China seems to be pretty future forward these days, what with them having tested a 500km/h train, and now testing a free 3D TV channel for the masses. China Central Television will be operating the channel, where it will work alongside five local stations as they prepare to launch the 3D TV channel in a formal manner when Chinese New Year rolls around the corner – from January 23rd onwards. Basically, you are unable to view what is being shown if you do not own a 3D-capable TV set, where it will need to work in tandem with a high definition digital TV set-top box. China is not the first off the blocks with a 3D TV channel though, as other more technologically advanced countries like Japan and South Korea have already rolled theirs out, while economic and population rival India has also done the same.
This will be a free-to-air channel that will broadcast just 4.5 hours of 3D programming daily at first, where this broadcast will be repeated twice, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. It is also suspected that this new service might generate a whole lot of revenue for consumer electronics companies as there are currently half a billion TV sets in China alone – not counting those that are unaccounted for.