ESPN 3D TV Coming From DirecTV

Continuing to lead the 3D revolution by offering customers new dimensions in sports programming, DIRECTV will add ESPN 3D, the industry’s first 3D sports television network, to its upcoming 3D lineup that will offer three dedicated 3D channels, including DIRECTV’s newly named linear 3D channel, N3D(TM) powered by Panasonic. Launching in June, millions of DIRECTV HD customers will have access to ESPN’s entire 3D programming lineup, including up to 25 2010 FIFA World Cup matches.

ESPN 3D will showcase a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year, beginning June 11 with the first 2010 FIFA World Cup match, featuring South Africa versus Mexico. Other events to be produced in 3D include X Games 16, 2010 college football ACC Championship, 2011 BCS National Championship game, college basketball and NBA games in 2011. DIRECTV HD customers who subscribe to ESPN will receive ESPN 3D at no additional cost.

“Watching ESPN’s comprehensive lineup of sports programming in 3D will be like having your own virtual seat at all of your favorite sporting events around the world. We are excited to be the first and only distributor to announce the launch of ESPN 3D and we look forward to announcing additional 3D partners throughout the year,” said Eric Shanks, executive vice president, DIRECTV Entertainment.

“ESPN and DIRECTV recognize the groundswell effect 3D has already had on the television industry in the last few months. This agreement is the first step in providing sports fans access to exciting, dynamic content, as well as providing our affiliates new opportunities to provide cutting-edge product offerings to their subscribers,” said David C. Preschlack, executive vice president, affiliate sales and marketing, Disney & ESPN Networks Group.

In addition to N3D(TM) powered by Panasonic, which will deliver the best 3D programming from programmers such as AEG/AEG Digital Media, CBS, Fox Sports/FSN, Golden Boy Promotions, HDNet, MTV, NBC Universal and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., DIRECTV will also offer a 24/7 3D pay per view channel and a 24/7 3D DIRECTV on Demand channel, beginning this June.

This June, DIRECTV HD customers will receive a free software upgrade enabling them to have access to the 3D channels on DIRECTV. DIRECTV HD customers will need a 3D television set and 3D glasses to view 3D programming on DIRECTV.

3D TV to Launch in US by DirecTV in 2010

Satellite cable provider DirecTV has a new satellite in the air, and according to HD Guru, one of the 200 new HD stations to be broadcast from it includes the first U.S. HDTV channel in 3D.

There are still some technical hurdles to clear before you’re watching zany sitcom antics flying toward you, but the trend is clear. The satellite begins full operation in March, and existing DirecTV set-top boxes will simply need a firmware upgrade to support the 3D programming. Unfortunately, you’ll still need to pick up a 3D-capable HDTV to play it back, and that’s where the market lag will play a role in determining how fast 3D will penetrate.

Although 3D content has a long history stretching all the way back to 1922 — when the first public 3D movie was displayed — a number of optics and display challenges, as well as market realities, relegated 3D to a periodic novelty for decades. With the vast majority of the technical hurdles now solved and 3D displays making steady inroads at seminal trade shows like CES over the past couple of years, 2010 is poised to be 3D’s breakout year. The emergence of a string of blockbusters like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and more rounds out 3D’s emergence — or re-emergence — on the big screen. Soon, consumers will come to expect the same experience in their home theater as well.

Sony, Samsung, Mitsubishi, LG and other manufacturers will be showing off 3D displays at CES 2010 next week. They’ll be hoping the stars will align properly to make 2010 3D’s breakout year, and DirectTV’s news is a timely piece of that puzzle. Are you excited about 3D’s inroads to the home, or is your pocketbook still weary from the last cycle of high definition upgrades?

DirectTV 3D Channels Scheduled

In June, DirecTV will become the first pay-TV provider to offer 3-D channels compatible with the new 3-D TVs just now arriving in stores across the country.

TechNewsDaily caught up with Steven Roberts, senior vice president at DirecTV to talk about 3-D TV in the home, including the equipment, the content and the technology choices consumers will face.
DirecTV will initially roll out three 3-D channels in June, with several more to be introduced in the months following. Roberts said the company has been planning for this moment for a long time.

The June offering will include a 24/7 pay-per-view channel, a free general entertainment channel, and a video-on-demand channel, similar to its 2-D on-demand channel.

DirecTV has partnered with Panasonic, which will be one of the first companies to sell 3-D capable TV sets. Panasonic will deliver its first 3-D TVs to retailers this Wednesday. Best Buy is ready with demonstration displays for Panasonic’s 3-D TVs and compatible Blu-ray players in 250 locations.

How will DirecTV and Panasonic work together?

DirecTV and Panasonic will team up on both the marketing of the new 3-D channels and on the production of content for the channels, Roberts said.

“As an industry, we realize we’re going to need to seed the marketplace with as much 3-D content as possible, so we’re working closely with Panasonic to produce 3-D content,” Roberts told TechNewsDaily. “They’ll be offering up 3-D equipment like cameras, as well as funds for producing the content itself.”

The 3-D channels produced by DirecTV and Panasonic will display the Panasonic logo, but will be viewable on any 3-D TV set, Roberts added.

“In fact, we have deals with Samsung, LG and Sony as well as Panasonic to put our software into their television sets, so it’s a seamless transition from 2D to 3-D,” Roberts said. “Once you get to our 3-D channel, the TV will automatically transition itself into the 3-D mode and then back to 2D if you go back onto a 2D channel.”

Without the built-in software, viewers would have to go through the time-consuming task of using their remote control to find the 3-D and 2-D settings on their television set and then make the appropriate adjustments.

When high definition content first became available, it required expensive equipment and an additional, substantial fee. Roberts said he hopes to make 3-D content more affordable from the very beginning.

“No, there will not be an extra hardware charge. Any type of bundling of content, we haven’t really figured out yet,” Roberts said. “We’re trying to make it as affordable as possible, so that as many people can enjoy the experience as possible.”

No Burger King glasses

It’s possible to view 3-D content on a standard television set, as demonstrated at last year’s Super Bowl, when thousands of people picked up paper glasses from Burger King to watch the 3-D ads. This is anaglyphic technology using glasses with red and blue glasses, while the new 3-D TVs will use more sophisticated technology for better displays.

The new 3-D technology can be passive or active. Roberts likes both. He explained that the passive technology uses the same glasses you would get in the movie theater, and that more of the technology for passive is built into the TV set. Active technology uses shuttered glasses, which have a battery in them. More of the technology is built into the active glasses rather than into the TV, which makes them more expensive, but also may be more comfortable for some viewers.

“As an experience, both are great. We support both of them on our set top boxes,” Roberts said. “Samsung, Sony and Panasonic are marketing the active glasses and LG is in the market with passive glasses, but may be coming out with active pairs as well.”

Roberts believes 3-D TVs will be bundled with a certain number of glasses. Samsung will offer a 3-D starter package with the purchase of a 3-D TV and 3-D Blu-ray player that includes two pairs of active glasses and the 3-D version of Monsters & Aliens.

3-D content production

DirecTV is working with Fox to produce a 3-D version of the Major League Baseball All-Star game in August, and will offer a wide range of sporting events throughout the second half of the year. Roberts was enthusiastic about his plans for 3-D concerts and documentaries. “The nature types of films are unbelievable in 3-D, so you’ll be seeing that type of content as well.”

DirecTV is also working with AEG/AEG Digital Media, CBS, Fox Sports/FSN, Golden Boy Promotions, HDNet, MTV, NBC Universal and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., to develop additional 3-D programming for this year and next, Roberts said.

While few 3-D movies are slated for home release in 2010, that number will increase in 2011 after sure-to-be 3-D blockbusters like “Toy Story 3″ in June and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” in November have finished their theater runs. However, it’s still unclear how long it will take for movies to come to DirecTV.

“We’ll follow the same window we have with traditional 2D movies,” he said. “It’s really up to the studios, but you can expect those 3-D theatrical releases to be on our pay-per-view, no doubt.”

DirecTV Getting Into 3D

DIRECTV, Inc., the world’s most popular television service, and Panasonic, a world leader in HDTV and digital electronics, announced today a strategic relationship that, for the first time, will bring 3D TV, the next frontier of television entertainment, to the largest audience nationwide. Beginning in June 2010, millions of DIRECTV HD customers will receive a free software upgrade enabling them to have access to three dedicated 3D channels through their 3D television sets, such as Panasonic’s VIERA Full HD 3D TVs.

Panasonic will be the exclusive presenting sponsor of DIRECTV’s new HD 3D channels, which will deliver movies, sports and entertainment content from some of the world’s most renowned 3D producers. DIRECTV and Panasonic will leverage current relationships with programming partners and movie studios to obtain new and existing 3D content. DIRECTV is currently working with AEG/AEG Digital Media, CBS, Fox Sports/FSN, Golden Boy Promotions, HDNet, MTV, NBC Universal and Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., to develop additional 3D programming that will debut in 2010-2011. The sponsorship will feature Panasonic branding on all DIRECTV 3D channels for a one-year period.

“We led the way with HD and we are excited to do the same with 3D,” said Eric Shanks, executive vice president, DIRECTV Entertainment. “Adding the most HD channels to our lineup gave customers a viewing experience that was incredibly lifelike; adding 3D to the mix will take that one step further allowing them to become part of the cast as the picture comes to life in their living rooms. We are taking a technology that at one time could only be seen in a theater and bringing it into the living rooms of the largest audience in the United States. By partnering with Panasonic, we are bringing together two industry leaders to deliver the most advanced television technology available today and together we are continuing to set the standard for the best television viewing experience available.”

“Panasonic has been developing 3D standards for television for several years, and we believe it represents a fundamentally new experience in home entertainment because it adds the immersive nature of real life,” said Yoshi Yamada, chairman & CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. “Our relationship with DIRECTV is a core component of our ‘end-to-end’ strategy of building out an entire 3D entertainment ecosystem. From leading the development of the Full HD 3D standard for Blu-ray Disc to launching Full HD 3D stereoscopic prosumer camcorders; to now supporting broadcast of 3D content by DIRECTV; to introducing a broad line of Full HD 3D VIERA televisions and a Full HD 3D Blu-ray player in 2010; our commitment to 3D is unquestioned in the industry.”

At launch, the new DIRECTV HD 3D programming platform, powered by Panasonic, will offer a 24/7 3D pay per view channel focused on movies, documentaries and other programming, a 24/7 3D DIRECTV on Demand channel and a free 3D sampler demo channel featuring event programming such as sports, music and other content.

In addition, Panasonic is working to make available 3D production tools, such as Full HD 3D camcorders, professional monitors and related production technology assistance.

Panasonic will showcase its suite of Full HD 3D VIERA televisions and home theater system products tuned to a dedicated DIRECTV 3D channel with exclusive content from the motion picture, “AVATAR” and other sports, entertainment, documentary and music footage at its booth (Las Vegas Convention Center, Central Hall, #9405) at the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.