Satellite Operators Buoyed By New TV Standard

  Satellite operators are counting on the upcoming World Cup soccer tournament to help jump-start what many view as their next holy grail—three-dimensional television broadcasting, or 3DTV.

  Sports have long been the vehicle of choice for building interest in new broadcasting technology—the 2002 and 2006 World Cups were instrumental in igniting interest in high-definition TV—and media companies have been maneuvering for the past year to get sports broadcasters to try out 3DTV.

  Some 3DTV programming was demonstrated at this year’s Super Bowl. In April, Britain’s BSkyB began broadcasting soccer games and other sporting events to pubs and clubs in 3DTV. It later plans to make the programming available to its 1.3 million HDTV subscribers. Eurosport has been transmitting 3DTV coverage of this year’s Paris Open tennis tournament, which began on May 23.

  But the 2010 World Cup, which starts on June 11, will be the first major sporting event to have significant 3DTV coverage. At least three broadcasters—ESPN in the U.S., Sogecable in Spain and SBS in South Korea—will be licensed to broadcast the event live in 3DTV. Viewers with no live coverage will be able to follow matches at theaters around the world.

  Moreover, interest in 3DTV is already extending beyond the World Cup, and indeed—with the huge success of the film Avatar—beyond the sporting arena. ESPN’s World Cup broadcasts will mark the debut of a dedicated 3DTV sports channel that expects to air a minimum of 85 live sporting events during its first year. DirecTV will start three 3DTV channels this month and France’s Canal+ will follow suit with one in December. The Discovery Channel plans to start up a 24/7 3DTV channel in 2011.

  Satellite operators are mobilizing to support the broadcasts. Intelsat will carry ESPN’s 3DTV channel. SES Astra, which launched a 3DTV demonstration channel using capacity at 23.5 deg. E. Long. on May 4, is supplying BSkyB and Canal+ feeds. Eutelsat, which has been running a 3DTV demo channel on Eurobird 9A at 9 deg. E. Long. since March 2009, provided capacity for the Paris Open broadcasts, and recently carried 3DTV theater feeds of a Six Nations rugby match. Russia Satellite Communications Co. says it plans to allocate at least 25% of capacity on its Express AT1 and 2 satellites to HD and 3DTV applications.

  The satellite industry’s soothsayers think 3DTV could eventually become a new “killer” application, like HDTV and broadband (AW&ST March 30, 2009, p. 23). U.K.-based consultancy Informa Telecoms & Media predicts more than 20 million homes worldwide will be watching 3DTV by 2015, including 9.2 million in North America, 6.8 million in Europe and 4.6 million in Asia. “No question that 3DTV in some capacity is going to become a big part of the home entertainment experience,” says Steven Corda, vice president of market development at SES World Skies, one of the biggest HDTV providers. And 3DTV could potentially require 1.2-1.5 times more transmission capacity than HDTV, Corda adds.

  But not everyone is convinced, beginning with SES Chairman/CEO Romain Bausch. “For the real 3D experience, you need glasses-free [technology],” Bausch says, referring to the special glasses that viewers currently must wear to see 3DTV. “For now, I believe more in [improved HDTV standards like] Alt HD.”

  There are other hurdles in addition to technology, including the small number of 3DTV sets available, a lack of content and still-unresolved technical issues. Nevertheless, satellite operators have begun working with television manufacturers and media companies to help move forward on these fronts.

  Eutelsat recently struck deals with Russia’s General Satellite Corp., the Mariinsky Theater of St. Petersburg and Alfacam, an HDTV pioneer, aimed at generating 600 hr. of new programming for Eutelsat’s 3DTV channel. “Whereas producing in HDTV was not that different from standard definition [TV], there are huge differences between 2D and 3D production,” says Gabriel Fehervari, CEO of Alfacam.

  SES World Skies began trials this spring, using uplink stations in Vernon Valley, N.J. and Manassas, Va., to test major components in the 3DTV programming chain, including production, formatting, encoding, transmission and distribution. “There is a lot of work being done in the areas of 3D production and screens, but no one was considering the end-to-end chain and how to distribute 3DTV over the existing infrastructure,” says Alan Young, CTO of SES World Skies.

  “While stereoscopic 3D television formats are being debated, the new platform allows everyone from content producers and cable operators to the makers of TVs and 3D glasses to identify first-hand any compatibility issues with existing satellite-based video distribution systems,” says Bryan McGuirk,president of media and enterprise services at SES World Skies. For example, McGuirk notes, nobody really knows what happens when you convert between MPEG 4 and MPEG 2 formats, or the impact of compression artifacts on picture quality.

  The European Space Agency is also studying the end-to-end 3DTV chain and testing viable TV products, content and reception sites. Part of ESA’s Artes telecom program, the Stereoscopic Broadcasting project aims to help Eutelsat affiliate SkyLogic and OpenSky Cinema of Finland to demonstrate a complete 3DTV service offering.

/aviationweek.com/ Jul. 10, 2010