3D TV: What's On?

If you're contemplating the purchase of a new Panasonic Full HD 3D HDTV, you naturally want to know that there will be enough 3D programming to watch. When it comes to 3D TV content, right now we're in the "calm before the storm" period. While you wouldn't know it by watching TV today, in just a matter of months the airwaves will be filled with the beginnings of new and exciting 3D content from Panasonic, its partners, and others.

Here's a rundown of what you can expect this year:

Our content partner, DirecTV, will be launching three dedicated 3D channels this June. The first, called N3D Powered by Panasonic, will be a 24/7 linear channel with amazing 3D programming from such powerhouse programmers as AEG/AEG Digital Media, CBS, Fox Sports/FSN, Golden Boy Promotions, HDNet, MTV, NBC Universal and Turner Broadcasting System.

In addition, we and DirecTV will also be offering a 24/7 3D pay per view channel, and a 3D video on demand service. A free set-top box software upgrade will enable all DirecTV subscribers to receive this great new 3D programming as long as they own a 3D compatible HDTV and 3D glasses.

Along with our three channels, ESPN will be launching America's first 3D sports channel, called appropriately enough, ESPN 3D. The network will be up in time for this summer's World Cup soccer matches, and the network has committed to showing 25 of them in 3D, as well as this summer's X Games, NBA games, the Winter X Games, college football and basketball, and the 2011 BCS National Championship game in Glendale, Arizona. ESPN 3D be available on DirecTV as well as through select cable companies.

World Cup 3D coverage begins on Friday, June 11th, at 9:30 a.m. ET, with the South Africa vs. Mexico game from Johannesburg.

For doco buffs, Discovery announced last January that it will also launch a full-time 3D channel, showing 3D content from such genres as natural history, space exploration, science and technology, and children's programming. While Discovery hasn't yet committed to a launch date, with the rush toward 3D TV, you can be sure it will be soon.

Recently there was April's Master's golf tournament, which was shown in 3D in Comcast and Cox cable systems. And Verizon has announced that it will offer 3D broadcasts to its Fios TV customers by the end of 2010.

What's really exciting for me personally is to see the imminent release of 3D titles on Blu-ray discs. Blu-ray preserves the Full HD 3D experience, delivering an entire 1080p resolution image to each eye. It's the only technology that can do that, so 3D on Blu-ray will let you squeeze out every last pixel of resolution that your (hopefully Panasonic) 3D 1080p set can deliver.

Upcoming 3D Blu-ray titles include Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Coraline, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Monsters vs. Aliens, and, of course, Avatar.

And that's just for starters. When HDTV launched at the end of the 1990s there was one program you could watch: John Glenn's return from space. It would be years before regularly-scheduled HD programming reached critical mass. By contrast, 3D TV programming is getting off to a breakneck start.