The Wall Street Journal

Next week, a game between the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders will be broadcast live in 3-D to theaters in Los Angeles, New York and Boston. It is a preliminary step on what is likely a long road to any regular 3-D broadcasts of football games.

The idea is a “proof of concept,” says Howard Katz, NFL senior vice president of broadcasting and media operations. “We want to demonstrate this and let people get excited about it and see what the future holds.”

The several hundred guests at the three participating theaters Dec. 4 will include representatives from the NFL’s broadcasting partners and from consumer-electronics companies. The event will be closed to the general public. Burbank, Calif.-based 3ality Digital LLC will shoot the game with special cameras and transmit it to a satellite. Thomson SA’s Technicolor Digital Cinema is providing the satellite services and digital downlink to each theater, and Real D 3D Inc. will power the display in the theaters.
[…]
Next week’s demonstration will also include television displays, to show what might one day be available in homes. While 3-D television sets are already available in stores, mainly for the handful of DVDs available in 3-D, the industry is still working on technical standards for 3-D.

That process raises the possibility that 3-D TV sets purchased today might not be compatible with programs aired in a few years’ time. Just as in theaters, home viewers must wear special 3-D glasses.




  1. chuck says:

    Aren’t all the games 3-D?
    They’re just broadcast in 2-D.

  2. hhopper says:

    Pedro you Luddite bastard!

  3. AdmFubar says:

    brought to you in living 3d! … ’cause your too damn poor to afford the ticket to the game… and we need your money to finance these overpaid players, and our our profit line.

  4. Pete says:

    San Diego does not play Oakland this weekend. The article says December 4. That is not this weekend, nor is it next weekend.

  5. Angel H. Wong says:

    I can’t wait to see the plastic cups filled with piss flying through the stadium.

  6. OvenMaster says:

    Hell, I’d be happy if TV broadcasters got the audio to sync with video again, never mind fooling with 3-D!

  7. Named says:

    What’s the point? It’s still the most boring war game out there…

  8. Riker17 says:

    Pete – The game they are referring to is Thursday, Dec. 4.

  9. JimD says:

    Gee, I though Pr0n was in the forefront of video tech !!! You know, they saved the VCR and made Pr0n more mainstream !!! Come on guys !!! Lets have some BOSSOMS IN 3D !!! But watch out for those MONEY SHOTS !!!

  10. istrain says:

    They have been trying to do 3d movies/video for
    50 years now. Always just gives most folks massive headaches.

  11. turbo says:

    3-D? What difference would that make? Sounds like a lot of trouble for a little upgrade. The games aren’t like movies where the action is tailored for the viewer. Football games are usually horizontal.

  12. Mr. Fusion says:

    I have to go with #13, turbo. Beyond a certain point, our eyes have a difficult time with distance. Usually, the brain will not process distance information unless it becomes important. Beyond a few feet our eyes see everything as 2D.

    Watching action that is 30 yards away is processed as 2D by our brains. It is only because we KNOW that the near Wide Receiver is closer to us than the Offensive Guard do we see them that way. If we removed the surrounding information it would be extremely difficult for us to differentiate who was closer.

    Adding 3D to the viewing image will only distract from the game. Every attempt to produce 3D movies has only resulted in phony, fuzzy, distracting action. If the NFL has some new technology to overcome this, then great. But I don’t see it happening.

    If the cameras could position us inside the action, I wouldn’t watch. All the movement around us would distract from the larger play. But I look forward to being proved wrong by the NFL.

  13. Brian says:

    Listen to the techy nerds whining about football. You clowns probably hate all sports, unable to participate in your youth, always picked last, you spend your days now railing against players with actual talent (and no, playing a video game isn’t the same thing).

    As far as the application, I could see it where they could film it so it feels as if the QB is throwing into the living room, etc.

    Funny to see all the hate when it hasn’t even happened yet!

  14. Mr. Fusion says:

    #15, Brainless,

    Sorry armpit, but it appears that you are the first one, and so far only one, to even suggest anyone above has never played football. Everyone, except for maybe pedro claiming to have a 50 incher discussed the technical aspect of watching a game in 3D.

    Maybe we weren’t all the team stars, BUT at least most of us learned reading comprehension.

  15. Brian says:

    16-Dickless,

    Apparently you missed the whole ‘most boring war game’ comment, and yes, its widely known that most tech readers’ sports ability goes no further than their ability to play madden football.


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