Will 3D technology save rugby?
Roar Pro
By GladFop, 15 Mar 2010 The Crowd is a Roar Pro
- Tagged:
- 3d sports, 3D TV, IRB, Rugby Union, technology in sport, Television
Samsung and Panasonic have just announced that they’ll be bringing 3-D TV sets to the US market starting today, and this could – repeat could – be instrumental in making some rugby games less boring for players and spectators wherever rugby is played.
The change could come about not because of the format itself, but because if sports on 3-D TV takes off, advertisers are going to demand that certain sports be made more watchable and more commercial.
Rugby’s an excellent case in point. Nobody’s interested in looking at an exquisite shot in three dimensions of a scrum being reset three or four times. And nobody will want to see the ball being kicked repeatedly from one team to the other even if it is in glorious 3-D. Pressure could well be applied to make the game more entertaining, more exciting, more capable of producing hard, fast running rugby.
Association football doesn’t have to worry about making any changes as people are quite happy with the present laws, as well they should be. In fact, it’s soccer that will benefit first as ESPN plans to set up a separate 3-D channel to broadcast the FIFA World Cup.
If there’s enough response, it’s possible that the RWC will also be offered in 3-D. It’s too late to change the laws for that event, but beyond it, who knows?
If the new technology is a success in the States, where rugby is growing, and in tech-savy Britain, Ireland and France, and later on in Oz, NZ and SA, it may force the IRB to make the changes they should have made years ago.
How much will it cost to have the latest in sports technology in your living room? It won’t be cheap. You’ll need to buy a 3-D plasma TV, a 3-D Blue-ray player, and rechargable 3-D specs. Ouch!
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- Explore:
- 3d sports, 3D TV, IRB, Rugby Union, technology in sport, Television
CraigB said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:16am | Report comment
The mention of rugby AND technology made me look at this article. Then this “Samsung and Panasonic have just announced that they’ll be bringing 3-D TV sets to the US market starting today, and this could – repeat could – be instrumental in making some rugby games less boring for players and spectators wherever rugby is played”
Watched any rugby this weekend or any S14 this year?? Rugby has been far from boring, in all but a couple of exceptions… At least you saved me from reading the rest of the article. Go back to Avatar and give us peace.
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:37pm | Report comment
Yeah and us in Pretoria only got running water last week! In SA it is only a very very small minority that will get full HD let alone 3D. The S14 has been of a higher standard this year compared to last and rugby sure as hell does not need to change the laws just so some fat person originating from the North American continent can be entertained whilst flipping channels.
Sam Taulelei said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:26am | Report comment
Whether 3D helps rugby or not, it will take at least 5-7 years for 3D technology to be affordable and widely adopted by the general public.
It’s taken Australia 6 years to widely adopt digital television and the majority have not taken up full HD yet.
If you’ve just bought a new HD TV for when analog transmissions are turned off next year you’re unlikely to rush out and buy another one just to watch the odd 3D broadcast. 3D TV will become successful only when the technology improves to where you don’t require 3D enabled glasses to watch it.
The FIFA world cup will be broadcast in 3D and no doubt those new sets will arrive in time to heavily promote the new format but after that what then? There will not be enough content to warrant adopting the new technology and most importantly not every 3D set is the same so until an industry standard is agreed upon there will a similar format war to HDDVD v Blu Ray which will create uncertainty among consumers.
Until then it will be largely the domain of early adopters and the wealthy.
Chris said | March 15th 2010 @ 8:25am | Report comment
It was said above – 3D TV’s won’t work until you don’t have to wear the glasses.
If I wanted to watch sport in 3D I would go to the game.
lucius said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:29am | Report comment
3D TV is a fad. Apart from the practical issues of wearing those 3D glasses, the cost of equipment, the long wait for the product maturity…you may as well go to the game and watch real 3D players. Unless you strap on a 3D camera to the players and refs, the picture you see would be what you would see if you were there yourself, perhaps wth a closer view.
As for will it “save rugby?”, it won’t save rugby any better than it will save rugby league. In other words, it’s a stupid question. I suspect you have a hidden agenda in your question. If you watched any of the S14 over the weekend, it’s a much better spectacle than what I suspect you’d think. Sure there are still some problems but it’s going in the right direction.
M1tch said | March 15th 2010 @ 9:59am | Report comment
The first batch of 3d tv are from $2000-$7000 US, it will be great, imagine yesterday seeing Merritt drop the ball right in your living room
Sam said | March 15th 2010 @ 12:34pm | Report comment
Havnt they already broadcast a Six Nations match in 3D? Any feedback on that?
Teo said | March 15th 2010 @ 2:21pm | Report comment
Sam,
Yeah I think they may have broadcast a few of England’s Six Nations matches in 3D at cinemas from what I have read. So it seems rugby has beat association football to the punch. Would’ve been great to see. I’d imagine lineouts would work pretty well in 3D, as would kicks at goal and Adam AC swan dives
Louis said | March 15th 2010 @ 7:00pm | Report comment
Comments ona recent Six Nations 3d live broadxast : http://www.o2blueroom.co.uk/3drugbylive
Ben J said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:42pm | Report comment
Crikey, now I can watch England in 3D AND be bored. Talking about the law of unintended consequences.
Blackfalcon said | March 15th 2010 @ 10:03pm | Report comment
Oh dear. 3D. Sounds like fun, but I think I would prefer a live game instead.
I’m sure Rugby doesn’t need 3D to make it more exciting for Americans to watch. C’mon they watch NFL. Resetting a scrum 3 times is nothing compared to all the time outs and stoppages they have in NFL. Maybe I’ll try to watch an NFL game in 3D one day. I might keep the telly on for longer than one minute this time.
Redb said | March 16th 2010 @ 7:51am | Report comment
Only the early 3-D TV stuff will require glasses.
http://www.theroar.com.au/2009/09/23/afl-grand-final-on-3d-tv-id-like-to-see-that/
“The eyes have to receive two images for a 3-D image to be generated for your mind. We don’t give the 3rd dimension (depth) any thought because the brain already assembles real life scenes to create depth of field.
There are, however, two other nascent technologies that do not require glasses (known as stereoscopic) to view 3-D.
There is also ‘autostereoscopic,’ which not does not require the wearing of glasses.
There are tiny lenses in the 3-D screen designed to send one image to your left eye, one image to the right. The drawback is that you have to keep your head still for the 3-D image to appear.
It is still early days and most new technology is pretty clunky.
However, probably the most exciting 3-D format for development in sports coverage is the holographic image. Again, the technology it still in the early days of development, but it already possible for holographic images of a speaker being used in conferences around the world….”
pothale said | March 16th 2010 @ 8:25am | Report comment
Next month sees the launch of REAL RUGBY!!!!!!
With our new inside the ball camera, you the viewer are inside the ball. THRILL as you’re kicked off at the beginning of the match into the welcoming arms of ROCKY. FEEL the Action as you’re passed from Giteau to Cooper and then as you whistle through the air under the sweaty armpit of Mitchell crossing into the RED ZONE, and experience the CRUNCH as you TOUCHDOWN over the try line and bodies land on top of you from all DIRECTIONS.
And then the satisfying THWUMP as Mortlock kicks you up into the air and over the posts.
RUGBY – as you never have experienced it before.
One day, even YOU might find it exciting!!
Warning: Some games may be less exciting than others; NH hemisphere viewers may feel the experience somewhat slower, this is normal.