Watch the world cup in 3D

Although no channels will actually be broadcasting this year’s World Cup in 3D, a lucky few will be able to enjoy three-dimensional matches from the comfort of their sofa with no need for a special subscription.

How is that possible I hear you cry? Well, it’s all thanks to a new type of technology that left us all pretty much gobsmacked at the office this week. It’s a new feature of the Samsung 46C7700 that converts standard video signals (TV, DVD, BR etc.) from 2D to 3D. And since we’ve tried and tested so many disappointing 3D gimmicks and solutions, we really weren’t expecting to be quite so impressed.

This television was brought to us like a prize possession directly by the manufacturers’ technical managers, who’d flown over all the way from Korea. To be honest, as soon as they mentioned the 2D-to-3D conversion function we were ready to get out the knives. Anyway, in the interest of science we gave it a go with our Casino Royale Blu-ray. And then … we all watched in stunned silence! Our jaws literally dropped. How is it possible to recreate such a realistic 3D picture from a source filmed originally in 2D, we asked? Apparently it’s all down to an algorithm that analyses shapes and objects in relation to differences in contrast in the image, and all of which is done in real time. What could be simpler!?!

In any case, it works surprisingly well, and certainly much better than we imagined. Plus, after comparing the original 2D version against the generated 3D version, we’d even go as far as say we preferred the 3D one. So if we had this TV at home, we’d definitely enjoy watching the footy in 3D!

Let’s hope this function will feature in competitors’ models too. Otherwise, it’s difficult to see how a rival TV could even compete with the Samsung, especially given the current lack of availability of 3D sources.

Just a reminder: our full test of the Samsung 46C7700 is due for publication on Friday.

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