espn 3d network Options

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Historians specialising in broadcasting media may come to look back on 11 June 2010 as a crucial date in the transformation of the way people consume television in the home.

The American sports broadcaster ESPN has announced that it will use the starting game of the World Cup between South Africa and Mexico to unveil the first dedicated 3D television network, allowing viewers at home to watch the match in the glory of three dimensions.

The move is far more than a mere technological gimmick. Industry advocates are pinning hopes on 3D-TV as the next stage in the development of the medium after HDTV and Blu-ray.

The obstacles to lift-off are phenomenal. Home users will have to invest in new 3D televisions which at least initially will cost more than $2,000.

They will also have to get used to the ignominy of wearing those funny goggles in the home, a necessary accessory as current 3D technology relies on the glasses to filter two sets of synchronised footage separately to the left and right eye thus creating the three-dimensional effect.

There are experiments underway with glasses-free 3D, but the technology is primitive at present.

ESPN hopes to lure rich and experimental viewers — the so-called "first adopters" for whom money is not an object — to invest in the new televisions by promising to broadcast at least 85 live sporting events to its new 3D channel in the first year, starting with 25 World Cup games and then moving to professional basketball, college basketball and football. It will also hope to grab the attention of extreme sports followers by broadcasting the annual X Games competition featuring skateboarding, rally car racing and other events in Los Angeles in July.

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