3D TV could revolutionise the TV viewing experience as it allows the viewer to become part of the action.
Sky is set to launch a 3D TV service over the next few years. They believe that they will be able to send 3D TV images straight to the Sky+HD set-top box.
However, for 3D TV to become readily available to the masses, TV screens required to handle 3D television will need to become more affordable and readily available, and programme makers and broadcasters film more of their content in 3D. If you want to join the 3D revolution, this seems like a real possibility; Pixar, the animation studio that made Toy Story and The Incredibles, has announced that from next year all of its films will be rendered in 3D. Plus, while 3D TVs aren't available in the UK yet, in Japan footage is already being screened on 3D TVs.
Sky itself has been filming a number of events using 3D cameras over recent months. It recently screened clips of sporting events filmed in 3D, including footage from a recent rugby international and Champions League football match. The matches were shot using two cameras filming the action side-by-side. The new technology allows these two images to be merged and played out simultaneously on the same TV screen. Viewers wearing polarised glasses will see a different image with each eye, tricking the brain into believing that it is seeing a three-dimensional image.
Do you have to wear special glasses to watch 3D TV?
The technology developed by Sky only works when viewers are wearing glasses, but Philips has created a 3D TV that does not require glasses, but it costs about £7,500. To see a three-dimensional image on a flat television screen, the viewer's right and left eyes need to see slightly different images, taken from different angles, to trick the brain into thinking it is seeing a 3D object. Previously this has been achieved by viewers wearing special glasses which feed a slightly different image to the right and left eyes, using different coloured lenses but 3D TV's will place a lens on the screen with creates the same effect.
