This summer, BBC One’s award-winning Planet Dinosaur and the world-famous Last Night of the Proms will be broadcast for the first time in 3D on the BBC’s HD Channel. These two events join select coverage of Wimbledon and the Olympics in a Summer of 3D, part of the BBC’s two-year trial experimenting with 3D production and distribution.

Planet Dinosaur 3D, scheduled to broadcast in August 2012 and adapted from the award winning BBC One series, will recreate the lost world of the dinosaurs in a ground-breaking stereoscopic production. Planet Dinosaur 3D will take viewers on a thrilling journey into a lost world: from the iconic Spinosaurus, the largest predator ever to walk the Earth, to Microraptor and the advent of flying dinosaurs in China, this programme charts the rise and fall of the ‘ultimate killers’.

One of the most ambitious animated programmes ever attempted for broadcast TV in 3D, viewers will experience the work of a specialist team of stereographers who have hand-crafted individual frames and sequences to ensure that the 3D experience has maximum impact, while leaving the audience fully engaged in the factual story.

Later this summer, on 8 September 2012, the BBC will also broadcast the Last Night of the Proms – the traditional finale to two months of the finest music-making at the Royal Albert Hall – in 3D for the first time. Eight specialist cameras will give audiences at home the best seats in the house and provide an immersive experience. With key camera positions in front of the conductor, and a remote camera within the orchestra that rotates to 180 degrees and can pan and tilt, audiences will feel that they are actually in the orchestra, with a 3D view of every individual instrument.

With Wimbledon entering its second week, selected coverage of the 2012 Ladies’ and Men’s Singles finals will be shown in 3D this weekend, building on the successful broadcast of the finals in 3D last year. Key cameras will be positioned courtside, capturing viewpoints normally only experienced by the players themselves. Placing audiences in the heart of the action, the cameras will deliver the full excitement of a tennis ball speeding towards them.

Continuing the summer of sport, selected live coverage of the Olympics will be brought to homes across the UK, including the opening and closing ceremonies, the Men’s 100m final, and a highlights package at the end of day.

Kim Shillinglaw, Head of BBC 3D, says: “Our recent announcement around Wimbledon and the London 2012 Olympics will provide a test-bed for what works around major sporting events, but we were keen to build our experience across a selection of genres. Bringing Planet Dinosaur and The Last Night of the Proms to audiences enable us to test the technology across various genres and establish where 3D really enhances the viewers’ experience.”

The free-to-air broadcast of these events in 3D will be available to anyone who has access to a 3D TV set and to the BBC HD Channel, regardless of which digital TV provider they use.

Nores: For Wimbledon, the BBC will broadcast full re-runs of the Men’s Singles semi-finals in 3D (one on Sat 7 July and one on Sun 8 July), and selective live coverage of the 2012 Ladies’ (Sat 7 July) and Men’s (Sun 8 July) Singles finals in 3D. During the London 2012 Olympic Games, the BBC will broadcast live 3D coverage of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies, Men’s 100m final as well as highlights package at the end of each day.

www.bbc.co.uk