Mediaset debuts 3D on DTT

The Catalan company Bestv, specialized in the development and provision of software platforms for digital television, has allowed for the first time, through its technology, the broadcasting of 3D television content on DTT, and has done so in Italy with the help of Mediaset and the new 3VOD service.

Many believed that 3D broadcasting was only possible over the bandwidth of satellite or cable pay television. Now, the Catalan company Bestv, specialized in the development and provision of software platforms for digital television, has allowed for the first time, through its technology, the commercial broadcasting of 3D television content on DTT, and has done so with the help of the leading communication group in Italy, Mediaset.

According to Giuseppe Flores d'Arcais, co-founder of Bestv and CEO of Motive Television PLC, "this latest 3D innovation in terrestrial television, using our Bestv technology, represents a great step forward for both television channels and operators as well as for viewers. The success of this service, called 3VOD, confirms that Bestv is at the forefront of high-value, low-cost broadcasting."

This is one of the first tests in 3D television via terrestrial signal, although other channels, such as the Catalan TV3, have already carried out their own experiments with fashionable three-dimensional technology. The 3VOD service offers an offer with a selection of fifty movies, which users can download to the hard drives of their receivers to watch later.

Until now, 3D broadcasting was only possible through the bandwidth of satellite or cable pay television, and in DTT it had only been implemented experimentally. The novelty that Bestv has introduced is that the dissemination of these premium services is carried out using the DTT frequencies assigned to each television channel, which prevents the channels from having to make new investments in infrastructure, and which makes it a profitable system.

“We are very happy to be pioneers in the introduction of 3D on the terrestrial network,” added Eugenio Pettazzi, head of the on-demand television service launched by Mediaset Premium On Demand, which has been marketed in Italy since 2009. He also highlighted that “the launch of this service confirms that value-added television is possible on a terrestrial platform, and confirms Mediaset's leadership and its permanent search for innovation when watching television.”

This launch occurs just two months after the Catalan technology company was integrated into the company Motive Televisión PLC, a company listed on the Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in London. This operation was carried out with the objective of exploiting the synergies already existing between both companies and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by the Digital Terrestrial Television business.