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State of Origin goes 3D

3D Television arrives faster than we had anticipated, with Nine set to air 3 State of Origin games in 3D to viewers in Sydney in a world-first broadcast.

In a world-first, the Nine Network will broadcast State of Origin games in 3D to viewers in Sydney.

Nine has been temporarily allocated spectrum by the Federal Government for the matches, the first of which takes place on May 26th.

Around 750 3D television sets at $2500 each have been sold by Harvey Norman, which is a retail partner in the landmark event. It will open the doors to its stores on the night to allow others to experience 3D. Viewers will need wireless-enabled, active shutter glasses to watch the games.

Nine’s broadcast will be the first sporting event ever to be broadcast live in 3D on free-to-air television, ahead of the FIFA World Cup which had been widely tipped to become the first 3D terrestrial broadcast.

Nine CEO David Gyngell said, “It’s early days of course because the technology is still developing, and its availability to consumers right now is limited. But 3D is about to arrive with a bang across the world, and the Nine Network and Harvey Norman want to pioneer the revolution in Australia.

“Capturing an event in 3D involves different camera positions and viewing angles. Because 3D carries a level of emotion and involvement beyond regular HD, it can literally put you in the best seat in the house. Our experienced Wide World of Sports producers and directors will be working to harness this new technology and develop the coverage leadership for which they are renowned.”

All three State of Origin matches will be captured in 3D. Nine is working with ACMA to extend the broadcast into other capital city markets.

Senator Stephen Conroy said: “I welcome this initiative to provide to Australian viewers the first glimpse of 3D television. This trial broadcast will demonstrate the potential of 3D TV and the enhancements enabled by digital technology.”

Nine is understood to be flying in 17 technicians to oversee the event.

48 Responses

  1. I remember Sunrise’s Gadget Guy saying quite adamantly earlier this year that no one would be able to purchase a 3D compatible television set Australia for another four years and the only ones in Australia this year would be demo ones in stores.

    I personally wouldn’t consider buying one until 3D programming is commonplace.

  2. This is not a world first for Live sporting events. It has happened elsewhere around the world. Sorry Nine but i dont want to watch sport in 3D let alone my normal shows. I wish this 3D crap would go away. It has been around for so long and now they are trying to commercialise it. 3D makes my eyes sting like hell so maybe i am biased but there is no way i want to watch it this way Ever!

  3. I wonder if they will be using the spare capacity on TVS’ mux for this?

    …but I agree with the others, 3-D TV is a pointless fad that just won’t last.

  4. I’m surprised at how quickly 3dtvs have come out. I won’t be watching it in 3D but I reckon football would be a lot more interesting to watch in 3d than soccer, so I certainly hope I’ll be able experience it in the future at some time.

    I wonder why more spectrum can’t be givn to the networks all the time so they could start broadcasting in 1080progressive and possibly have 2 hi-def channels.

  5. Will it be like the ’56 Olympics with people queuing outside shop windows to catch a glimpse? Glasses hire anyone?

    What a joke. As others say, the state of FTA HD is laughable and this isn’t going to improve matters one iota.

  6. @Craig – You had to visit certain pubs in the UK and they had specially fitted tv’s for the event….and gave out glasses to use for a couple of hours

  7. How is this a world first? the BBC and SKY Sports in the UK have done six nations and premier league in 3D already in February and March this year…..

    Or a world first, in Australia???

  8. What about us viewers in Brisbane? I don’t understand why they get to have it and not us.

    I guess there are opportunities to see it in 3D at the cinemas. Probably better that way too.

  9. Harvey Norman is actually the major sponsor of State of Origin series (and has been sponsoring the series for several years ago). It will be interesting to see how the 3D trial goes in Sydney. If it works, then Nine may show the NRL Grand Final on 3D in Sydney and Brisbane.

  10. When will this gimmick wear off? And with a potential audience of 750 viewers, what’s the point? Is that 750 in NSW or Australia? Who’s saying that those 750 wil even watch the SoO?

    And what’s this ‘extra spectrum’ being used for at the moment? This could be put to better use be improving the ‘HD’ FTA channels.

  11. So you need a special TV and glasses to watch this, I guess normal TV will be just 2D then? Didn’t they do this for some soccer matches in Europe already, using normal TVs?

    IMO it’s just a stunt so forever more Nine can say they were the first with 3D in this country.

    I doubt 3D is right around the corner, the 2 biggest hurdles are having the right TV and more important having the content, look how long it’s taken some to switch to widescreen and HD, like all technologies this will take time, I don’t see 2D becoming wide spread for at least 5 to 10 years.

  12. “Regular HD”… oh, the comedy. Nine doesn’t know the meaning of HD.

    3D is doomed to be Yet Another Two-Year Fad. And Conroy, just shut up with the mates’-rates PR spam and quit already.

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