Virgin Media offers 3D movies on demand, teams up with Samsung

Branson and co coming at you in 3D
Branson and co coming at you in 3D

Virgin Media has announced that it has well and truly jumped on the 3D bandwagon, with the launch of 3D Movies On Demand.

This marks the first time you will be able to get a 3D broadcast to your home through cable and not satellite.

The service will be powered by FilmFlex and is said to have "a diverse range of content" available.

To receive 3D Movies On Demand, you will have to have a 3D ready Virgin Media box – which is either the V HD or V+ HD variety.

Another dimension

The price of a 3D movie from Virgin Media will be £5.99, with Street Dance 3D being the first movie available.

Other movies lined up include Garfield's Pet Force 3D (October), Disney's A Christmas Carol 3D (November), Step Up 3D (December) and Despicable Me 3D (early 2011).

To go alongside the 3D service, Virgin Media has also announced a partnership with Samsung, with Samsung 3D TVs featuring in Virgin Media stores.

This is similar to LG's link-up with Sky to show 3D content in pubs.

The timing of this on-demand service couldn't be better for Virgin as it takes some of the shine off of Sky's impending official launch of its 3D channel this weekend - 1 October.

Sky is tying its 3D channel in with the start of the Ryder Cup, which it will be showing in 3D.

For more details on Virgin Media On Demand and the 3D service which launches today, visit www.virginmedia.com/ondemand.

Marc Chacksfield

Marc Chacksfield is the Editor In Chief, Shortlist.com at DC Thomson. He started out life as a movie writer for numerous (now defunct) magazines and soon found himself online - editing a gaggle of gadget sites, including TechRadar, Digital Camera World and Tom's Guide UK. At Shortlist you'll find him mostly writing about movies and tech, so no change there then.