LONDON: TV broadcasters and consumer electronics manufacturers both face a plethora of challenges in 2009 as advertising revenues drop and consumers tighten their belts. The possible cure for these ills: entering the third dimension.

As previously reported, UK satellite services provider BSkyB has trialled 3-D broadcasting, and US network Fox Sports is now said to be experimenting with the format.

Technology manufacturer Nvidia has also developed a video player that enables 3-D content to be viewed on PCs and "3-D ready" TV sets.

It is also launching a new system, complete with 3-D spectacles, allowing PC users to play games in three dimensions, while iZ3D has produced a similar platform that uses spectacles and a monitor.

However, David Hill, head of Fox Sports, has warned that TV manufacturers must help subsidise the cost of 3-D equipment if the medium is to take off.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, chief executive of the DreamWorks Animation studio, also recently pronounced: "It's new hardware. It's going to take a long time before there's wide penetration."

Data sourced from Financial Times; additional content by WARC staff