Wimbledon in 3D to be free on the BBC

The BBC is to serve up its first 3D broadcast, live from Wimbledon. It'll be ace. You'll love it. Ace, d'y'geddit? Love, like in the tennis! Stick around, kid, there's plenty more where that came from.

Auntie Beeb will broadcast the men's and women's singles finals in 3D from Centre Court at the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club in West London, where it has been held since 1877.

You'll need a 3D television to watch in lavish three dimensions. The finals will be shown on the BBC HD channel, so it's free to anyone with a Freeview HD box, Freesat HD box, cable service or satellite package.

It's just this sort of marquee event that 3D is designed for as you wouldn't want to watch 3D all the time. You'd get a headache, and not just because the cast of Bargain Hunt are looming into your living room. Instead, 3D is better saved for special occasions such as sporting tournaments or big movies like Avatar or Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs.

There isn't much 3D TV to watch at the moment. Sky customers can go 3D with the Sky 3D channel, but this 3D racket is otherwise relatively limited to a handful of Blu-ray movies, although 3D gaming is also on the way. Racket! We did it again!

Wimbledon kicks off -- sorry, tees off -- hang on, we'll start again. Wimbledon takes place between 20 June and 3 July. Be warned, the fast movement of a tennis match may give you a headache or eyestrain when viewed in 3D, but hopefully it won't leave you calling for new (eye) balls.

Image: Wimbledon.com