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UAE TV Goes 3D
Published Jul 8, 2010
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The promise of 3D TV became a reality in the UAE last week, as telecom operators Etisalat and Du simultaneously announced that they are launching 3D TV services. With the announcements, both operators also became the first in the region to offer the service to their customers.
E-Vision, Etisalat's cable TV unit, said that it is now offering 3D TV to all its triple play eLife customers and to E-Vision customers without any additional fee. Customers who have subscribed to any of these service packages will be able to watch TV in 3D if they have 3D enabled TV sets.
In the first phase, Etisalat customers also will able to watch the FIFA World Cup in 3D through Al Jazeera Sports. 'We realise that the 3D TV service is still in its nascent stage globally, however in line with Etisalat's strategy to provide advanced technologies in the UAE, we are now launching this service and are excited to provide it to our customers without any additional costs.' said Khalifa Al Shamsi, senior vice president of Marketing at Etisalat.
" I think all of us have experienced the excitement in the last year with the appearance of 3D movies in the theatre," he said. " When I went to see Avatar, I had my doubts, but going to the movie was a wow moment. That movie prepared the market to speed up the implementation of 3D and we are very proud to offer it, along with the biggest sporting event on the planet."
Etisalat customers will be able to view the World Cup at no additional charge if they have subscribed to the 16Mbps or 30Mbps triple play package, which costs Dhs399 or Dhs539, respectively.
Al-Shamsi said the company had invested nearly Dhs5bn in its fibre-optic project, and 3D TV was a by product of this investment. About 500,000 homes in the UAE have been wired via E-Vision's fibre optic cable, with a target of one million homes by 2011, he noted.
- Du Launches 3D Service:
Meanwhile, rival company Du said that all of its TV customers can now watch 3D TV on channel 699 under the basic TV package. 'All Du TV decoders are already 3D and HD enabled,' said Farid Faraidooni, Chief Commercial Officer, Du. 'In order to enjoy the new 3D experience customers must have a 3D enabled television along with 3D active viewing glasses.'
Du's current 3D channel will cover several areas, such as fashion, art, travel, sport and lifestyle. A spokesperson for the group said that the company will not offer the FIFA World Cup in 3D. However, the company has announced that it will be bringing the World Cup to TV customers at a price of Dhs299.
Du's coverage of the tournament will be on four dedicated channels, Al Jazeera Sport Channel +9, Al Jazeera Sports +10, Al Jazeera Sports HD and Al Jazeera Sport World Cup, with some of the major matches being broadcasted in High Definition format.
- World Cup Is Key Attraction:
Broadcasters are counting on big event programming, notably major sports competitions, to attract customers to 3D TV. The World Cup, which starts on June 11 in South Africa, is expecting to be seen by approximately four billion TV viewers across the globe.
For now, however, lack of available of content is seen as a barrier to widespread adoption of 3D TV, but the UAE providers are optimistic that they can capitalise on the excitement that has been generated by successful 3D movies.
" The World Cup will be a good test," Humaid Sahoo Al Suwaidi, CEO of E-Vision, told AMEInfo.com. In terms of content that will be available in 3D in the future, Al Suwaidi said it depends on what broadcasters can provide. "It is not in our control. It will take some time. Some people might ask, what is there after FIFA? What can we watch on this new 3D TV? This is a valid question," he said.
But he is confident that 3D TV is here to stay, predicting that its popularity will grow as more content becomes available and more people buy 3D TVs. "The technology is there, our customers will enjoy it," he said.
Posted by
VMD - [Virtual Marketing Department]
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