Exclusive: 10 changes to the way sport is shot for 3D TV

It may have missed out on the World Cup but Sky has big plans for showing sport in 3D. The satellite king will be showing live football, rugby and cricket amongst others on its 3D channel this year.

January witnessed the first live broadcasts of Premier League football matches in 3D for punters at pubs across the UK. Recently Sky launched its 3D channel, currently broadcasting a showreel of 3D highlights plus the occasional live event such as the first cricket match to be shown in 3D on 8 July between England and Bangladesh.

For living room viewers the 3D channel (no 217 on the EPG) is currently available free to top tier subscribers. You do, of course, need a new generation 3DTV, but existing Sky+ HD boxes can be upgraded via a software update.

Here's how Sky has changed the way it shoots sport for 3D viewing.

1. A technological short-cut

Sky could have taken the same Full HD approach to 3D chosen by Blu-ray but in order to work with its current Sky+ HD boxes the broadcaster chose a lower resolution side-by-side method of delivery. Using two specialised cameras to shoot 540-line images at slightly different angles, the resulting image is combined by your TV to form a single 1080i image running at 25fps, for which polarised glasses are required to view. 3D screens from Sony, Samsung, LG and Panasonic are compatible with the technology.

2. Camera positioning

Eight camera rigs (with two cameras on each) were used to film the inaugural live 3D broadcast in January of an Arsenal vs Manchester United match from the Emirates Stadium. Camera mixing, slow motion replays and overlaid graphics were handled from a purpose-built broadcast truck and the transmission was accompanied by a specially tailored commentary.

The vital factor is placing the cameras in positions that create interesting angles, not just replicating the traditional side and end-on locations used for 2D broadcasts.

Darren Long, director of operations at Sky Sports says: "If we move our cameras to the corner positions we've got a much more interesting shot than we would have face on because we're giving an angle and when you're giving an angle you create depth, you create height and create distance. That's why angles work really well in 3D."

3. Slower camera movements

A lot of training has been needed to help cameramen switch from shooting in two dimensions to three. "Within standard and high-definition the rules of following a game remain the same," explains Long.

"With 3D you completely change the rules. Number one: you don't want fast movement. You don't want the cameraman to swing the camera around, as you want to allow the person to view the content."