Sky Sports confirms 3D support, 4K interest
July 31, 2013
By Colin Mann
In a week that has seen its Australian counterpart Foxtel announce the shelving of a dedicated 3D service, Sky Sports has confirmed that selected sports will continue to be shown on the broadcaster’s 3D service. Executives also confirmed Sky’s interest in 4K broadcasting.
Briefing journalists prior to the start of the English football season on technological and presentational developments, Steve Smith, Director, Sky Sports Production, said that Sky wanted to build on “a great summer of sport” with certain innovations such as player tracking and data capture.
Smith admitted that Sky’s coverage of football matches in 3D had evolved since the initial games at the end of the 2009/10 season partly because the cameras used were primarily designed for movies, rather than live sport. The ability to screen ‘glasses-free’ coverage could play a significant role in raising take-up, as would the availability of 4K display sets.
He said that Sky was continually looking to push forward technology, and as such had undertaken a number of 4K coverage trials. “We’ll be evaluating when it is ready for us to use,” he said. “We need to look at it and work with suppliers.” According to Smith, the 4K challenge “is not in capture, but in delivery.”