Is 2010 the year for 3D TV, games and movies?

Hardware makers and content creators hope so…

Red and blue glasses are used for anaglyph images, but these often feature dull, washed-out colours

The future is here – and it’s looking pretty. I’m sitting in a darkened room at Sky’s HQ in West London, peering through a pair of polarised glasses at television’s next evolutionary step – 3D TV.

In front of me is a 46in JVC 3D TV displaying a show reel of Sky’s best efforts in the brave new world of 3D entertainment. It’s impressive.

The action appears to be happening an inch or so behind the razor-thin bezel of the TV, then telescoping off into the distance. There’s a real sensation of depth.

With Sky’s Senior Product Development Manager John Dollin, I watch clips of a Champions’ League game, a boxing match featuring Ricky Hatton and a spot of rugby. The ball zooms into the screen from the corners and the players run convincingly in front of the distant stands.

All the investment we did in 2005 and 2006, when we did HD, is what enables us to do 3D. We’re just piggybacking off that,” Dollin says. The changes Sky needed to make to its broadcast technology to offer 3D channels were “small and incremental”, and it plans to launch its first 3D offering in 2010.The three dimensional clouds are gathering into the perfect storm. In December 2009, it was announced that 3D Blu-ray discs will be available from this summer. Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia already markets a 3D solution for PC gamers, complete with a high-spec monitor and 3D glasses. Even better, the tech works, and big-name manufacturers and content producers are getting in on the act.