China has marked the 2012 New Year with the start of 3D TV (Three-Dimensional Television) Channel service. After a trial run, the 3D TV will be officially put into operation during Spring Festival later in January.
The first stations for the 3D trial are China Central Television, Beijing Television, Tianjing Broadcasting TV, Jiangsu TV and Shenzhen TV. 3D programs will be offered daily from 10:30 am to midnight.
The programs include animation, sports, documentaries, TV dramas, entertainment and live broadcasting of big events, such as CCTV New Year’s Gala and the London 2012 Olympic Games. The stations will charge no viewing fees during the early phase of operation
People who have 3D TV sets and high definition digital TV set-top boxes can watch the 3D TV programs.
And, it requires special glasses for watching the 3D programs. So, this 3D programs may NOT attract many viewers. Most of the people are expecting a kind of 3D TV-Channel which won’t require any Special Glasses.
“The launch of the 3D channel is a significant step in the development of China’s television,” said Cai Fuchao, head of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT). The broadcast regulator also suggested that the new service could generate huge revenue for the industry if a proportion of China’s 500 million TV sets were replaced by 3D ones.
Countries like Japan, South Korea and India have already launched similar services.
China has roughly 500 million TV sets, according to Xinhua, and now also is home to more than 500 million Internet users and the fastest growing movie box office in the world, up more than 60 percent last year to $1.5 billion.
With their eyes fixed on the 3D channel test, some retailers of Chinese-made 3D TVs slashed the prices of a typical 42-inch model, often in half, to around 5,000 yuan ($790).
