3D screening for 2012 Olympics

London's 2012 Olympic Games will be the first to be broadcast in 3D, Olympic organisers and technology company Panasonic have revealed according to The Guardian.

At the IFA technology conference in Berlin, Olympic broadcasting services MD Manolo Romero said the plan was to distribute more than 10 hours of 3D Games footage around the world every day. The opening and closing ceremonies will be broadcast in 3D, as will more than 12 sports, Romero said.

The Independent reports that the broadcasts are scheduled to include the opening and closing ceremonies for the International Olympic Committee's main event, as well as the major competitions, including athletics contests, diving and swimming races.

The coverage of the London 2012 Olympics will utilise Panasonic's state-of-the-art 3D production technologies, the company said, with camera teams using its AG-3DP1 twin-lens Full HD 3D cameras to capture the best of the action.

According to The Telegraph, the BBC will limit the total 3D hours to “an experimental level”, which is yet to be determined, for broadcast to the UK public.

BBC head of Olympics, Roger Mosey, said the BBC is interested in ensuring the Olympic Games were captured in 3D but he said the audience demand for the product was far less than in high definition.

“More of the audience want high definition rather than 3D and there is a trade-off because we would lose some HD to produce 3D,” he said.