D TV on the wane

3D TV channels appear to be over and on the way out, with more 3D TV channels globally shutting down than starting up, and as countries like South Africa is still focused on getting to scale with a bigger roll-out and availability of high definition (HD) TV channels. by Thinus Ferreira

3D television broadcasting appears to be on the wane - done in by consumer reluctance to adopt the technology, but also cost as well as a lack of enough content. It means that the possible (if ever) roll-out of 3D TV broadcasts in South Africa remains but a pipe dream.

3D TV channels are mostly suited for sport broadcasts, showing movies done in 3D at the box office, like the recent Frozen, and natural history documentary programming featuring nature in the form of plants and animals.

A new report from IHS Technology notes that there is now more 3D TV channels closing down than starting in the world, with another one which quietly shuttered in January on a Nordic pay-TV operator.

TV channels broadcasting in 3D started in 2010 but after three years the appetite for this programming has not seen fast growth and consumer and viewers adoption. Where 19 3D TV channels were launched in the world in 2010, it slowed by 2012 and last year more 3D TV channels were shut down than were started.

SA still working to get more HD TV channels

South Africa is still struggling to up the number of basic high defintion (HD) TV channels.

The free-to-air OpenView HD (OVHD) satellite platform from Patco Digital (a TV division of Sabido) has one HD TV channel in the form of e.tv HD.

On Digital Medias (ODM) StarSat now runs two HD TV channels since the roll-out of its new HD enabled StarSat decoder on its pay-TV satellite platform: NBA TV HD and Star Bollywood HD.

MultiChoices will be upping another of the SuperSport channels on its DStv satellite pay-TV platform to HD level when SuperSport 7 becomes an HD channel from 22 April.

DStv now delivers 14 TV channels in high definition. It also has high definition TV shows on its DStv Catch-Up video-on-demand decoders thats from TV channels like Disney for instance, which is still broadcast in standard definition (SD) in South Africa.

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