Cable's 3D Cheerleaders

Maybe cable operators are on to something with these 3DTV demonstrations of hockey and golf.I base that on how firm their telco and satellite competitors are in denouncing the demos as worthless hype.

After Cablevision Systems beamed a thoroughly uncompetitive hockey game in 3D from its Madison Square Garden to whichever of its customers might own 3D-capable TV sets on March 24, DirecTV said it was offered the opportunity but passed. Rather than focus on “one off events,” it’s focused on providing HD customers with “a complete 3D experience.”

After Comcast last week demonstrated for reporters in New York a 3D feed it and other cable operators will receive and transmit from The Masters Tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, Verizon said it was “committed to delivering a quality 3DTV experience, not just hype.”

The telco described the market for 3D as “very, very early,” said content is only now becoming available, and FiOS plans to have a formal 3D offering ready in time for holiday sales of TVs.

True, it’s early. Very, very early. But it’s nice to see cable exploit opportunities to stake a place in the 3DTV vanguard after DirecTV hogged the 3D spotlight at the Consumer Electronics Show.

I went to both the hockey and golf demos. For me, the golf worked better, but hockey is a difficult TV sport, and golf is a perfect fit. (Especially if it’s Sunday afternoon and a sofa is nearby to nap on.) At the Comcast demo, there were both “passive” and “active” glasses. The active glasses, with battery power, were tight and my eyes never seemed to fully adjust; Comcast executives said it would take a few minutes. I hope that’s not a common experience, as I’m told active glasses (the more expensive of the two) will be the ones needed for most 3D sets at first.

Both demos were cool. Cablevision’s press demo at MSG’s Club Bar & Grill, had the best celebrities, with actors Chloe Sevigny (Big Love) and Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) and Rangers legend Mark Messier. Al Trautwig’s shtick before the start of the game, pushing objects from his bag into the foreground until he found his 3D glasses, was amusing. All in all, a fine show.

Comcast’s, at the street-level studios of the SNY regional sports network, had three great 3D-on-cable advocates in the form of executives Mark Francisco, Mark Hess and Derek Harrar. Hess had played the Augusta course once and gave a perfect real-world example of 3D’s impact. On TV, Augusta looks flat, he said. When you go in person, you are overwhelmed by the hills and dips and contours; 3D, he said, gives you a much better feel for the course.

Francisco had answers for all the tech questions, including that the picture resolution and transmission rate were the same as for a typical Comcast live sports event shown in high definition.

Harrar made the business case for the “one-off” events DirecTV derided. Maintaining a loop of canned programming, even as gorgeous as the Augusta images, isn’t the best way for a viewer to sample 3DTV. It makes more sense to have programs available on demand, including the movies that Comcast has already shown.

As for predictions that 3D is a decade away from being a mass market, Harrar said no way it takes that long. He said of the movies Comcast has shown in HD and 3D formats, 16% of the views were in 3D using glasses Comcast gave out at payment centers and kiosks.

Considering the mix for Comcast on-demand movie buys is about 20% to 25% in HD versus standard definition, that’s a sign of strong early adoption, he said.

To the early 3D momentum powered by Avatar and CES, add cable cheerleading to the list.