This year’s Wimbledon tennis finals will be televised in 3D on the BBC HD channel, and at selected cinemas around the country. This will mark the first broadcast in 3D by the BBC. To be able to take advantage of this spectacle you will need a 3D TV with 3D glasses (or else be able to get to one of the selected cinemas). It is likely that pubs with the technology available will also be showing the two final matches in 3D.

Never lose the flight of the ball again when watching tennis in 3D.

Why Watch In 3D?

What benefits will you get from watching the matches in 3D though? For those who have had little experience with 3D it will be a spectacle in itself, the first few times that you watch something in three dimensions it is a special experience because it is as if you are actually able to see into the television. Even if you are accustomed to that though, you always get an advantage watching sports in this way because you will be able to accurately pinpoint the location of the balls and players at all times.

For those used to watching sports on television, it’s common that a few times you will be confused as to exactly where the ball is, and so at a time like that it is impossible to follow precisely what is going on. This confusion will only last for a few seconds before the next action is taken which reveals the true position of the ball. Those can be a frustrating few seconds though, as you wait to see what is actually happening on court. When you watch in 3D though that confusion will be eliminated.

How 3D Technology Works

The reason that you won’t ever be confused as to where the ball is, is because you will be able to accurately perceive depth. That is where the confusion arises after all, where the ball is to the left and the right is always relatively clear, as is the height of the ball most of the time. However the perception of these things can be distorted if you do not know exactly how far away the ball is. That is generally something that, when watching on a normal television, you are not going to be able to tell accurately because you have to rely on the rules of perspective and where the ball is probably going to be considering the shot that was last played. That doesn’t always work though.

The way that you are able to accurately pinpoint where the ball is on a 3D TV is because you are able to calculate depth in the same way as you can in real life. That’s because, as in the real world, you are getting two slightly different vantage points on the action, and each one is only going to one of your eyes. The brain then combines these to images to create one that now has the element of depth as well.

First of all then the action is filmed with a special camera that has two lenses side by side, and the action is recorded from both. Then the images are broadcast alternately, one frame from the lens on the left, the next frame from the lens on the right and so on. It is then up to the 3D glasses to separate these images so that each of your eyes is always only getting the perspective one from one of the lenses. This is achieved in one of two ways, either by way of polarisation whereby each lens filters out one of the images. Either that way, or with active shutter 3D glasses which literally black out one lens after another so that each frame is only seen by one eye.

Polarising Or Active Shutter 3d Glasses?

If you want to know which kind of 3d glasses you need though, it is generally going to depend on where you are watching the action. If it’s in the cinema or the pub you’ll need the polarising glasses. They use those because they are cheaper and so can be handed out at a minimum of cost. The picture is actually clearer with the active shutter glasses though, which is why they are more popular for the 3D TVs that people have in their homes.