3D in your living room

By Robert Herland, Trigger Magazine, #01-2010

Translated from the original Norwegian and adapted for Telenor.com.

To fuel its innovative ambitions, Telenor Broadcast launched the DemoLab and eCinema project in 2009. Its purpose is to create innovative, new services and solutions that enhance the lives of people, and “3D in eCinema” serves as one of several key deliverables of this project. Since any exploration into 3D technology requires specific technical knowledge, equipment and support, Telenor Broadcast has enlisted the help of partners worldwide to learn more about the virtual future.

3D revolutionises work and play

Medical diagnostics in 3D? Football games in 3D direct from your living room? This will be reality in a few years, according to Telenor’s eCinema.

The blockbuster movie Avatar has raised the prominence of 3D in the public eye. This past winter, people around the world were huddled together in dark theatres, sporting strange glasses as they watched humans battle aliens. In the not-so-distant future, we may be watching 3D movies such as Avatar on our private 3D TVs, sans the funny-looking glasses…that is, if you believe the people behind Telenor’s eCinema project.

“The solutions that are being developed for movie theatres today will shape what will happen with televisions over the coming years,” says Arnfinn Nyseth, Project Leader for eCinema at Telenor.

3D in your living room

Not so long ago we were talking about the future of HD-TV, which became a reality much sooner than expected. The innovation behind screen technology evolved rapidly, making it possible to manufacture HD-screens at a reasonable price. Today HD-TVs are commonplace in many homes.

Nyseth believes that we will see the same development for 3D-TV. “What may like a remote possibility today may suddenly arrive in your living room tomorrow.”

Olympics and Opera in 3D

The development of 3D technology is partly driven by the film industry, and many of the major movies of 2010 will be in 3D. There is also a big push towards 3D among the providers of flatscreens to the consumer market. And the BluRay player for 3D is on its way.

“We are not just talking about movies but also live broadcasts of sporting events, operas, concerts and more. Soon we will see the Olympics and the Eurovision Song Contest in 3D. The impractical 3D glasses will be a thing of the past. The screens that make the glasses unnecessary have already been invented. It’s only a matter of time before 3D screen quality reaches consumer-readiness,” states Nyseth.

Nyseth expects the first flatscreens for 3D to reach the consumer market sometime this year, though 3D-glasses are still likely to be required.

Useful services

“For the entertainment industry, the road is short to useful 3D-related services,” continues Nyseth. “This technology can be used in any situation in which you must send a high quality image from one place to another, for example via satellite. There could be a 3D transmission of a lecture at the university, a film about troubleshooting technical components in the North Sea, a surgical operation and much more. This is how 3D will evolve into a valuable technology, for both corporations and society.”

3D broadcasts live from Telenor

This June, Telenor Broadcast tested live 3D broadcasts of the French Open tennis tournament. Telenor employees attended a demo and were equipped with stylish 3D glasses for their viewing enjoyment.

“The industry still has a long way to go before 3D becomes common in broadcast, but we are highly involved in the technological development that is taking place now. 3D broadcast will be an important part of tomorrow’s television offer,” says Torkel Aamodt Thoresen, Chief Technologist at Telenor Satellite Broadcasting and the person responsible for the technical operations behind 3D testing.

The first live 3D broadcasts in Norway were made possible through a close collaboration between Canal Digital, Eurosport, Panasonic and Telenor Satellite Services.