By Claire Reilly and Patrick Avenell
SYDNEY, NSW: Panasonic has launched a 3D Lumix compact still camera, it has offered its 3D cameras to be used by astronauts in space, and now the company has announced that it will be filming the upcoming London Olympic games in 3D.
Panasonic Corporation, which is the Official Worldwide Olympic Partner in the Audio and Visual Equipment category, made the announcement yesterday at Berlin’s IFA consumer electronics tradeshow in conjunction with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS).
“The Olympic Games has always been a pioneer in the development of TV broadcasting technologies, and has been on the cusp of innovation since the first live over-the-air broadcast was introduced in London 1948,” said Panasonic managing executive officer Takumi Kajisha.
“Panasonic has been proud to support the Olympic Host Broadcaster since the first digital broadcast in Barcelona 1992, right through to the first HD broadcast in Beijing 2008. Now we are proud to announce the partnership with the IOC and OBS to create another successful era in Olympic broadcasting with the first live 3D Olympic Games at London 2012.
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“There is no doubt that the Olympic Games will provide some of the best content for the 3D market in the future, and that 3D TV will drastically change the way we experience this great sporting event in our living rooms.”
The broadcast, which will be the first HD 3D live broadcast in Olympic history, will include key events such as the opening and closing ceremonies, athletics, gymnastics, diving and swimming. Over 200 hours of broadcast footage will be produced in total, to be made available to participating rights-holding broadcasters around the world.
“We are confident that this unprecedented broadcast will be a great success in no small part due to the 3D technologies provided by Panasonic,” said Manolo Romero, CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services.
“Ultimately, we believe this production of the first live 3D Olympic Games will make the London 2012 Olympic Games one of the most significant in the history of broadcasting technology.”
Left to Right: CEO of Olympic Broadcasting Services, Manolo Romero, Panasonic managing executive officer of corporate communication, Takumi Kajisha, and executive vice president of IOC Television & Marketing Services, Vincent Chupin.