Wimbledon in 3D: behind the scenes

One of the ways the 3D filming process has been streamlined from what went on in the World Cup, according to Humphreys, is with the cabling – an important part of any setup, especially for an event such as Wimbledon, which is in a relatively confined space.

"There are two feeds wrapped in one fibre cable, which is sent back to the camera controller unit, which is fed to the image processor – at the World Cup this was treated as two separate cables.

"The process looks fairly complicated, but once everything is in position it's incredibly efficient.

"I am confident that what we will offer this year will be faultless."

Two amazingly talented children tennis players were filmed for the trial, and the results TechRadar saw relayed back in real time were impressive. It was clear to see that the 2D to 3D conversion needed some work but this is all part of the process of getting the footage right.

Unlike football, the camera operators can predict more or less where the action will be, so the 3D is more natural and there is a lot more of it.

"Tennis is well suited for 3D," said David Bush at Sony. "But there is a lot of discussion at the moment about sports that we didn't know at first would be good for 3D. Things such as wrestling and cage fighting.

"There may be sports coming from the leftfield which are particularly suited to 3D."

While we all hold our breath for chess in 3D, there is the small fact that the only place to see Wimbledon in 3D at the moment is at the cinema.

The Apollo cinema chain has the rights to show the games in 3D, something Rob Arthur, Managing Director of Apollo cinemas, is excited about.

"Two years ago Apollo didn't have 3D or digital or satellite technology. Now all of our cinemas are digital and satellite enabled and we will be screening Wimbledon in pretty much of all our cinemas.

"What we're trying to create is that feeling of excitement you get at Centre Court.

"We'll be offering Pimms, strawberries and cream – we're hoping to event-ise the matches to make audiences feel like they are part of an event.

"Our brand ethos is not just about film, but entertainment."

As for watching Wimbledon in 3D in the home, the BBC is still working out who it should give the content to. At the moment, 15 broadcasters in Europe and the world over are set to take the feed, but we'll have to wait a few weeks to see which, if any channel, will be showing it in the UK.

The obvious choice is Sky as it has the only 3D channel in the UK, but the BBC may well decide to offer 3D through its iPlayer service.

However you end up watching Wimbledon in 3D, it's another sign that 3D is more than ready for the mainstream – and a long cry from the 200 people who turned up to watch tournament on its debut back in 1877.