Just as I had began to grow weary of Sky telling me I had to upgrade to HDTV, they go and launch something new to make me part with my hard earned (well, free fom the government) cash.
It promises to take fans closer to the action, pretty much the next best thing to being there with the players, just thank your lucky stars this technology was not made avalable back in the days when Martin Keown was still playing, and that he now works for the BBC.
The first 3D ready television sets will go on sale later this month to consumers but with many pubs already utilising the technology I decided to go check it out for myself whilst watching the North London Derby on Wednesday.
For a £5 deposit at the bar I recieved a pair of flimsy plastic glasses which enabled me to witness the two rivals in three dimensions. With the televisions themselves costing around £1300 it's no surprise there was only two in the pub I went to which I guess does make it a bit like the real experience in one way, if you want a decent view, get there early or you'll be stuck at the back.
The actual 3D is fairly impressive on replays and close up shots of the action, but suffers a lot when the camera pans out to show the match. Truth be told you probably aren't missing out on anything if you decide to take the glasses off and get a headache from alcohol consumption rather than the glasses.
The match itself was memorable, from rookie Danny Rose's stunning first senior goal to Arsene Wenger admitting the best team won for a refreshing change. All in all a good advert for top flight football in this country. Although saying that the Premier League does seem to just be one big long advert these days (but that's another rant, sorry blog).
Whether the 3D aspect of the coverage improved the experience for the viewer is debatable. Some fans my be swayed by the new shiny graphics that swoosh and hover in front of their face but for now I think I'll stick with freeview.
In two years time I might consider purchasing a bog standard Sky Sports package, although if the Premier League gets it's way and continues to outprice the likes of me I doubt it (again, I had better not get started here or I'll never finish). By then I fully expect 4D football to have taken over so we can smell and taste a sweat covered Wayne Rooney stepping up to take a penalty after 120 minutes of running around. So we'll get naucious from that rather than the headaches...
Friday, 16 April 2010
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