BBC plans for 3D

The World Teleport Association sent a tweet:
"BBC warns that full 3D tech strategy must be in place by 2012 or current standards will fail to deliver."

BBC warning on 3D standards
[by Julian Clover, broadbandtvnews.com]

The BBC is maintaining its cautious stance on the development of Stereoscopic 3D broadcasting. In an update to its technology strategy, the BBC says much of the current hype has come from the success of recent movie titles and their imminent release on Blu-ray.
In a cautionary note, the BBC says the strategy is expected to have a lifespan that reaches only as far as mid-2012, by when either a full 3D strategy will have been developed, or current 3D standards will have failed to deliver.
The report states: “There is no standardisation of the technologies for acquisition, post production, contribution or distribution of S3D. This approach is likely to suit a smaller but better funded number of players in the movie industry. Within the broader, more diverse and often less well funded television making community a lack of standardisation would be a more significant issue; not just for S3D as a format but also in financial terms for the
producers and commissioning broadcasters.”
Reiterating previous statements that the corporation will not invest in 3D programme production, the BBC says it will continue to investigate the genre through limited trials and participation in standards making. Yesterday it was announced the Wimbledon tennis championships, where the BBC is host broadcaster, will be filmed in 3D. However, the project is being backed by the manufacturer Sony.
Meanwhile, a much more positive outlook is being given to high definition, which says the report will be “business as usual” for the BBC by 2012/13. The BBC puts this down to a combination of the benchmark quality level expected by the viewing audience and because the HD standard is one of the key enablers of the transformation to an efficient end to end digital TV operation
The BBC exclusively supports the 1920 x 1080 HD standard (so called Full HD by the consumer market) for programme making using a range of frame rates and the delivery of programmes with multi-channel audio (surround sound). The plan is for the BBC to work with other UK broadcasters to produce common delivery standards for tape and file based HD programmes. Only platforms capable of meeting a minimum standard will have HD branding.
Support continues for Red Button interactive services with plans to create broadcast and IP “hybrid” services, which include broadcast event driven interactivity on connected TV platforms. The document does not mention the YouView project, continuing the theme started by the BBC’s director of archive content, Roly Keating in his presentation to the DTG Summit on Friday.
Flash, MHEG and HTML will be used in presentation environments, which the BBC says will help it remain relevant on the emerging connected TV platforms.
The Future Media & Technology division will build interactive TV applications using the Krypton Framework and MHEG+.
see the original post here: http://www.broadbandtvnews.com/2011/03/08/bbc-warning-on-3d-standards/


BBC plans 3D experiments in the run up to the Olympics 
[By Rob Coppinger, www.theinquirer.net]

It’s unlikely to have an eye-boggling channel

EYE-BOGGLING 3D TELLY experiments will be conducted by the BBC over the next year, but it has no plans for a 3D channel during the Olympic Games.
In its technology strategy update blog post, the corporation has published its strategy document that covers 35 areas and refers to forthcoming 3D trials and its investigation into what the eye-boggling 3D technology means for the future.
Aunty Beeb isn’t too glowing in terms of this 3D future. Its strategy says that by mid-2012 there will either be a full BBC sterescopic 3D programme strategy being developed or nothing.
It says it will publish in due course what programmes, genres and events it will cover with the 3D trials. The INQUIRER strongly suspects that those poncy period dramas will be one of the genres involved.
But for now Aunty Beeb will only tell The INQUIRER, “The BBC is considering a small number of 3DTV editorial experiments in the lead up to the 2012 Olympics.” But this doesn’t mean the Olympics will be broadcast in 3D. Can this forthcoming debacle of Britain’s national humiliation get any more embarrassing?
The BBC’s technology strategy also states that up to 2012 the corporation will plan a capacity roadmap with Internet service providers. It probably needs to do this due to the network capacity busting impact of the Internet protocol telly widget Youview that the BBC is backing and plans to roll out in 2012.
See the original post here: http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/2032236/bbc-plans-3d-experiments-run-olympics



BBC to take cautious approach to 3D 'hype'

[By Tony Smith www.reghardware.com]

Tests but no shows before mid-2012
The BBC seems no more keen on 3D TV than licence payers, at least for the moment.
In an update to the BBC's technology strategy, published last night, the Corporation confirmed it will not be rolling out a 3D channel until mid 2012 at the earliest, though it does plan to "investigate the technology challenges 3D produces through a series of trials".
The BBC is being cautious because there is "no standardisation of the technologies for acquisition, post production, contribution or distribution" of 3D TV content.
That's clearly a problem because it increases costs - not a trend that will be accepted in the "broader, more diverse and often less well funded television making community" in Britain today, the BBC said.
We'd add that there's relatively little indication viewers want 3D, at least until it becomes a standard feature on reasonably priced tellies.
That's a few years away, and the BBC admits its current 3D strategy is a short-term one, running to mid-2012. Then, either the Corporation will be in a position to develop a specific 3D programme strategy - or the current 3D standards will have failed to deliver or take off.
The eponymous body that oversees the DVB digital TV technology late last month put a DVB 3D standard in place.
We suspect next June's Wimbledon tennis tournament may form the basis for one of the aforementioned trials. Sony said yesterday that it will be shooting the semi-finals and finals in 3D. It will be working with the BBC, it said, which will be recording them in 2D. It's a perfect opportunity for BBC engineers and producers to work with 3D kit provided by Sony