NAB Preview: SES World Skies To Conduct Extensive 3D Delivery Tests

With its 3D-ready satellites and teleports serving as the distribution backbone, SES World Skies plans to join leading broadcasters, programmers, TV makers, and technology providers in a series of extensive tests aimed at accelerating the delivery of 3D TV.

The trials, which will be showcased at NAB, will bring together eight major 3D TV components that will be tested under real-life scenarios in an end-to-end platform. Participants in the high learning environment will include innovators in content production, formatting, encoding, uplinking and transmission, headend reception, network distribution and display. SES World Skies teleports in Vernon Valley, NJ, and Manassas, VA, will provide encoding, uplinking, and delivery.

“This is a clarion call to anyone doing 3D TV. We have the platform for a whole new dimension of collaboration focused on doing 3D TV right,” says Bryan McGuirk, SVP of Media Solutions for SES World Skies. “While stereoscopic formats are being debated, the test platform allows everyone from content producers and cable operators to the makers of TVs and 3D glasses to identify firsthand any compatibility issues with existing satellite-based video-distribution systems.”

SES World Skies will pull on its deep HD expertise as it embarks on a new 3D TV initiative. With sister company SES Astra, SES World Skies delivers more HD channels than anyone in the business, and the firm’s advanced satellites and HD-PRIME neighborhood are the home for leading HD content.

“There is a lot of work being done in the areas of 3D production and screens, but no one was considering the end-to-end chain and how to distribute 3D TV over the existing infrastructure in the U.S.,” explains Chief Technology Officer Alan Young. “New advancements in encoding, encryption, modulation, and compression make satellite an extremely relevant player in the delivery of 3D TV.”