Early Years of 3D Television and Where We Are Now

3D technology dates back to the beginning of when photography was first introduced. In 1844, David Brewster invented the Stereoscope, a gadget that could take photographic pictures in 3 dimensions. The Stereoscope was then improved by Louis Jules Duboscq and a famous picture of Queen Victoria was displayed at The Great Exhibition in 1851. By the Second World War, stereoscopic cameras were already common.

3D movie technology was parallel to 3D pictures and imaging. In 1855 the Kinematoscope was introduced. The first anaglyph movie was created in 1915 and in 1922 the first public 3 dimension film was displayed called “The Power of Love”. Following that, in 1935 the first 3D color movie was created.

In the early fifties when Television became popular in the United States, many 3D films were produced. The first film was Bwana Devil from United Artists that could be seen all across the US in 1952. A year later, in 1953, came the 3D film “House of Wax” which also featured another innovation called 2D sound. Alfred Hitchcock originally made his film Dial M for Murder in 3D, but for the purpose of profitability the movie was released in 2D because not all theatres were able to display the format.

Recently the British Sky Broadcasting company, better known as Sky UK, announced that they will launch a Sky 3D channel in April 2010. It will bring content such as sports, entertainment, and other 3D television programming that will be accessible to the public. The new channel will require a 3D capable TV and equipment by Sky UK.

On January 1, 2010, the world’s first 3D channel called SKY 3D started broadcasting nationwide in South Korea. The channel’s tagline is “World No.1 3D Channel”. This 24/7 station uses Side by Side technology at a resolution of 1920x1080i. 3D programming includes sports, animation, education, documentary, as well as performances.

A full 24 hour broadcast channel was announced at the 2010 Consumer Electronics show, held in Las Vegas as a joint venture from IMAX, Sony, and the Discovery channel. As the year progresses, consumers can expect to hear more such announcements as the broadcast industry prepares to introduce 3D TV to consumers globally.