Digital TV Guides

3D TV packages

Friday 1 October, 2010

By Garnet Roach - garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

If you’re looking to take home entertainment to the next level, upgrading to a 3D TV package could completely change the way you watch television.

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In order to watch 3D TV at home, you’ll need a 3D ready TV, glasses and access to 3D content.

Video: Quick guide to 3D TV

Sky 3D TV

Sky offers a dedicated 3D channel. When it launched, customers were able to watch three days of live Ryder Cup coverage and two 3D films; Bolt and Monsters vs Aliens.

Sky is expanding its content in the run-up to Christmas, and will also be premiering 3D versions of:

• Alice in Wonderland
• Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs
• Harry Potter & The Half Blood Prince
• Coraline
• Fly Me To The Moon
• My Bloody Valentine
• Ice Age - Dawn of the Dinosaurs.

The Barclays Premier League will also be shown in 3D from 1 October, as well as other sports coverage including darts and cricket.

Sky Arts 3D has also joined forces with the English National Ballet to bring some culture to the channel.

To watch the new Sky 3D TV channel, you need to subscribe to the Sky World HD package, which gives you all six entertainment packs, Sky Movies, Sky Sports and the HD pack, from £61 a month.

Your Sky+HD box is already geared up for 3D TV, but you will still need a 3D ready television set as well as a pair of 3D glasses.

Sky says that its content is compatible with both active and passive 3D glasses. Active glasses require batteries to “black out” each eye depending on whether the right or left image is being displayed on the screen.

Polarised, or “passive”, glasses do not require any batteries. Instead, the left lens filters out the right image while the right lens filters out the left image. These glasses work with a polarised 3D TV set.

Virgin Media 3D TV

Although cable TV provider Virgin Media (www.virginmedia.com) isn’t launching a dedicated 3D channel, it does offer a selection of on-demand 3D movies that are available to all customers.

Pay-per-view movies are available to rent for 24-hours. The first movie to be launched on Virgin Media’s 3D On Demand service was StreetDance 3D, costing £5.99 to rent. This will be followed by Garfield’s Pet Force 3D in October, Disney’s A Christmas Carol 3D in November, Step Up 3D in December and Despicable Me 3D in early 2011. The provider added that new titles and prices would also be announced soon.

Once you’ve got your 3D ready TV in place, you’ll just need to connect your V HD or V+HD box and don your glasses in order to access Virgin Media’s 3D On Demand service.

All customers with the right set-top box will be able to watch 3D content, but you will have to pay to rent the movies.

Like Sky, Virgin Media 3D TV is also compatible with both active and passive technology.

Setting up your 3D TV

No matter which 3D TV package you choose, you’ll need to hook your set-top box up to a 3D ready TV. 3D TVs can be bought from manufacturers including LG, Panasonic, Samsung and Sony, and currently range from around £1,000 to £6,000. You can get your hands on the latest models from a range of retailers including John Lewis, Argos and Currys.

You’ll need to get the right pair of glasses to suit your 3D TV set, so check with your manufacturer whether or not you'll need active or passive glasses. But bear in mind that active glasses do cost more.

Once you’ve got all the hardware you need, simply plug your 3D-compatible Sky or Virgin Media set-top box into your television to enjoy all the great new 3D content that’s now available.