The International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) - the forum for the electronic media industry - has granted Fifa the Judges' Prize for broadcasting the 2010 Fifa World Cup, in SA, in 3D for the first time.
Fifa says the 2010 Soccer World Cup, held over four weeks in June and July, was the first global sports event to be broadcast in 3D.
Twenty-five matches were filmed at five of the 10 stadiums by two dedicated 3D camera teams. The 3D feed was made available to Media Rights Licensees for "in-home" viewing on 3D channels.
“Public viewing of 3D broadcasts also made its debut, whereby a selection of matches was fed live to around 650 digital cinemas, as well as selected venues in 3D HD [high-definition] quality around the globe.”
The soccer governing body said it aims to constantly improve fans' viewing experience of football and that is why the decision was made to broadcast in 3D just six months before kick-off.
Commendable collaboration
Fifa shares the prize with its partners in this sports viewing innovation, namely official Fifa partner Sony, 2010 Fifa World Cup official broadcaster Host Broadcast Services, and Fifa media rights licensee ESPN.
“The judges acknowledged the teamwork and admirable collaboration between the four entities in bringing the project to a timely and successful conclusion at such short notice,” said Fifa.
Accepting the prize on behalf of the entities this weekend, Niclas Ericson, director of Fifa TV, said: "It is a great honour to receive this recognition from such a venerable institution as the IBC for our endeavours in launching the Fifa World Cup into the third dimension.“
He added that the award gratifies the work done to ensure that the new viewing experience of football in 3D could be enjoyed by as many fans and in the best quality possible by kick-off.
“Our dream of the first World Cup in 3D only became a reality thanks to the commitment and the professionalism of our partners."
Not for SA
However, there were no announced plans from broadcasters to handle the broadcast of 3D into the home in SA. A source at MNet confirmed the company had no plans to pick up 3D broadcasting at the time.
SABC spokesperson Kaizer Kganyago had also said the SABC would not broadcast in 3D. He said that, while the SABC was testing some of the technology used to broadcast in 3D, it focused on the transition from analogue signal broadcasting to digital signal broadcasting.
He is optimistic that the technology will eventually become mainstream. “Technology is always advancing, and it will only be a matter of time before we see these advances making it into mainstream broadcasting.”
However, Sony did broadcast some of the World Cup matches to various locations in SA in a 3D format. Fans were able to watch the 3D matches at dedicated sites at Soccer City, Cape Town, and Durban, as well as in cinemas and at fan festivals.
Corrie Labuschagne, TV product marketing manager at Samsung Electronics SA, said Samsung 3D TVs have the ability to convert 2D television to 3D, which allows consumers to access 3D TV.
Labuschagne added that Samsung has developed a core 3D image processing technology to provide home viewers with multi-platform 3D solutions. “When not in the 3D mode, you're back to watching one of the best performing HD TVs on the market with the push of a button.”
He pointed out that there is a huge focus from major studios to create 3D content, and rework existing material like computer-generated imagery into 3D. “3D content Blu-rays will be played on 3D TVs via the HDMI 1.4 format,” he explained.
3D World Cup
Fifa says this World Cup marked a milestone in the history of the game, since it was the first time football's showcase event was broadcast using the next-generation technology 3D.
“As such, the Fifa World Cup is serving as a platform for the advancement of audiovisual technology and experience.”
The governing body added that a number of criteria were decisive in the selection of the 25 matches, key of which was to ensure the main stages of the competition were covered, such as the opening game, final stages and the final.
“Moreover, given there are only two dedicated 3D camera teams, the distances involved travelling between the five stadiums also needed to be taken into account when devising the schedule, as were logistical considerations of the suitability of the stadiums.”
There were eight 3D cameras in operation at each match, and in total, a team of 100 was involved in bringing the first Fifa World Cup in the third dimension, added the governing body.
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