BSkyB’s early announcement of a new all-3D channel did not bring too many smiles on their the faces of their customers. Instead there was a lot of confusion in there. 3D is currently at a very nascent stage and a format war is brewing between manufacturers, all of whom want to push their own proprietary technologies on to the 3D experience for obvious business reasons. But BSkyB is having none of that and has announced to its customers that there’s no reason to fear — the new 3D channel will be universal.

It would’ve been a very lucrative deal for any company if the deal became locked to proprietary 3D technology but since the 3D technologies are also tied to the TV sets being produced, it would’ve failed. Whoever buys a separate TV so that they can watch this one channel? Instead, BSkyB has promised that their new 3D channel will be fully compatible with all the 3D TV’s and their associated technologies that companies like Sony, LG, Samsung and Panasonic are producing. I think I just heard a collective sigh of relief from the UK region. According to the announcement, this channel will work on all passive and active 3D formats.

This finally means that the early adopters who have been making the tough decision of choosing a 3D TV will not be forced to choose one spcific brand or format just so that they can watch Sky’s new-fangled 3D programming one one channel.

It is clear that if stations and media houses want to air 3D content, they better do it the way Sky has done. Getting tied to a format might sound lucrative from a business point of view but it will tank fast when market penetration will be so small, you will need a 400% magnification in the boardroom to show it your associates.

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