Earlier in the Summer, I led a team which delivered our first live 3D broadcasts to homes around the UK. We wanted to get this year's Wimbledon finals out to everyone who has so far bought a 3D set (and the glasses that go with it) and so we used the BBC HD channel to show the matches - free of charge - on Freesat, Freeview, Sky and Virgin. As well as testing to see if what seemed possible in the lab could be delivered in practice, and trying to ensure that we could offer really high quality 3D in production terms, we also wanted to understand what people really think about seeing television content that they are familiar with in 2D in 3D. By doing so we hoped that we could make better-educated guesses about where 3D and television might go in future, and plan what the BBC's response to developments should be.

It seems obvious that in the end it is you - television viewers - who will decide whether 3D TV sinks or swims. There's a long history of technology innovations that haven't made it, because the public just hasn't wanted them. 3D may or may not be one of them. But there's been little if any research so far to understand how people relate to 3D pictures, so we wanted to start to fill that gap in understanding.

We focussed work on the Men's Final, and having invited people in to watch our 3D coverage at a number of cinemas around the UK, we asked them for their thoughts. We also provided people who came to our London screening with the opportunity to watch on the most up-to-date 3D televisions which you can find for sale at electronics shops now. And of course we looked for ways to find out what people who were watching in the comfort of their own homes thought.

People found the 3D very different from watching in 2D - and it provoked a mixed response: a lot of them loved it, and some loathed it. On Twitter, people said "it's like you are there as a line judge", "much better lower angle dynamic shots", "looks awesome... probably as close to courtside view as I can get", but there were also reports that "my head went fuzzy", and a certain frustration that because the cameras offered a courtside seat, it wasn't always possible to track the ball right across the court and see exactly where it landed. 60% of people said that their expectations were either met or exceeded, and a third of those who had never seen 3D before gave the experience 10 out of 10.

Most people we surveyed wanted to watch Wimbledon in 3D because they love Wimbledon, and they hoped that seeing it in 3D would make them feel more a part of the action. Of those who attended the screenings we held, 76% said that the 3D view did make them feel as if they were more involved in the match and many of the cinema screenings had people applauding, hushing others, and gasping at individual points as if they were really sitting in SW19.

Quite a few people told us that they had been sceptical about 3D television, and thought it was a bit of a gimmick, but that our coverage of Wimbledon had persuaded them otherwise - but another important message to emerge was that even for those who enjoyed the 3D, it's "good old-fashioned HD" (as one viewer put it) that really matters and adds to the television experience. We will be doing more - not least the final of this year's Strictly Come Dancing in December. And we'll be using these further experiments to try to understand more about the potential extra value that 3D can add for you as viewers. We want to understand the part 3D should play in the future of what we offer to licence payers, and my conclusion from our analysis of Wimbledon is that at the moment the jury is still out.

If you are interested in understanding more about how we filmed Wimbledon in 3D, the film tells the story of the production and the partnership behind it.

Danielle Nagler is head of HD and 3D at the BBC

• You'll find a number of interesting blog posts about 3D TV on the BBC Internet blog - mostly of a more technical nature.
• Danielle is also a regular contributor to the BBC Internet blog. Read all of her posts here.

The first time I visited Wimbledon I expected it to look and feel exactly like it does on television. After years of sitting in front of the screen watching the balls, and spectators' heads, swinging backwards and forwards I thought I knew what sitting on Centre Court would be like. I realised that I didn't, and that while TV can do a great job it can't capture the magic of actually being there.

Like most of us I've never been lucky enough to sit and watch a finals match on Centre Court. But this year - the Wimbledon Championships' 125th anniversary - I've been working with others inside and outside the BBC to try to bring you the next best thing - the Wimbledon Singles' Finals, in 3D.

Wimbledon always feels timeless - but actually it has been home to successive TV sport innovations from an early appearance in colour, through to Hawk Eye technology.

We know that tennis can look thrilling in 3D - it can really bring the power players put into shots to life. I've been lucky to see some of the incredible test shoots we've been running, as the team are busy working behind the scenes to get everything in place for the broadcast, but I can't wait to see what a real match played by two of the world's finest will look like.

The broadcasts will be available to everyone with access to an HD service and a 3D TV set, via BBC HD, whether you get your TV from Freesat, Freeview, Sky or Virgin Media. And if you don't have a 3D TV, there are some opportunities to watch the broadcast in the cinema.

The BBC's been experimenting with 3D for decades - but as we all know the latest developments in 3D technology have made it much, much more sophisticated as a viewing experience, and we've been working with the All-England Club and Sony Professional for this BBC first. It will also be the first time that 3D broadcasting has been tried out across all the different TV providers so that it's accessible without subscription.

For all of us who don't have a 3D set at home, or a Centre Court ticket, the finals will of course be shown on BBC One and in HD on BBC One HD, as well as all the BBC's regular Wimbledon coverage - on TV, radio, and online.

I don't know yet whether 3D will be the future of television, or the future of Wimbledon: that's why we're doing this experimental trial. But I am really excited to experience the finals this year in 3D. And if you are able to watch in 3D I'd love to know what you think.

Danielle Nagler is the Head of BBC HD and 3D

• Danielle made a speech about the BBC's plans for 3D at the 3D World Forum in May.
• BBC Sport covered the news that Wimbledon will be the first 3D programming on the BBC.

Editor's note: This is an extract of Danielle Nagler's response to the large amount of interest raised by Andy Quested's recent posts on HD quality. To read the full post and to comment visit the Internet blog.