ASIA-PACIFIC BROADCASTING

The channel, to be jointly operated by CCTV, Beijing TV (BTV), Radio and Television Shanghai (RTS), Tianjin Radio and TV, Jiangsu TV and Shenzhen TV, begins trial broadcasts this month and is scheduled to start official broadcasts during the Chinese New Year holidays — beginning January 23.

SARFT, an executive branch under the State Council of China, administers and supervises state-owned enterprises engaged in the TV, radio and film industries, will lead the group of TV stations to invest and run the 3DTV channel.

According to Zhang Haitao, deputy direc­tor of SARFT’s Science and Technology Division, the 3DTV channel trial will provide the platform for China, through “exploration and innovation”, to train its 3DTV production team, accumulate a slate of “quality” 3D programmes, as well as build China’s own 3DTV production and broadcast technology system based on its intellectual property rights.

 

As part of China’s 12th Five-Year Plan (2010-15), SARFT has called for 10 3DTV stations to be launched — heralding a “new era” in the TV market in China, as Sriram Venkatasubramanian, consultant for Automation & Electronics at Frost & Sullivan Asia Pacific, told APB.

“Given the recent developments in China, such as the launch of a [dedicated] 3D channel by CCTV in January 2012 and CCTV’s recent agreement with Sony China to expand cooperation in production of 3DTV programming, a strong platform for the growth of the 3DTV market in China in the next two to three years can be expected,” said Venkatasubramanian.

CCTV, China’s major state TV broadcaster, recently signed an agreement with Sony China to expand cooperation in production of 3DTV programming. As part of the partnership, the Sony China Professional Solutions Group (CPSG) will supply a 3D transmission system, providing on-site supervision and technical support services, and assisting CCTV in the production and broadcasting of 3D programmes.

CCTV will also reportedly utilise its broadcast rights to the London Olympics to test 3DTV broadcasts. The tests are scheduled for late second quarter and third quarter of this year — and comes amid the continued popularity of 3D broadcasts of global sporting events, including the FIFA 2010 World Cup and last year’s Wimbledon tennis tour­nament.

If 3D content continues to be made available and prices of 3DTV sets become increasingly affordable to consumers, 3DTV will remain a viable option in the Asia-Pacific region, said Venkatasubramanian.

“For now, in the overall APAC region, 3DTV technology is a ‘catch-as-catch-can’ proposition with a fair amount of customer involvement to get it to work properly … We expect 3DTV technology to become more robust and 3D content to become more available — with operators and content providers likely to ensure a plentiful supply of material in the next two to three years for greater adoption of 3DTV,” Venkatasubramanian concluded.

Others, including research firm Informa Telecoms & Media, are less optimistic about the continued demand of 3DTV among viewers.

Global 3DTV Forecasts — 2nd edition, a recent report by Informa, predicts that less than half of the potential 11 million homes with 3DTV sets by 2016 will actually be regular users of 3D content.

Commenting on the findings, Adam Thomas, Informa Telecoms & Media’s senior analyst and author of the report, said: “We do not share the view that 3D represents the obvious next evolutionary step for TV, in the same way that colour followed black and white, or HD is following SD. 3DTV is less of an enhancement and rather more a new type of viewing experience — one that many people will enjoy, but some way from becoming ubiquitous.”

— With additional reporting by Shawn Liew

 

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