‘seeing is believing’ experience, making TV come to life as never before. Just like the launch of digital, Sky + and HD, this is latest step in our commitment to innovating for customers.”
                            
Sky launched the UK’s first national HD service in May 2006 which has since become Europe’s most successful HD service. Today Sky + HD customers can watch 33 HD channels from leading brands such as Sky Movies, Sky Sports, Channel 4, Disney, MTV, BBC, Discovery, FX, Sky1 and National Geographic. Sky + HD customers can choose up to 400 hours a day – or 13,000 hours a month – of quality HD content, which is significantly more than any other TV platform.

Further channels are due shortly, including ESPN HD (August 2009), and Sky News HD (Spring 2010), with a view to growing the offering to 50 channels over time.

Further details on Sky’s pull VOD and 3DTV services, including pricing, packaging and entitlement, will be announced closer to launch.

There will be no need for customers to upgrade their set-top boxes to access to the new 3D channel, as all existing Sky + HD boxes are already ‘3D Ready’. However, customers will need a new 3D Ready TV, which are expected to be on sale in the UK during 2010. More details on the channel, including timing, pricing and packaging will be provided in due course.

The human eye’s ability to see things with variable depth and wide perspective is based on how the brain processes two separate images, as received by each eye. When someone looks at something the brain is able to merge two separate images together to create a field of vision which is both three-dimensional and allows the viewer to focus on specific areas within any given scene.

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NETWORKS OF 3D TV

There's no doubting the massive potential that 3D TV has to bring a new dimension to home entertainment, but one of the obstacles so far has been a lack of 3D content for viewers to watch. That's all changing with the arrival in ever increasing numbers of 3D TV networks and the dedicated 3D TV channels that they carry. With the industry tacking the issues that wearing 3D glasses presents with developments of lighter and cheaper models - along with the potential of affordable mobile 3D TV and gaming devices like the Nintendo 3DS portable, and larger screen 3D TV without glasses models - it's falling on these new 3D TV networks to ramp up their 3D content programming.
                        And they're responding well to the challenge with both scheduled and 3D VOD video on demand services, with some of these operating 24 hours a day. The 3D TV channels are giving us 3D content that's been specially filmed for 3D viewing, in the form of well known 3D movies, sports broadcasts, and natural world programmes. These 3D TV networks are being operated by such well known names as Comcast, Sky, Verizon, and DirecTV. They carry the growing number of 3D TV channels and video on demand services such as ESPN 3D, n3D, DirecTV Cinema, and the new 3net partnership between Sony, IMAX, and Discovery. You can see a full list just above this article.

You'll see that a number of the 3D TV networks and channels I've mentioned are US centric, but the growth doesn't stop there. This is a truly global revolution in TV, with channels and networks throughout the UK, Europe, and the rest of the world either already running 3D content or with plans to join the party. By the end of 2010, viewers across the world had a choice of 3D content from up to 15 VOD channels, around a dozen 3D network TV channels (cable or satellite TV), and a number of internet 3D channels.

Coupled with an increasing choice in 3D TVs along with 3D Blu Ray players and availability of some stunning 3D imaging on Blu Ray Disc or 3D DVD, this explosion in content availability is at last beginning to show those of us wanting to buy a 3D TV that the time to get the credit card out is here. As an added bonus, don't forget that owning a 3D TV gets you the big screen chance to view 3D photos and play 3D games too.


For nearly 90 years, 3D viewing has been almost exclusively locked away in movie theaters. Every once in a while, a TV show might have a 3D episode as a special event, offering disposable 3D glasses at local convenience or electronics stores free with purchase. These major marketing events could usually drum up a bigger viewing audience, but they only lasted one night. The process for creating 3D, too, was often the now-outdated red and blue anaglyph conversion, which causes headaches over extended periods of time.

The success of new 3D films like Avatar, Clash of the Titans, and How to Train Your Dragon has reawakened our appetite for 3D content, though. Now audiences are clamoring for the same experience they get in theaters, but in the comfort of their own homes. The 3D TV manufacturers have heard their cries, and in response a bevy of 3D TV models were announced initially at the 2010 and then at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Shows. The 2011 show saw announcements from all of the manufacturers on their new planned line ups, clearly anticipating good growth in the market throughout the year.

Much of this growth in the market is expected because the technology in 3D TVs is improving all the time. The manufacturers know that as content availability grows and new 3D TV networks find get a footing, so the interest in 3D TV in general will grow exponentially. The capability of a number of 3D TVs to act as 2D to 3D converters with 2D to 3D conversion capability built in is another bonus.
                                

Sony Corp. brokered a deal in 2010 with IMAX and Discovery Communications, owner of the Discovery Channel and its networks, to launch a new, fully 3D TV network in 2011. This new 3D network - named 3net - will offer 3D content in some exciting areas, including space, exploration, adventure and natural history. The partnership also has stated content will not exclusively come from Sony, IMAX, or Discovery. Third-party 3D providers will also be able to participate.

Discovery Communications is set to handle the network services and rights, while Sony will manage advertising sales and content licensing. IMAX is on the deal to provide future 3D films, as well promote the network all its solely owned theaters across the nation. The company also will be providing its patented enhancement techniques and 3D technology for the production of ongoing 3D content.

The Discovery/Sony network won't be the only option, either. ESPN are already up and running with the ESPN 3D channel which launched in June 2010. This 3D TV network showed more than 85 live sporting events - including the World Cup plus some NBA and college basketball games - throughout 2010.

Access to the content from these new 3D networks is only through 3D TV sets, so you'll need to upgrade to see it. But this is only the beginning. Many industry insiders believe that if ESPN 3D continues to de well, it could lead to an ABC/Disney 3D TV network soon after. On the bright side, the technology  no longer requires the color-distorting technique of red and blue anaglyph layers. Instead, viewers are able to see all the 3D media in high definition, colour -correct splendor.

With a handful of 3D TV networks already up and running, and surely more on the way, the switch to 3D content at home has taken its first steps. In the past, 3D content was limited to a gimmick. Now that big TV content like sporting events, movies, and natural world programming is available in three dimensions, this new media wave is gearing up to sweep the television broadcast industry. Undoubtedly once the content is more readily available, the sale of 3D TV sets will rise, possibly leading to a whole new creative explosion in television.

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