While many may have avidly watched the Scotland versus England rugby game on Saturday, none probably more so than a "select audience" at Riverside Studios in London who got to see the match in 3D HDTV.

The BBC test-screened the RBS Six Nations rugby match between Scotland and England live in 3D HDTV as a joint venture between BBC Sport and The3DFirm, a consortium comprising media communications firm Can Communicate, 3D specialist company Inition and hire and post production house Axis Films.

Thought to be the first-ever live test screening of an international sports event in 3D HDTV via satellite, David Wooster of The3DFirm said:

"Premium sporting events, where demand for tickets outstrips supply, lend themselves perfectly to live 3D transmission. 3D creates an immersive, 'almost as good as being there' experience. Unlike traditional television coverage, 3D 'places' the audience in the stadium, as if they were actually there, giving a heightened sense of reality."

According to Aashish Chandarana, BBC sport innovations executive, the process is very much at a test stage. "We're trying to do something no-one's tried before and bounce dual HD signals around and re-encode them as a 3D experience."

"This exciting event is part of broadcasting history, and shows the BBC's commitment to exploring new technologies with a view to bringing maximum enjoyment to audiences."

>> Link - The3DFirm