3D Spaghetti

A recent interview of ESPN’s tech guru Chuck Pagano by TV Technology Editor-in-Chief Tom Butts had me thinking again about 3DTV. For now, ESPN is the only programmer actively involved in 3D on a regular basis. Although Discovery Communications made an announcement earlier this year, their 3D channel is not slated to launch until early 2011.

Pagano likens current efforts to “throwing 3D spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks” admitting that it is largely an experimental endeavor. With 85 events scheduled for 3D in the first 12 months of the grand experiment, it seems that 3D is mirroring the early days of HDTV – limited content designed to test the waters, make sure the technology is stable, and assess consumer interest. In part, the limited schedule also harkens back to the early days of HD when there were just not enough production trucks. The same may be said for other 3D events such as The Masters and TNT’s plans to broadcast the July 4th weekend NASCAR event in 3D. There is also an element of operating less on a strict 3D business plan than putting forth a PR and branding message that the company is keeping on top of new technologies.

At this point, the limited deployment of 3D sets in the market makes for an environment where it is far too early to project whether this iteration of 3DTV will be a winner or not. But one thing is for sure, 3DTV has had more traction than ever before. Producers, distributors, and consumer electronics manufacturers all seem to be puling together this time. Still, it will be a matter of distributors being able to commit enough bandwidth should mass adoption of 3DTV come to pass. For all the commitment being shown by the likes of DirecTV, Comcast, ESPN, SONY, Discovery and IMAX, in the end there is a great deal of hoping that the consumer isn’t on a low carb diet when the 3D Spaghetti comes to the table.