ESPN 3D Isn't Making Any Money

[Silversurfer]

[img][img]http://cache.gawkerassets.com/assets/im ... lasses.jpg[/img]

Sports helped get HDTV into the mainstream. Fact. It was thought sports would do the same with 3D. Who wouldn't want to see career-ending helmet-to-helmet hits in the third dimension? A lot of people, actually. ESPN 3D is a flop.

We're now halfway through ESPN's one-year 3D trial run and nothing's happening. Money's certainly going into the medium, sure, but the trouble is nothing's coming back out.

"We're still not sure what makes sense for 3DTV and we don't yet see a proven ROI," said Jonathan Pannaman, ESPN Senior Director of Technology, in an interview with TVB Europe. ROI being short for "return on investment." In this case it sounds like the "R" is "0."

The silver lining for the four guys watching ESPN 3D is that ESPN still has plans in place for a second year of 3D programming in 2011. [TVB Europe via Engadget HD]

http://gizmodo.com/5677813/espn-3d-isnt ... Gizmodo%29" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;[/img]

[Neil]

Something about this is very familiar. I can't place it...from years back...

http://www.mtbs3d.com/cgi-bin/press.cgi?press_id=28" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Regards,
Neil

[BlackShark]

I don't watch sports, so... I can't really comment on the opportunity, pricing or quality of ESPN 3D.

[cybereality]

Personally I don't watch sports either, but I imagine this could be a killer feature for some. I don't understand how they could call it a flop. How long have they been broadcasting? Like 3 months, maybe. Give me a break. They are fools if they thought it would be any bigger than it is in such a short time. Obviously you have to give people a chance to buy the new TVs. I mean, how many years did they broadcast in color before color TVs became mainstream?

[Fredz]

I'm quite a fan of watching sport on TV (soccer, rugby, tennis, etc.) and I'd really love to watch some in 3D. Although I didn't yet have the chance to watch a complete event in 3D, I've already seen some extracts and it was quite far from being convincing. For this trend to survive I think broadcasters really need to learn how to better film in 3D in order to obtain a really enhanced experience from such materials.

[PalmerTech]

They are showing it like idiots.

"HEY LETS FILM IN 3D!

FROM 50 YARDS AWAY

STEREO IS NOT WORK AT THAT DISTANCE? LOL WAT"

Honestly, all you get is the stats and scores overlayed on a seperate layer. Most of the shots are from so far away that you cannot see any depth. -_-

[cybereality]

Yeah, this is true. You can't really see any meaningful stereo at large distance. I watched some of that golf tournament in 3D and it wasn't nearly as impressive as games/movies. The only shots that really looked good were the closeups of the crowd. Much of the landscape shots looked pretty flat.

[PalmerTech]

I want to see some first person 3D cams on the helmets of football players and NASCAR drivers.

[Fredz]

You may have a look at this 3D video filmed from the inside of a Honda Civic Type R if you didn't already :
http://3dvision-blog.com/honda-civic-ty ... etin-2010/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BlackShark]

It could have looked good if the cameras were in sync, but they aren't so it's almost unwatchable at certain times.

[Likay]

All newbieblunders of stereofootage collected in one place... Nice.

[skrubol]

I've yet to see a sporting event in 3d as well, but as mentioned, due to the distance and long focal lengths, it does seem like it might be less than optimal. I don't know how well wider spaced cameras can do to increase apparent depth at long distances and long focal lengths.
Another part of the issue is the media seems to be pretty negative on 3d. Much of that is due to poor experiences from ghosting on poorly set up LCD TV's I'm sure.

[Likay]

I don't know how well wider spaced cameras can do to increase apparent depth at long distances and long focal lengths.

Just inflicking: This you mention is called hyperstereo when big separationdistances are used. I think it could make sports look way better. But you'll also get a very strong "dollhouse" effect. It should certainly be something for the capturers of sport to think of.

[skrubol]

I don't know how well wider spaced cameras can do to increase apparent depth at long distances and long focal lengths.

Just inflicking: This you mention is called hyperstereo when big separationdistances are used. I think it could make sports look way better. But you'll also get a very strong "dollhouse" effect. It should certainly be something for the capturers of sport to think of.

I think I'm familiar with the dollhouse effect you speak of (though not due to stereoscopy.) Have you seen any of the videos out on the interwebz showing tilt-shift lens videos? I'm not completely sure about how the effect works (though eventually I plan to get such a lens and figure it out myself,) but some time-lapse footage I've seen you'd swear was stop-motion animation with miniatures.
Would be interesting to see a combination of the two effects for some whacky looking footage.

[IN65498]

Guys, maybe most Americans wouldn't want their beer buddies see them wearing geeky glasses for 4 straight hours during an American football (egghand) game.
But rest assured, football (soccer) is another story. You definitely are going to enjoy immersion (and, yes, dollhouse-style) if you like this sport.
IMHO, for me and many others, S3D is potentially, in terms of importance, 75% about games, 20% soccer, 5% movies.
I can't stress enough the importance of giving people the right kind of content, done properly, to convince them to try and enjoy it.
I recently tried a 3DTV at a store; technically I didn't see any flaw, and I'm a S3D enthusiast, and yet the experience was underwhelming! Even I wouldn't have wanted to buy it! That's because the demo was a music concert, and no one wants to pay to see some random guy singing, and perceive the 3d depth of strangers' raised hands.

Movies are just a nice bonus, if you got a 3DTV for other reasons. Gaming is huge, but sports, or at least soccer, can be important too.