A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF 3DTV WITHOUT GLASSES AT THE WALKABOUT
A FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE OF 3DTV WITHOUT GLASSES AT THE WALKABOUT
"It's 7pm, on Saturday 28th May and the Walkabout in Covent Garden is already heaving. Queues snake down the street while inside swathes of Manchester and Barcelona footie fans are chanting as they wait to witness the biggest football battle of the year - The UEFA Champions League Final. The reason I have chosen the Aussie bar to watch my home team was not just the flowing beer and masses of screens, but to catch something of a world first.
I've been invited by iPONT to the first public pilot of their 3DTV technology which can convert live 3D content so you can view it without the need to wear glasses. This to me is pretty wow.
Nervous that my home team, Manchester United, are the underdogs but excited at the prospect of no glasses 3DTV I squeeze my way downstairs to the semi-private, dimly lit room which is already busy with a mixture of fans, press and my friend Stuart.
First impressions of the no-glasses 65" 3D screen is impressive as it seems to do exactly what it says on the tin. With beer in hand the viewing experience is little different from watching 3DTV with glasses -except, well.... you don't need glasses - apart from, of course, the one holding our pints.
It takes a few seconds for my eyes to adjust to the screen but once orientated it's clear iPONT's solution, which magically converts the live signal into 3D autostereoscopic image that doesn't require eyewear, is wizardry. Except for the occasional blur this thing really works, exceeding our expectations.
Suddenly the volume rises, cue that the match being broadcast on Sky's 3D channel, is about to start so the buoyant crowd starts shuffling into place. I choose my spot wisely. While the TV seems to have a wide and fairly generous optical viewing angles, it does of course have limitations. Too close and you don't get the full 3D effect; too far out to the side and it can blur; and far back and a group of 6ft.2 football fans will stand front of you. I'm no spring chicken so I snare a saved vacant chair next to Stuart about 10ft front the screen. Perfect.
The match however is not going our way. It's clear Barcelona are the better side dominating the ball from the start. After 20 minutes the Spanish score, with Rooney cruelly raising my hopes with an adept leveler. The footwork is fast and furious and I have high hopes. They are soon dashed as Spain score another 2 goals to win 3-1. It's a bitter defeat but I've had a great couple of hours being a 3D guinea pig.
While the low-down close up shots of the players and interval adverts are brilliant it's seems to me the content needs to evolve to improve the 3Dness of fast moving and wide-angled match-play need to sharpen up before it's 100% there. But while leaflets scattered over the bar warn ‘it's just trial and not quite ready for consumers' it feels like it will more likely to be months rather than years before we'll start chucking those silly glasses away.
We both had a great night and as leave for another bar to drown our footie sorrows we both feel privileged to be part of one of the first to experience this new chapter in TV technology."
