Is it such a surprise to anyone that broadcasters like ESPN are reviewing the cost of producing 3D HD sports over 2D HD.

To get the quality needed for 3D HD in a broadcast environment you need two cameras, two lenses an expensive rig, all cameras have to be converged…it’s a technical expensive nightmare and all for what…a few hundred people watching 10-30 minutes of 3D coverage, it’s a joke.

3D is an expensive gimmick and the truth was exposed earlier on this year when Nintendo brought out their 3DS a hand held 3D games machine that did not need glasses to watch 3D and what did all the kids do…switch off the 3D because it was too hard to concentrate on the game with 3D activated.

That spoke volumes and as much as I am a 3D fan it’s not yet come of age and why broadcasters like ESPN are now questioning the extra cost to produce 3D HD sports programmes is like questioning the surgeons need for his anaesthetist during an operation.

Is’s not just the pictures that double…the cost must double as least or even triple due to it’s cutting edge production workflow, but we all know who is really behind this dilemma, the bean counters…who are the sole owners of the broadcasting implosion in the UK and beyond.

We are now dictated by saving money at all costs and sadly this is at the cost of many productions across the UK alone like Scottish Televisions Taggart, one of the most successful Scottish dramas to be axed due to “falling numbers”.

Bean counters don’t like the words “falling” and “numbers” it equates to less pennies…the BBC alone have lost BBC Broadcasting House in London thanks to “cuts”, that decision will come back to haunt them in my opinion.

I was just reading the NHK annual 2011 report last night in bed to discover NHK in Japan have FOURTEEN helicopters stationed across Japan on 24 hour standby with pilot and camera person.

I can’t think of any UK broadcaster who owns any helicopters let alone 14 of them, Japan puts all of us to shame and its obvious their so called bean counters are not given the same priorities as we do in this country.

In the UK it’s all down to cutting costs which means cutting corners in productions or worse axing programmes completely  all in the name of what…so the share holders are happy at the top of the tree but once you fillet out the flesh of good television you are left with the bones are you surprised people are turning away from watching television.