Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Royal Wedding to Be Broadcast in 2-D Only (ContributorNetwork)

The royal wedding stands to be a massive event. Those who don't get to see the royal wedding live, or see the procession live, will be huddled around their televisions on April 29. Fans of Prince William and Kate Middleton, and other onlookers across the world, likely can't ask for anything more. However, Rupert Murdoch tried to give TV viewers one more thrill, with plans to broadcast the royal wedding in 3-D. Yet the family nixed that idea, leaving Prince William and Kate to get married in plain old 2-D.

3-D televisions are scarce and very expensive. But Murdoch's BSkyB network has just debuted a new 3-D channel and wanted to broadcast William and Kate's nuptials on it. But according to Time, the royals rejected the idea, since there was no room for 3-D cameras in Westminster Abbey.

This means the royal wedding will not have the same visual spectacle as Avatar, Tron and Toy Story 3 after all. Yet if Murdoch had gotten his way, it would have been the next great showcase for 3D television. It has already taken over the movie industry, and now TV could be the next to fall before long.

Murdoch's Fox helped start the 3-D movie revolution with Avatar, which inspired other studios to put pretty much everything in 3-D. However, ever since Avatar, people have been less fond of paying more money for the giant glasses. So since the movement may have jumped the shark in Hollywood, they may need to focus more on television.

Seeing the royal wedding in 3-D might have had some appeal to desperate viewers. They could have gotten up close to Prince William and Kate without having to stand with millions in a massive crowd. It also could have made them feel like they were in Westminster Abbey -- since the average citizen likely can't get in on April 29.

These nuptials are already massive enough in 2-D, but that wasn't enough for Murdoch. Ratings are going to be massive for this event, so networks will need an extra edge to stand out. Therefore, 3-D became an option for BSkyB, but it didn't pan out.

No matter what, the royal wedding will be the Avatar of nuptials, regardless of the dimensions. For now, big television events won't require giant 3-D glasses -- although those who use them will still be paying sky high prices for them.

Beforehand, 3-D was just ideal for special effects extravaganzas, horror films, or animated movies. Now there's even a desire to see people get married in another dimension -- but it won't be fulfilled quite yet.


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