back to article Sky 3D soccer fails to score

As Manchester United scored its first goal against Arsenal yesterday at the Emirates Stadium, a lucky few secretly soaked up another football triumph: the world’s first football match broadcast in 3D. The game was the first live sporting event broadcast over Sky’s soon-to-launch 3D TV channel, and I was invited down to one of …

COMMENTS

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  1. ravenviz Silver badge
    Thumb Up

    Content is key

    So when do we get 3D enabled playercams?

    Imagine the effect on Formula 1!

    1. Mike Dyne
      Thumb Up

      3D F1

      I'd not yet thought of that.

      My word, the onboard shots would be ridiculous!

    2. Annihilator

      BBC

      ->Imagine the effect on Formula 1!

      Agreed, would be awesome - if only the Beeb would pull its finger out and at least offer it in HD. Actually, blame for this lies with FOM for not providing an HD world feed. Probably still smarting from the failure of F1 Digital+

  2. DrunkenMessiah
    Terminator

    Scary

    "“It looks like Rooney is walking right at me!" one Manchester United fan called out."

    A scary sight to be sure.

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Pint

    It'll never catch on

    Next thing you know they'll be making us listen to the sound through more than one loudspeaker.

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    And?

    The 3D effect will always be more pronounced the close the shot, just like it is in real life. So why do you seem surprised?

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    There's a problem with stuff like this

    Unless you're going to watch the match solidly for the duration, you're gonna want to take those specks off. Which means that glancing up a the screen when things hot up will provide nothing but a blurry squint fest.

    Good tech, bad use of. Keep it in the home and at cinemas I say.

  6. Anonymous Coward
    WTF?

    150 people, none of who need...

    Where (t f) do you find 150 people, none of who need spectacles to watch TV?

    Or am I missing something?

    1. Martin
      Happy

      You're missing something...

      The specs are quite large and fit over normal glasses.

      I wear specs and I've seen Coraline, Scrooge and Toy Story 2 in 3-D - and very effective they were too.

      But for footy? can't see the point. If you really want to see it in 3-D, it's best done at the stadium.

    2. James Sherwood
      Megaphone

      Re: 50 people, none of who need...

      There were a few people in the pub wearing spectacles. They simply made do by slotting the 3D specs over the top of their spectacles. Perhaps opticians should launch a range of spectacles with 3D-ready prescription lenses?

    3. Shell
      Go

      Glasses

      The fancy 3d glasses sit fine over regular glasses, but you do end up looking even more of a twit (speaking from personal experience).

  7. Alex-TheManfromUncle
    Heart

    "Pan right and pull back. Stop…"

    "...track 45 left. Stop. Enhance 15 to 23. Give me a hard copy right there.”

    That is all :-)

    1. DuncanL

      re: "Pan right and pull back. Stop…"

      That's quite possibly the geekiest comment I've ever read on The Reg...

      And shame on me for knowing what the hell you're on about!

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Alert

        oh no

        I must be some kind of uber super saddo geek nerd. Because when I read it I thought.

        "pfft what a lame use of a Blade Runner reference, I will have to review the comment on my blog dedicated to Blade Runner references and the review will read - Worst Blade Runner reference EVER!"

  8. Paul Shirley

    rugby

    Going to be good for rugby matches, the set pieces are almost designed for 3D closeups. Think I'll skip the 6 Nations 3D showing and put the £12.50 ticket price towards beer in my local though ;)

  9. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    “It looks like Rooney is walking right at me!" one Manchester United fan called out

    Sounds absolutely terrifying!

  10. F Cage
    Thumb Down

    Missing the point of 3D

    Disappointing (but not surprised) to see that Sky have opted for the 1950s 3D gimmick of making things jump out of the screen. No wonder the writer got bored of it.

    The benefit of football in 3D is to be able to gauge the trajectory of the ball.

  11. Gareth.
    WTF?

    I don't know what's worse...

    Having Shrek 'walking right at me' or having Taggart 'chewing gum right next to me'.

    Personally I would prefer to see Karen Brady in 3D.

  12. Andy Hards
    Thumb Down

    All those people who have just spent a grand or two on an HDTV

    will now have to fork out that again or more on a 3DTV? There will be plenty who will I suppose but I'll be sticking with the big old grey plastuc box I've got sitting on top of the sideboard thanks. Unless I win the lottery.

    1. Rob
      Headmaster

      Blimey

      I spent £400, like most average people will, but your point still holds true. The average joe isn't going to want to spend another £400 that soon.

  13. Ian Ferguson
    Unhappy

    Football seems pointless

    I'm not sure of the advantage of 3D to the actual game of football, as the most important shots are wide shots of the whole arena. I'd be more interested in seeing this technology in action for snooker and motorsport. Seems unlikely though - even with the millions of Formula 1 fans over the world, they still haven't moved to high definition.

  14. Chris 168
    WTF?

    Incorrect Facts

    The TV was LG's 47" 3D TV, sure the 3D impression may not be great with players confined to a 2D surface, but until football is played in anti-grav conditions I'm afraid thats what we're stuck with

    I've read plenty of reports that say the effect was pleasing, and there seemed to be a sense of depth, but the actual gameplay of football isn't as suited to 3D as Rugby, Golf and even Snooker

    Obviously negative articles score more hits though... so whatever floats your boat, Reg

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    maybe they should have broadcast something more interesting

    like a 6 hour film about a man who dies of dehydration waiting for the kettle to boil, only to go to hell and realise his kettle was never plugged in to begin with.

    1. tgm
      FAIL

      More interesting?

      More interesting than Man U vs Arsenal?

      Go back to WoW!

  16. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
    Pirate

    Amazing coincidence

    Yeah, the Irish location was Fagan's pub in Drumcondra, which just happens to be former taoiseach, bertie ahern’s local, that’s the same bertie ahern whose (slow selling) autobiography is also published by murdock’s publishing empire, the same ahern who is a sports columnist at the Nudes of the world , and the same murdock empire who also publish’s aherns daughter celia

    Amazing coincidence isn’t it.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      More numbers

      I wonder what the odds are... If you could supply some numbers, population of Ireland, number of Murdoch columnists, number of towns and number of pubs etc, I'm sure we could work out...

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Other sports would benefit

    Yes football is probably not the best choice

    cleverly done Darts could be terrifying :)

    as mentioned Formula 1 would be amazing

    specially created programmes would obviously benefit.

    However 3d does have a limited audience, because using said specs for many creates headaches and nausea, no matter how good the technology is, some people just can't manage it.

    I for one can easily handle polarised or red/green specs, but the shutter ones are awful after a few minutes.

    Eurogamer expo saw to that. :)

    and finally , do people really want 3d tv?

    I await the Tenpin Masters and Weber Cup in 3d if only to get closeups of the more attractive females! :)

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Thumb Down

      Not for everyone

      Totally agree. Also, 3D does not work at all for people like me with a squint.

      Nice to see all those 'normal' people looking as daft as I have had to every day for my life for the last 35 years wearing goofy glasses. Bet they don't get the piss taken out of them as they sit in the pub having a quiet drink!

  18. Frostbite
    Joke

    WOW!

    Now even the players look like they are spitting at me!

    Looking at those photo's though...........Sky should have gone to SpecSavers.

  19. Vitani

    Sport? Naa

    Sport/ was a damned good reason to upgrade to HD, however for things like soaps and dramas HD makes little difference.

    3D however is where I think the roles will be reversed.

    As much as I don't want to see Peggy Mitchell's mug in HD, things like soaps and drama would work really well in 3D, espcially if they're scripted with 3D in mind. I can well imagine watching things like 24 or Heroes in 3D. Sport however, not so much.

    Nature programs seem to suit both technologies rather well! Nature the best thing for technology? Whatever next!

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Typical example of ManUre bias

    Why else pilot this system in London...

    1. madferret
      Pint

      Arsenal v Man United...

      @AC, "Why else pilot this system in London..."

      Errm, because Arsenal were playing?

      And it wasn't just London. Manchester, Cardiff, Edinburgh and Dublin also had the trial.

  21. SMFSubtlety
    Pint

    3D footballers... ew

    Oh god no..... you know that the players will work out where the camera's are and then spit or clear their noses in the direction of said cameras.... put you off your pints!!?!?

  22. LinkOfHyrule
    Paris Hilton

    Content is key eh?...

    ...3D porn do you mean? Ball by ball coverage?

  23. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Content for 3D

    We all know what the best content for 3D will be.... and it's not football!!!

  24. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Not really impressed

    From what I read here, the 3D effect really stands out in rather close-up shots. Anything with a wide angle or with great depth-of-field appears to be too much to make a difference.

    So, translated to the famous notion of "content", it would mean that Desperate Housewives, with all the close-in action, would gain immensely from this technology, whereas Lord of the Rings would falter in the wide-area scenes, which are the most beautiful.

    Although I'd be as happy as any other bloke to witness fine Bulgarian Airbags (tm) in full 3D, it would be a somewhat small subset of all the stuff I watch on TV. Still, it remains as good a proof as any that the only thing 3D is really going to be good for is porn.

    Which probably explains why Nvidia is pushing 3D-enabled video cards with all its might. It knows that, if it is to stay relevant in the PC world, it has to master this emerging technology as best it can.

  25. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    Not ready for prime time

    I've been watching 3D a.k.a stereo vision (its not really 3D - wait for the laser projectors) emerge for a while now and it seems that only certain shots - close-ups and objects emerging from the screen - really show off the effect. Unless we're going to have Toe-Cam [TM] we're really not going to see much benefit.

    Yes I just made this comment so I could say Toe-Cam. Coat on, door out of.

    1. J 3
      Coat

      Well...

      It could have been worse, like... Cam-Toe(TM), to go with the above comments. Ouch.

  26. Michael Parker
    Boffin

    curious...

    ...can you wear 2 pairs of glasses for the full 6D experience?

    [chose icon, coz he's wearing glasses innit]

  27. Skyraker
    Thumb Up

    @David England

    Unless we're going to have Cam-Toe [TM] we're really not going to see much benefit.

    There, fixed your post for you.

  28. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Fail

    I fail to see any need nor benefit for HD on televised sport, let alone 3D. You're watching a group of people playing a game, not the experience of some cinema photographer and lighting experts, not some challenging camera work or direction. It's just a game, usually watched by people wholely or at least partly under the influence - what a waste...

    It's a bit like having a full multi-speaker surround system and listening to sport radio - what's the point?

  29. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    F1 woulld be nice...

    ... wimbledon ladies matches would be better.

    *a certain song about butts and size plays merrily through my head*

  30. John 181
    Thumb Up

    What about the other sports?

    Dont forget the other sports that it WILL work well with.

    F1

    Boxing

    Cricket

    Snooker

    Darts

    Womens Beach Vollyball

    Athletics

    Motor Racing

    Tennis

    X Games

    Long distance shots are not ment to be 3D, you can make them 3D by seperating the cameras by a larger distance but the fact is the brain would not handle it well and make you sick.

    Dont forget that 3D home video cameras will be comming out along with the TVs!

    3D TV is the greatest thing to happen since flat screens first showed up!

    Next stop, Holographics TV's

  31. A 20

    I'm wondering...

    Would widening the separation between the two halves of the stereo cameras strengthen the 3D effect of the wide shots?

  32. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    One problem

    Televised TV is the most boring thing I've ever experienced. The commentators are invariable over-excited or just blether nonsense constantly (or both).

    3D couldn't persuade me to watch it.

    I did enjoy Avatar though, so it's not like 3D TV wouldn't interest me - they just picked the wrong show.

  33. Bobster

    As the camera sweeps across the crowd...

    Wow, that coin really looks like it's coming towards me!

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