With a live broadcast from London's Abbey Road studios yesterday evening, Sky have become the first domestic provider to successfully broadcast a live 3D TV event.
Alongside a 3D webcast, Sky broadcast a concert by the pop group Keane to a Vue cinema equipped for 3D presentation. The demonstration required the use of a 3D HD (High Definition) TV and polarising glasses.
Gerry O'Sullivan, Sky's director of strategic product development stated: "We’re excited to have worked with Keane and their innovative management team to explore how our 3D TV technology might be used to offer a totally new viewing experience for live and recorded music".
Sky carried out a demo of their 3D system last December using their existing High Definition set top box attached to a Hyundai 3D enabled TV, demonstrating how a 3D TV system could to be delivered direct to UK homes.
Sky's 3D system works on the same principle as IMAX 3D technology. Polarising glasses filter one of two slightly different images (one for each eye), fooling the brain into thinking it is viewing an image in three dimensions.
Sky have been filming a number of sporting events in 2008 with purpose built 3D cameras. Although you need the special 3D glasses the technology works with an unmodified Sky HD box. 3D TV's are not currently available in the UK although a number of manufacturers plan to exhibit the technology at this January's Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Early indications are that Sky's 3D technology works well but needs refinement. Concentrated on screen action such as a boxing match gives a genuine 3D effect which is somewhat lost when the viewer needs to appreciate the whole screen when viewing a football or rugby match for example.
Sky have introduced an intriguing solution to 3D technology in the home but it remains to be seen whether the technology will become the next big thing in consumer electronics or just another technological blind alley.
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