Devoted to show business and the entertainment industry

For the first time in history there will be a live high-definition 3D sports telecast that will be watched by an invitation-only crowd at the upcoming NBA All-Star game on Sunday.

The NBA is hosting the special event in unique screening rooms at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas where the All-Star game will be played. There will be approximately 600 executives from broadcasting, theater ownership and sports that will look on to see the results of the new technology.

"Our hopes are to understand the emerging technology and where our world of entertainment is going and to be part of that, and maybe to direct it," said Michael Rokosa, vice president of engineering for NBA Entertainment.

The new 3D technology is especially looked upon by Hollywood and theater owners as important as they see it as a key to increasing movie attendance, which has been flat for years.

From the sporting angle, it could enhance the live sports experience by bringing to local movie theaters, boosting viewing and creating add-on food sales.

This is all being made possible by Pace Technologies, the company that James Cameron, the "Titanic" movie director founded, along with camera designer Vince Pace. Cameron is using the Pace Fusion camera to shoot his long-awaited film "Avatar" at this time.
 
Those that will watch the games will wear polarized glasses that they will be able to see a 3D image with. Audio will originate courtside instead of in the booth to bring the excitement of being right at the game.

Why this is so important at this time is that the 3D experience will be a differentiator if it delivers on its promise, and will give people a reason to leave their big screen TVs and home theater systems to watch a movie.
 
At this time only around 700 theaters, among the 37,000 in the U.S., have 3D projection systems in them, limiting the impact when it is ready to go.
 
This does sound promising. The major problem, once enough theaters have the technology will be having enough movies made in the new format that will justify the costs.

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