It's Strictly Come Dancing in 3D!

Strictly is about to become a 3D experience.

Over the last year or so, we've seen more and more 3D content make it onto our tellies, and it looks like the BBC's next serving of 3D will be in the form of Strictly Come Dancing. The broadcaster says that, as with the broadcast of the Wimbledon 3D trial, it will be transmitting on the main broadcast platforms, Satellite (Freesat and Sky), Terrestrial (Freeview) and Cable (Virgin Media). However, this is not the first time Strictly has gotten the 3D treatment.

"Last year we did a studio based 3D test. It was a special Strictly Come Dancing sequence for Children in Need [...] The 2010 trial was such a success we are continuing our 3D trials with the Strictly Come Dancing final from Blackpool!" said the BBC's Andy Quested.

"So... we have decided to do one of the highest viewed, highest profile programmes we have, live in 3D, not from the comfort and safety of Television Centre, but from an outside broadcast in the middle of Blackpool - and a week before Christmas!"

The programmes will also be shown live in selected cinemas for those that don't have a 3DTV at home and are desperate to see it. Quested notes that for the first time, the 3D broadcast will also be available via its iPlayer web app as a technical trial.

"We hope to make the 3D version of Strictly available to the version of iPlayer that appears on some of the internet connected 3D TVs and on some connected set top boxes. It will be a technical trial and we cannot yet guarantee the results across all the different makes, models and types of receiver."

Quested says the Beeb will convert the left and right pictures from 1080i @ 25fps to 720p @ 50ps and both images will be sub-sampled into a single top/bottom image. The final data rate will be encoded for iPlayer distribution at 5Mbs.

Even for folks that aren't strictly fans, it should be an interesting trial for the BBC. Do you plan on watching? Let us know in the comments below!