According to a report filed by the ABU, Semprebon is certain that terrestrial television is less well positioned to benefit from 3D than pay-TV cable and satellite operators. He believes that free-to-air broadcasters are being hampered by an uncertain business model, limited bandwidth and unsettled standards, and warned that viewers would not enjoy watching 3DTV unless the quality was high.
‘Bad 3D is very bad,’ he warned, with the agreement of the Deputy Director of the Technical Department at the European Broadcasting Union, David Wood. ‘People don’t watch – it just annoys them. The glasses can give you a headache and make you physically ill.’ But good 3D was a game-changer for broadcasters, he added.
The two-day meeting brought together more than 80 broadcasters, satellite operators and broadcasting service providers from around the world, to hear Semprebon’s concern that, while Stereophonic 3D could be good, it could be very bad if not enough care is taken in production and distribution.
