ESPN 3D
ESPN is taking the first big step here in the future of broadcast technology. We know that ESPN has been adopting the 3D technology for a while now, bringing 3D sports broadcasts to 3DTVs, but did you know that ESPN had a totally different production process for 2D content? This essentially means that any even that they’re covering in 3D would need a whole different set of cameras for a 2D broadcast. It would also mean that they need twice the bandwidth to transmit this, and twice of basically everything. Well, that’s all coming to an end now, as of February 18th, when ESPN is going to be the first to produce Friday Night Fights in 3D, and use the same stream in 2D to pass through to HDTV owners. This might not seem like it has much of an impact on the consumer, but let’s look at the facts. The real fact is by all possible means the broadcasters can now eliminate a whole half of the 2D- 3D co-production process, thus lowering costs, and making 3D a more feasible option, economically. This also means reduced bandwidth for transmission. If this method of broadcasting is successful, then it could also tilt the industry into picking a codec for transmission, making H.264 Multiview a more likely option because it is backward compatible with 2d, while the other major player, the Dolby’s and Sensio’s methods are not. For the consumers, it means that 3DTV would finally gain more content.
