Another First For Scottish Rugby

This Saturday’s sell-out RBS 6 Nations match between Scotland and England will make broadcasting history. In a joint venture between the BBC and a consortium, The3DFirm, the Calcutta Cup will be test screened in 3D HD to a lucky audience.This Saturday’s sell-out RBS 6 Nations match between Scotland and England will make broadcasting history. In a joint venture between the BBC and a consortium, The3DFirm, the Calcutta Cup will be test screened in 3D HD to a lucky audience. Now here’s the science bit. The 3D camera rigs employ twin HD cameras on each position representing the left and the right eye. A standard broadcast vision mixer in the BBC truck then edits the paired signals together beaming it to London via satellite. Once received in London the signal is then decoded back to 2xHD and projected onto a screen and viewed using special glasses Scottish Rugby is proud that such a groundbreaking initiative is coming from the white hot atmosphere of a packed Murrayfield on Calcutta Cup day. Chief Executive Gordon McKie said: It’s very exciting that this new technology is being used to broadcast a match involving the two countries that played rugby’s very first international 137 years ago. David Wooster of The3DFirm said: 3D creates an immersive, ‘almost as good as being there’ experience. Unlike traditional television coverage, 3D places’ the audience in the stadium, as if they were actually there, giving a heightened sense of reality. This 3D breakthrough will be complete with BBC Radio Scotland commentary and won’t have the fast paced cuts of the typical TV experience. Instead it will be more like sitting in the stands at Murrayfield. BBC Sport Innovations Executive Aashish Chandarana is looking forward to the match. He said: This exciting event is part of broadcasting history, and shows the BBC’s commitment to explore new technologies with a view to bringing maximum enjoyment to audiences. Pre-recorded 3D is already available in cinemas It will not be available in the home for some time. 3D Is predominantly a projection event at the moment. Supporters at tomorrow’s Scotland v England match at Murrayfield are encouraged to arrive early at the stadium. Turnstiles are open from 1pm and you can catch all the action from the Ireland v Wales match at Dublin on three big screens near the stadium bars. Those supporters who wish to enjoy a pint should do so responsibly.