Confirming what we’ve been saying on this site ever since 3DTV sets first emerged in the living room, a new report from Informa Telecoms & Media reckons that 3DTV won’t be a mainstream success in the UK.
The analysts estimate that come 2016 there will be 11 million 3DTV equipped homes in the UK – so the technology will certainly spread, that being one in three households (in 2016). However, the key point is that less than half of these owners will actually regularly watch 3D content, the report theorises.
Of the early-adopters who bought a 3DTV last year, 90% are classified as active users, because they’re obviously very keen on the technology.
Those buying a set over the coming years, however, will likely get a 3DTV by default as the technology becomes more widespread, and they’ll have no particular inclination to watch 3D or pay extra for three-dimensional content.
3D is now viewed by manufacturers not as a selling point, but as part of a bundle of features that must be included to make a set seem future-proof, such as net TV capabilities.
Major broadcasters such as Sky and the Beeb are pushing 3D technology, too, but this isn’t going to make much impact.
Adam Thomas, Senior Analyst, commented: “3DTV has the backing of the major UK broadcasters like Sky and Virgin, and most recently the BBC announced its plans to show the Wimbledon final in 3D for the first time.”
“However, despite this, public reaction has been mixed – due to both a lack of content and a simple failure of the public to engage with what is, essentially, a new type of viewing experience.”
The report’s conclusion is that while 3DTV will achieve considerable household penetration in this country, by and large it will only be used for one-off special events or films, not as a whole new way of viewing.
Which is possibly just as well, as we certainly wonder what the long-term effects of prolonged and constant 3D viewing might be on some folks’ eye health.
According to digital measuring company Comscore, 5.5
billion videos were viewed online in the U.K. in February 2010, up 37 percent
versus the previous year.
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Geneva-based set-top box/digital TV technology
provider, Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), said Tuesday that
it will soon introduce its i-CAN Easy HD hybrid set-top box in the UK.
According to the company, the device--which represents its first UK consumer
product and which is designed for use with Freeview HD, the newly launched HDTV
service of the UK's free-to-air digital terrestrial platform, Freeview--will be
available in stores in time for the soccer World Cup (begins June 11th), and
will provide access to over 50 standard- and high-definition channels, together
with access to programming catch-up services.
3View says that it will begin taking orders for its new hybrid
Freeview HD DVR on April 7th. The box, which is priced at £299 and which now
has a 500GB hard drive (it was originally expected to have a 320GB drive),
combines the ability to receive standard- and high-definition linear-TV
programming from Freeview with various Internet/OTT capabilities, including the
ability to access over-the-top video services (e.g. the BBC iPlayer and the Sky
Player), browse the Web, and use Facebook and Twitter via special preloaded
widgets. For an extensive overview of the new box, see the article that was
published on itvt.com, December 9th.
TiVo