Digital Channel 40

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With the State of Origin is over and the FIFA World Cup about to finish, what will be next for 3D TV broadcasting in Australia?

In the past two months, there has been a lot of hype surrounding 3D TV, with Fox Sports the first broadcaster ever to bring a 3D live sporting event to Australian screens on May 24, followed by Channel Nine two days later with the first State of Origin.

In total, three State of Origin games were broadcast in 3D on a special trial 3D free to air channel under a two month temporary license arrangement. A total of 15 World Cup Soccer games were presented in 3D on the same channel, and thanks to an agreement with Foxtel, they were also able to be seen through pay TV allowing many in areas not able to receive the 3D free to air channel to view the events. Also broadcast in 3D was one French Open tennis match, and a soccer friendly between Australia and New Zealand.

But with the free to air 3D channel’s trial run due to end July 19, what next for 3D TV in Australia? More 3D TV’s are being released to the market – LG’s Infinia and much publicised Sony models about to hit stores – without regular broadcast content being available and little in the way of 3D on Bluray, take up may be slow.

Even before Nine and Harvey Norman announced the State of Origin in 3D, Ten were considering the idea of 3D citing they would need more spectrum to be able to offer 3D TV. Just after Nine’s first broadcast event, Seven announced they too were looking into the prospect of 3D for events like the ALF Grand Final, the Melbourne Cup and the Bathurst 1000. Recently, Ten have suggested the three commercial broadcasters work together and share the expense of providing 3D events in a single joint venture rather than each going it alone.

So far, however, there have been no announcements from any broadcaster of future definite events to be covered in 3D. This means, that once the temporary 3D channel on both Free to air and Foxtel are switched off for now, there will be no broadcast of 3D content until such time one of the broadcasters commits to airing an event in 3D.

After such high momentum over the past two months, the lack of future 3D events will only add to those who believe 3D is nothing more than a fad and will not go further than random trial and one off broadcasts.

At midnight, Wednesday May 19, 2010, the first Australian free to air 3D television broadcasts began on digital channel 40 in Sydney and Melbourne. The broadcast contained 3D footage of both cities as well as promotional material for the up and coming State of Origin to be seen in 3D on May 26.

Before you rush out and buy a 3D TV just for the State of Origin, you will need to make sure you can actually receive the 3D signal on channel 40. Most digital set top boxes, TVs and PVRs will actually be able to acknowledge the channel, but you won’t be able to see it in 3D without a 3D TV. Furthermore – you may see pictures on that channel if your digital receiver is MPEG-4 enabled.

On the channel Nine web site detailing what you need to know about the 3D broadcasts, it simply says that you have to be in the 3D broadcast area to receive the 3D telecast of the State of Origin on a 3D TV. This, however, will still cause confusion for many viewers.

The 3D trial broadcast is being sent out to five east coast cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Wollongong and Newcastle. But just because you are in these areas and receive all of their TV channels does not mean you will be able to see the 3D channel at this stage. In most television broadcast areas, television signals are distributed through many television transmitters to ensure the signal reaches everyone in the area, but the 3D channel is not initially going to be sent out through all transmitters.

For example – the Sydney television area also covers the Central Coast of NSW. There are also a few relay transmitters in Sydney to cover some geographically challenged areas like the eastern suburbs. At this stage, digital channel 40 – the 3D channel – is only being transmitted out of the Gore Hill transmitter. Same place that community TV channel TVS comes from. If you are in Sydney, you may be able to pick up the signal by having your aerial pointed to Gore Hill. As for the Central Coast – you will only get the channel if you are lucky enough to be able to pick up Sydney TV from Gore Hill as none of the four Central Coast transmitters are carrying channel 40 so far.

In Newcastle, the signal is only coming out of two “inner” transmitter sites according to Nine affiliate‘s NBN‘s web site – Charleston and Cooks Hill. That means that a lot of Newcastle will not be able to get the signal either. Some residents may be able to point their aerials to these two sites, but otherwise, a lot will miss out. Back to the Central Coast – who get both Sydney and Newcastle TV – miss out altogether unless in areas that can pick up the signal from Sydney or Newcastle.

Viewers in the Gold Coast may have a similar problem in not being able to receive the Brisbane signal, while Melbourne’s and Wollongong’s also only comes out of the one transmitter at this stage as well.

The trial may roll out to further sites allowing more people to see the 3D transmissions, but there are no details so far to confirm that fact.

For those who can receive digital channel 40, the first free to air 3D broadcast of the first State of Origin match will be historic, and will be well worth the effort to view. That will be followed by SBS’s coverage of the Soccer World Cup in 3D in June.

The first State of Origin airs on Nine (channel 9), Nine HD (channel 90) and Nine 3D (channel 40) at 7.30pm, Wednesday May 26, 2010. The second June 16, the third July 7.

Check out this video recorded from channel 40.

SBS has confirmed that as many as 15 World Cup Soccer matches will be able to be seen in 3D including Australia Vs Germany on June 14.

The 3D soccer matches will be seen on digital channel 40 and replayed on a loop until the next match airs. Digital channel 40 is the same channel that Nine will use for 3D coverage of the three State of Origin Rugby League matches – with the first airing on May 26.

And if you were tossing up whether to buy a 3D TV or not, then Foxtel also have come to the 3D party announcing that they will broadcast the soccer match between the Socceroos and New Zealand on Monday May 24 in 3D on FOX Sports 3D – channel 200.

But what will you need? In order to view the Foxtel match, you will need a 3D TV, an IQ2, sports as part of your package and have paid the extra to be able to receive HD channels on Foxtel. It does not look like Foxtel will charge any extra for channel 200. While this is a one off event, they will have it on air before Nine’s State of Origin and there will no doubt be many more event covered in 3D and broadcast on Foxtel.

Meanwhile, 3D TV on free to air will utilise temporary spectrum allocated for 3D for a period of just two months. Digital channel 40 will be used by both SBS for the soccer and Nine for the State of Origin. All you need to see the free to air digital offerings will be a 3D TV. Nothing more. The special allocation covers Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth. Nine have stated that Wollongong and Newcastle will be covered for the State of Origin in 3D but we cannot confirm if those two cities will be included in the 3D soccer broadcasts.

And then what? After these major sporting events are over, no doubt there will be many others announced in 3D. Like the uptake of digital TV and high definition, the driving force initially will be sports. Already a number of overseas events are being covered in 3D, some of which may end up here as well on Fox Sports 3D or otherwise.

And what of all those movies lately on 3D? Well, no doubt we will see them in 3D first via Blue Ray, then maybe premium 3D movie channels.

3D is here and whether it succeeds in home entertainment is yet to be seen. It will ultimately come down to available content as to the speed of uptake. Certainly a good time for sports fans though.