LONDON: U.K. satellite TV provider Sky has launched a 3D pub finder in anticipation of Saturday’s launch of 3DTV service in more than 1,000 such venues. The kick-off coincides with the contest between Manchester United and Chelsea.
BSkyB’s been testing 3DTV over its HD infrastructure for a year now. It originally intended to go live with the service last year, but there were no receivers in the market. It has since eased 3DTV into pubs--a logical strategy given the social nature of the soccer across the United Kingdom and Ireland, where the service is being picked up. BSkyB did a limited nine-pub debut in January with a match between Manchester United and Arsenal.
The 3D pub finder is postal code search-based. Sky said venues are being added “on a daily basis.” Three are listed near Parliament; three in Greater Manchester.
The folks at Thinq.co.uk said, “We tried it from our Bedfordshire satellite office and found three results within eight miles. One of which was a bowling alley which won’t let you through the door unless you pay for a lane, and the other two were quite possibly the area’s roughest dives.”
It is football, after all. The 3D pub finder is at 3D.sky.com/pubfinder.
for more:
March 22, 2010: “BSkyB Confirms April 3DTV Launch”
The April 3 launch date is one year and a day after Sky successfully transmitted live 3D content over its high-definition infrastructure.
January 28, 2010: “3DTV to Launch in U.K. Pubs”
BSkyB said today it’s new Sky 3D channel would go live in April in pubs across the U.K.
