2012 Super Bowl to Be Broadcast in 3D Only

Got your attention, yes?  Of course, the 2012 Super Bowl will not be broadcast only in 3D.  But it's fun to think about, because this is exactly the issue broadcasters are dealing with when examining the economics of producing 3D television.

First, let's address the elephant in the room:  Is 3D a fad?  I think it's easy to argue that, when it comes to the cinema business, 3D is now firmly entrenched.   Television is another matter.   If you were judging by the comments on every online article that mentions 3D TV, you'd say that it's an overt failure.  But 3D TV's have actually sold well, and consumer electronics manufacturers are wising up to their initial mistakes -- expensive active glasse, trying to make 3D the steak and not the sizzle in a TV purchase -- and correcting them.  And the fact that the NAB Show opened with a standing-room only keynote on 3D this year says something.  Can't imagine the NAB organizing a keynote around something that is the media equivalent of a pet rock:  they take their job seriously.

The remaining hurdle is content.  And content relies on the economics of production and delivery.  Which brings us back to that Super Bowl.

Currently, 3D broadcast production is incremental, and often totally separate, from 2D production.  Extra camera positions, extra crew, an additional OB van or trailer when it's a live show.  It's usually directed separately when it's live, as well.  Combine that with the currently tiny broadcast audience, which means limited advertising and carriage revenue, and the economic pressure becomes obvious:  How do you explore the medium without breaking the bank? 

The first answer is always "make it cheaper by cutting corners."  Unfortunately, when it comes to 3D, corner-cutting diminishes quality pretty quickly, as you're dealing with stereo image pairs that must be perfectly matched to be viewable, as well as the vagaries of 3D framing and shot selection.  The right answer is "combine the productions."  There are several ways to approach this, both mechanically and electronically.

PACE HD -- now Cameron-Pace Group -- has just come off testing its Shadow Cam solution at the 2011 Masters, where both a 2D and 3D camera are mounted in the same position, and the 2D production runs both.   Currently, this solution still requires a separate truck and switching infrastructure, and the 3D cameras are still placed in fewer positions.  Still, it is movement in the right direction, particularly for broadcasts, like golf, where camera positions are very confined.  

The holy grail. however, is a production where every camera position holds a 3D system, and the 2D feed is extracted from that setup.  After all, 2D is inherently a subset of 3D.  3ality Digital is taking an electronic approach to this, debuting software controls at NAB that enable automatic convergence and interaxial, eliminating the need for separate 3D operators at each camera.  The software currently works only with 3ality Digital systems and requires separate processing boxes, but may pay off in terms of lowered personnel costs across multiple productions, allowing 3D systems to occupy more camera positions.   

Panasonic is taking the "smaller and lighter" approach by packaging its integrated AG-3DA1 camera with the AV-HS450 multi-format live switcher, touted as an end-to-end mobile production solution.  While the side-by-side configuration of the 3D camera limits its uses, this is a step towards a "plug and play" approach that would lower costs across the board.

For those at NAB, you can catch more wisdom on exactly this subject at 10:30 AM PST today, when the Sports Video Group is hosting a SuperSession panel called "Perspectives on 3D Sports: Getting Real," featuring producers from pioneering 3D sports broadcasts, including CBS' Ken Aagard and ESPN's Phil Orlins, fresh from last weekend's Masters broadcast. 

In the meantime, you can find your designer 3D glasses for the 2012 Super Bowl here.   We can dream, can't we?

 

 

Comments

[Jon P]

I know I speak for everyone that will be at my house, for the usual Super Bowl gathering, when I say why aren't we watching the game in 3D this year? There are many who already have all the needed 3D gear in place to watch the game. I have a "man cave" that has a 9' screen capable of handling any format that the brocasters choose to use by having the Optoma, 3D-XL in place. I know I'm speaking for more than myself when I say there are many of us that feel let down having purchased all the bells and whistles to be able to view this year's game in what should be an amazingly immersive 3D event. Think what the advertisers could come up with if they knew they were going to have a 3D audience! The commercials delivered by a bunch of 300 lbs. head 3D loonies could be incredible! What's the hold up? Bring it on!!!

[Angela Wilson Gyetvan]

The NFL is the world's most valuable sports franchise, so they are understandably being cautious when it comes to making a commitment to 3D. But don't give up hope! Maybe in 2013.

[Marcus Eiland]

Let's run this down real quick... movies are going back to 3D, it WAS a fad when it sucked, but the guys/gals that do it now have perfected it. No longer is there ghosting images between the views your eyes are exposed to. Video game are going 3D, XBOX360, PS3, PC, Nintendo 3DS... it's no more a fad than color television was 40 years ago. Video technology as well as the audiences that look forward to it ever evolving into the 21st century, need the SuperBowl to be in 3D. If the 2D Fundamentalists or 2D Fundamentally retarded don't want to see it in 3D, then they don't have to purchase the necessary hardware, and their primitive 2D TVs will still receive and view the century old idea of 2 dimensional movie pictures in their living rooms. Also, superbowl fans drop hundreds to thousands of dollars each on everything they can find to make the experience better, so if there's a super bowl party with 20 fans, those fans will go out and drop $80 on a pair of glasses. $80 is nothing compared to the price of a superbowl ticket, plus a 3D broadcast camera can get closer than the 50-yard line, it can get right down to the line of scrimage. So for those of us who will never pay to see it from a side angle would benefit from the possibility of still seeing it the way we were meant to, in 3D, but 3D is even better than being there. I have a 3D ready HD projector currently splashing an 86"-diagonal image on one of my walls. That means if the camera gets down to the linebackers, they will appear to be nearly full scale. It seems to me that broadcasters are extremely short sighted when it comes to this technology, just as the ones who said that HD was just an overpriced fad. now most major networks are in HD. If you don't want to see it in 3D, then don't watch it in 3D. I have the projector, the glasses, the dishnetwork compatible receiver, and the desire to see just how exciting sports can really be from home.

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