The Inexorable Spread of 3-D Technology Comes to Hockey

3-D video entertainment was the wave of the future in the 1950s, and yet so too is it today. Seemingly every major release from a movie studio in the offering includes an option to see it in 3-D. Partly that’s seizing on the runaway success of Avatar, but the phenomenon actually had a head of steam before it became the highest grossing movie ever (unless one adjusts for inflation). The Discovery Channel and ESPN have 3-D television programming set to debut within the next year. ↵

↵↵Now, let’s get specific in discussing this new development. Remember that high definition TV did wonders for watching hockey on television. Viewers could more easily spot the puck without broadcasters stooping to gimmicks such as Fox’s notorious glowing puck device in the ‘90s. Last night, MSG Network set up a private screening of the first- ↵ever live hockey game broadcast in 3-D, and the reviews were generally positive.↵

↵↵So maybe 3-D could lend one more element of realism that is missing from our current viewing. Who knows how long until broadcasters, taking a page from video games, add a rumble pack to your couch that activates following crushing checks?↵

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↵↵⇥Six cameras were brought in and a separate crew was added for the telecast, meaning that this won’t become an every-game feature anytime soon.↵↵↵But maybe the technology could still be formed into a viable business model. Perhaps one showcased game per week could get the 3-D treatment? Nationally broadcast games on NBC would seem the logical choice for that too happen. I mean, so long as viewers as comfortable with Pierre McGuire’s bald pate protruding into their living room.↵

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