Penthouse has just launched in Europe a 3-D porn channel that will broadcast original content from 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. every day. It will also feature 30 hours of new content each month during those times, including soft core and hard core.
Although it's not yet known what kind of technology it will use, since there are different types of 3-D TVs and no front-running standard, or whether additional satellite hardware will be needed, the feed will be located on the satellite ASTRA 3B, 23.5 degrees east.
As might be expected, the idea of 3-D porn being available in the privacy of one's home is arousing interest. However, experts in the unique genre of three-dimensional erotica say that if the folks behind Penthouse 3-D aren't careful, the channel's appeal could peter out quickly.
So says Bill Margold, the acknowledged historian of the adult industry, and he should know: Not only has he produced and directed many adult films, but he also had leading roles in films such as "Disco Dolls in Hot Skin."
That 1977 film has been called "the 'Citizen Kane' of 3-D porn" and still plays around the country on the midnight movie circuit.
"Porn and 3-D have been around for a while," Margold told AOL News. "But there is a tendency among filmmakers to show off the technique as opposed to concentrating on the story. This has been a problem regardless of whether the film is mainstream or adult. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of 3-D. My eyes can't handle it."
Penthouse
Penthouse, whose logo is shown here, has launched a 3-D adult channel in Europe.
"At the height of the movie, someone bites off my [sex organ] and spits into the audience," he said. "It was actually chorizo sausage and I later ate it with my eggs."
The roots of 3-D adult entertainment date to 1970 with the release of "The Stewardesses," a soft-core adult movie that crossed over to the mainstream when the producers released an R-rated version.
There were a few other soft-core movies using 3-D, such as "The Starlets" (1974) and "The Playmates in Deep Vision 3-D," but Margold says the genre went "modern" -- or "hard core" -- in 1976 with the release of "The Lollipop Girls in Hard Candy," directed by Norm de Plume, a film that he says "put 3-D porn on the map" thanks to one particular scene starring John Holmes in which he climaxed directly into the camera.
"People in the audience panicked," he said with a laugh. "It was like the Eiffel Tower falling."
Even without that scene, de Plume, who still works on 3-D technology in both mainstream and porn films, turned out to be a pioneer in the field.
For the first 20 years of 3-D, theaters would have to show the films on two projectors at the same time, and the technology required the installation of special screens.
De Plume changed that by making 3-D films that used a single strip of film, thus eliminating the need to run two projectors at once and the special screens.
Although films such as "Avatar" look like a vast improvement over older 3-D films, de Plume says the technology hasn't actually changed that much since the 1950s.
"The only thing that has changed are the type of cameras," he told AOL News. "Digital cameras allow more control of the picture."
De Plume believes that Penthouse is smart to start its channel in Europe.
"It seems like they're more open to 3-D technology there," he said.
The new channel promises 30 hours of programming per week, but, while the idea has potential, not every adult entertainment company is planning to start a 3-D channel, according to Ryan XX, a director for a leading adult entertainment company.
"I think 3-D is here to stay, but it's not fully matured yet," he said. "There's a lot of different proprietary technology, and if you want to sit down and watch a movie, you have to put on those shudder glasses that can cost $150 to $200 a pair.
"Even if every TV uses the same type of glasses, there's still the fact that people have to put on glasses. You have to be pretty hard core to outfit your home theater for that."
De Plume says there is a simpler option. His company, 3Dglasses.com, sells affordable glasses that he says will work on any modern flat-screen TV.
But he's the first to admit that the success of Penthouse 3-D has little or nothing to do with the films being three dimensional.
"The success is dependent on the quality of the content, the price and how well they market it," he said. "Still, 3-D can't hurt when it comes to adult films, because it puts the viewer one step closer to virtual reality."
Make your life more weird! Follow AOL Weird News on Facebook and Twitter.
