World’s First Terrestrial 3D TV Station Launches In Italy

The world’s first terrestrial 3D TV station has launched in Italy following a successful trial by broadcaster Mediaset. The service is known as 3VOD and runs on Motive’s Bestv set-top box. Subscribers are able to watch around 50 films in 3D.

“I believe this is a world first,” said Giuseppe Flores d’Arcais, co-founder of Bestv and director of Motive told the Wall Street Journal. He said the service is aimed at delivering internet TV-like services to viewers still receiving their signal through aerials or via satellite, rather than internet-connected TV: “You don’t need 10MB into the home.”

Because of the high-bandwidth required to screen 3D TV services, most have been limited to pay-TV platforms like Sky. The files for 3D films are twice as large as normal 2D content as 3D requires two images per frame.

Motive’s 3VOD service works by storing files locally on the user’s set top box, meaning there are fewer issues of buffering or reduced quality.