Chinese filmmakers and the Chinese government are anxious to work more closely with the International 3D Society to promote more 3D movies and TV programming, officials said Monday at a committee meeting of the year-old China branch of the Society.
China’s TV agency CCTV and its branch of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, along with the Beijing Film Academy where the meeting and subsequent first annual awards program and conference were held, were the primary sponsors of the program, at which Society President Jim Chabin was in attendance from the U.S. The Society recently merged with the 3D@Home consortium, bringing together content creators and CE leaders.
Xiaoli Lu, Deputy Director of CSMPTE, said 3D in China is similar in many ways to the U.S. With more than 8,000 3D theater screens and broad audience popularity, the film side of the 3D industry is robust and growing. But 3DTV is faced with many of the same challenges as the U.S., with not enough 3D content to keep consumers engaged.
Gesan Liu, Dean of the Beijing Film Academy Film and Technology Department, said broadcasters cannot charge a premium for 3D since the audience is already so small. He also noted that while TV manufacturers promote the sale of 3DTVs, content producers need to get more involved with promotion of 3D programming.
Hongwei, Director in the Technology Department of Beijing TV, said the industry is focused primarily on live broadcasts right now for the home and into cinemas.
Yaming Wang echoed that comment, and added that sports programming is the best Launchpad at the moment for 3DTV.
Other companies and organizations represented at the meeting included Panasonic, Beijing TV, Autodesk, China Film Group, and Shanghai Broadcasting.
— By Scott Hettrick