BBC taking "a good old pause" from 3D after Doctor Who 50th anniversary special
The BBC have announced that they will be taking a three-year break from 3D broadcasting, revealing that the forthcoming 50th anniversary special of Doctor Who will be the broadcaster’s last eye-popping TV event for the foreseeable future.
“Watching 3D is quite a hassly experience in the home,” admitted Kim Shillinglaw, the BBC’s head of 3D, in a Radio Times interview.
“You have got to find your glasses before switching on the TV. I think when people watch TV they concentrate in a different way. When people go to the cinema they go and are used to doing one thing–I think that’s one of the reasons that take up of 3DTV has been disappointing.”
As well as the Doctor Who special (which will also be shown in cinemas in 3D on November 23), one of the last BBC 3D broadcasts will be this weekend’s Wimbledon tennis finals.
Despite a big push from manufacturers who initially heralded 3D TV as the most important revolution in TV viewing since the introduction of colour, 3D in the home has failed to excite a significant number of consumers, with TV manufacturers now turning their attentions to UHD screens instead.
With the BBC bowing out of 3D coverage, and ESPN recently announcing they too would be calling time on their 3D coverage, is this the beginning of the end of 3D TV broadcasting? Not necessarily, says Shillinglaw:
“We will see what happens when the recession ends. There may be more take up of sets but I think the BBC will be having a wait and see. It’s the right time for a good old pause.”
“I am not sure our job is to call the whole 3D race.”
