“3D is moving at breathtaking speed,” said Ferdinand Kayser, Astra’s president and chief executive last week.

“Achieving a standard for broadcast 3D is our objective. We recognise the need for this, or users will be lost.

The lack of a standard is not an advantage for broadcasters, it’s not an advantage for viewers and it’s not an advantage for the industry.”

Mr Kayser was speaking at a press event held by Astra in Berlin, where there was much talk of 3D, especially Sky’s pioneering push.

“No extra investment is needed for 3D. The satellite infrastructure is transparent and most broadcasters are using transmission systems that work with existing HD receivers. So viewers can keep their receivers and only need buy a new TV. Sky and Canal+ are planning 3D services for as early as April.”

By unhappy coincidence, Mr Kayser’s concern over confusion was neatly underlined by the demonstration of 3D that Sony had set up in an ante-room, using a 46in HX9 3D-ready TV, with add-on infra-red transmitter and several pairs of active shutter glasses. The 3D demo clips were sourced from a PS3, upgraded to 3D Blu-ray status with Version 3.2 firmware.

The 3D pictures were fine, but guests were offered no explanation that the new BD 3D standard delivers frame-sequential Full HD 3D, which existing satellite receivers cannot handle. Perish the thought that no one had realised that the Astra/Sony 3D demonstration of 3D was using a system that Astra will not be delivering.

It has been two weeks since Sony UK promised to explain how its active shutter 3D sets would handle Sky’s 3D signals. The best bet is that the owner will need to do some deep digging in the on-screen menus.

Even more important is the question of how passive-polarising 3D TVs used to receive Sky 3D will cope with 3D Blu-ray.

Dealers will be in the firing line here if they sell passive-polarising 3D TVs to early Sky 3D adopters, and the customer then early-adopts a 3D Blu-ray player that won't work with the TV.

After a week, I am still waiting for LG UK to say how the passive 3D LCD TVs (LCD LD920) it is selling for watching Sky 3D will handle the quite different kind of 3D signal from a 3D Blu-ray.

Barry Fox