Sky 3D rip off

cmcdon

I got a new 3D TV at the weekend and call sky about adding the 3D channel.
I was advisted that In order to get the 3D channel I would need to have the Sky World HD at 91 euros a month.
I dont want sky sports or the movie channels (movies keep getting repeated)
Why cant sky have it where u can pay extra for the 3D channel without having the full package. like they do with the HD channels.
Is it because If you have a 3D TV and want to watch 3D TV in Ireland that Sky offer the only 3D channel so that makes them think they can rip people off.

stedabee

cmcdon wrote: »

I got a new 3D TV at the weekend and call sky about adding the 3D channel.
I was advisted that In order to get the 3D channel I would need to have the Sky World HD at 91 euros a month.
I dont want sky sports or the movie channels (movies keep getting repeated)
Why cant sky have it where u can pay extra for the 3D channel without having the full package. like they do with the HD channels.
Is it because If you have a 3D TV and want to watch 3D TV in Ireland that Sky offer the only 3D channel so that makes them think they can rip people off.

I had the same problem and was about to change from UPC but as soon as I heard about getting the hole package I was like no way! UPC are doing well so who knows they might have some channels soon. The odd time bbc1 hd have a 3d program on, last time was about dianasours and was pretty good.

machiavellianme

cmcdon wrote: »

I got a new 3D TV at the weekend and call sky about adding the 3D channel.
I was advisted that In order to get the 3D channel I would need to have the Sky World HD at 91 euros a month.
I dont want sky sports or the movie channels (movies keep getting repeated)
Why cant sky have it where u can pay extra for the 3D channel without having the full package. like they do with the HD channels.
Is it because If you have a 3D TV and want to watch 3D TV in Ireland that Sky offer the only 3D channel so that makes them think they can rip people off.

Its probably because most of the content on said channel is sport and movies so they feel you should pay for access to these categories. Its similar to their HD pricing structure and seems wrong in this day and age. If they want to persist with this pricing regime, they should offer a 3d price scale for those who have basic channels only, sports only, movies only and sky world. The same applies for their HD sub. Either that or drop these "extra" subs altogether.

watty

It's not even 3D, it's just stereoscopic TV. Prolonged viewing will give headaches and the illusion doesn't even work for nearly 1/5th population.

It's a fad, but better than the 1950s Red & blue. Viewmaster works same way. The Victorians first made Stereoscopic cameras and viewers for Stills.

shinobi

watty wrote: »

It's not even 3D, it's just stereoscopic TV. Prolonged viewing will give headaches and the illusion doesn't even work for nearly 1/5th population.

It's a fad, but better than the 1950s Red & blue. Viewmaster works same way. The Victorians first made Stereoscopic cameras and viewers for Stills.

I agree with your point. Still, its a matter of personal choice that SKY are charging extortionate prices just because they can. Better off renting Blu rays for the experience. Better tailored choice & save yourself a few quid in the meantime.

Jon_459

I had the sports pack but they still wanted me to take the movies to get 3D

Tried it for a few months and it's not worth it - the novelty wears offs and there's not much worth watching anyway. As Shinobi suggested, renting is a better option - at least that way you can watch what you want.

watty

Perhaps Sky is only "value" (bad value but only choice) if you want Sport?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/30/freesat/

Cantona's Collars

As said earlier,it'd be no problem for Sky to match the 3d channel to people's packages.Say someone had the Entertainment Extra & a 3d tv then Sky could easily block their access to 3d sports & movies and leave them with 3d content linked to what they subscribe to.As it stands requiring people to have the full Sky World & HD pack in order to get the 3d channel is a bit ott.

Most 3d tv's can upscale HD content to 3d anyway so the likes of BBC HD etc. (ITVHD & C4HD can be put on epg's with 'the card trick') could be upscaled to 3d.Not as effective as a dedicated 3d broadcast but it does the job.

TerrorFirmer

Only things shot/broadcast in 3D are any good, conversion is really poor. I've tried it a few times on different sets and there's no point even trying to compare converted vs native 3D programming, it's night and day.

I play all my 3D content - games and movies - through my PC to the TV.

I hate with a passion, media that have been converted to 3D post production, the effect is poor and gives 3D a bad name. A good natively shot 3D movie/documentary/live cast will blow you away on a decent set, assuming you're not one of the aforementioned minority that have trouble seeing 3D correctly.

shinobi

watty wrote: »

Perhaps Sky is only "value" (bad value but only choice) if you want Sport?

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/10/30/freesat/

Do the sports fans really want 3d/stereoscopic? As a one off its a novelty at best. There are Non 3d European alternatives for the sports fans. Although will further spotbeams eventually eliminate this choice strengthening skys monopoly. A bit like thermal runaway.

Cantona's Collars

TerrorFirmer wrote: »

Only things shot/broadcast in 3D are any good, conversion is really poor. I've tried it a few times on different sets and there's no point even trying to compare converted vs native 3D programming, it's night and day.

I play all my 3D content - games and movies - through my PC to the TV.

I hate with a passion, media that have been converted to 3D post production, the effect is poor and gives 3D a bad name. A good natively shot 3D movie/documentary/live cast will blow you away on a decent set, assuming you're not one of the aforementioned minority that have trouble seeing 3D correctly.

A good point,as an example watch Clash Of The Titans in 3d then watch Dredd.The difference is amazing.Dredd was shot in 3d.Over in the film forum there was a big debate over the 3d only showings in cinemas & even some of the doubters were proved wrong.Rushed post-production 3d can ruin the experience which puts a lot of people off.

Someone found a cheap 42" LG 3d tv http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056781004

TerrorFirmer

zerks wrote: »

A good point,as an example watch Clash Of The Titans in 3d then watch Dredd.The difference is amazing.Dredd was shot in 3d.Over in the film forum there was a big debate over the 3d only showings in cinemas & even some of the doubters were proved wrong.Rushed post-production 3d can ruin the experience which puts a lot of people off.

Someone found a cheap 42" LG 3d tv http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056781004

Exactly. For me personally, comparing native 3D and converted 3D is much the same as comparing a VHS and a DVD; there simply is no comparison and for a feature to masquerade as 3D when it simply has been through a lazy post production process ala Clash/Wrath of the Titans, brings shame to the 3D name and it's potential.

My first 3D set was my LG monitor which to this day is excellent with Nvidia 3D Vision, I then purchased a Bush 3D tv (a Vestel rebrand), which despite having quite decent passive 3D, developed a fault within weeks. I'm now rocking a 46" Toshiba active 3D set, and although the native 3D conversion sucks absolute ass, as do films played on it converted post production through no fault of the TV ala Clash of the titans, Titanic 3D, et. al, films shot in native 3D - Avatar, Piranha, Piranha 3DD, Underworld, Drive Angry,Final Destination 5, Saw VII, not to mention a great slew of documentaries shot in 3D, and so on - regardless of your opinion on mentioned movies, the 3D effects are excellent and showcase the merits of 3D tv on a technical level if nothing else.

If you like your games, despite the persistent use of the word 'gimmick', 3D gaming heightens the experience greatly I've found- select games on the Xbox and PS3 support Stereo 3D, examples being Call of Duty:Black Ops, Batman: Arkham Asylum, being the most prominent. Now, the 360, it has to render both panels, meaning that it renders a beautiful 3D image at the cost of the visuals. If you're a PC player, this isn't so much a problem - I've recently played Bulletstorm, Fallout 3, Bioshock 2, Resident Evil 5, Resident Evil Raccoon City, in 3D, at glorious 1080p resolution through my PC. Bioshock 2 in particular takes the breath away, if I had to recommend one.

In short, 3D - by no means the gimmick it's often made out to be, but often short changed by lazy conversions which do it irreversible damage.

3D TV is worth every cent once you know what you're doing, guaranteed.

Skyfall

Is babestation in 3D??

eirman

watty wrote: »

It's not even 3D, it's just stereoscopic TV. Prolonged viewing will give headaches and the illusion doesn't even work for nearly 1/5th population.

Hi Watty
I had a look at a demo in power city yesterday and I was quite impressed. A few questions for you .....

When I saw Avatar in the cinema, was that true 3D or just stereoscopic cinema ?

The power city guy mentioned active & passive 3D ... What was he talking about?

Have that 18% of the population got deficient or just different brains ?

How long before the headache ?

Does the 2D > 3D feature do anything, or is it a total gimmick ?

Do you think we will have real 3D TV in this decade ?

200motels

I personally think 3D will die a slow death in the coming years, the only place for it is in the cinema.

lertsnim

200motels wrote: »

I personally think 3D will die a slow death in the coming years, the only place for it is in the cinema.

Agreed. I have it at home and I never use it.

Cantona's Collars

Sky are now offering 3d free to all HD customers.

Obviously you need a 3d tv.

The content you can view is linked to whatever package you currently subscribe to.

helimachoptor

zerks wrote: »

Sky are now offering 3d free to all HD customers.

Obviously you need a 3d tv.

The content you can view is linked to whatever package you currently subscribe to.

Not exactly true, you need to take Entertainment Extra aswell, if you just take entertainment you wont get it.