One voice that seems to be missing in all of the 3DTV hype these days is AT&T. DirecTV, Comcast, and even Verizon have been stirring up the 3DTV public relations pot, outlining future plans. But from my vantage point, I haven’t heard much from AT&T.
They recently hosted a press/blogger event in Atlanta at their U-verse test lab to demonstrate a bunch of ‘upcoming’ features and capabilities for U-verse TV. Among the many things discussed was 3DTV. AT&T says they’re ready for it. Light Reading quotes AT&T’s point man on U-verse, Jeff Weber, as saying, “All of our set-tops are 3D-capable.” All that is required is a software patch. Beyond that, they didn’t go into any great detail about upcoming 3DTV plans.
One reason AT&T isn’t exactly beating the 3DTV drum real loudly is of all the major video players, AT&T is probably the most challenged to deliver 3DTV. Their DSL-delivered IPTV product has bandwidth limitations that don’t exactly welcome mass adoption of 3DTV. If 3DTV takes off (which is very much still in question), will it force AT&T’s hand to take fiber all the way to the home?
