http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2017/01/22/why-watching-super-bowl-li-at-home-will-be-even-more-awesome-than-usual.html
Why Watching Super Bowl LI at Home Will Be Even More Awesome Than Usual
Published January 22, 2017
Nothing is as exciting as actually being at the Super Bowl, but this year those
of us watching from home will get to see something those at the game will miss:
a view from inside the players' helmets.
In fact, Super Bowl LI is shaping up to be one of the most technologically
advanced games ever aired. The Fox Sports broadcast will include 4K and even 8K
cameras, augmented reality, and next-gen graphics and stats, all designed to
bring fans at home closer to the field.
"With the NFL and most other sports, we're used to seeing replays and on-field
action being broadcast from the outside in. But the ambition has always been to
get those perspectives from the inside out," says Michael Davies, senior vice
president of field and technical operations at Fox Sports. "With 'Be the
Player' and some other enhancements we're utilizing this year, such as pylon
cameras, we'll be able to bring the audience down to the field and offer the
viewpoint of a player at the critical decision-making moment.”
Super Bowl, Super Tech
Perhaps the most touted of the watch-at-home enhancements will be the "Be the
Player" feature, an Intel technology that allows the viewer "to get inside the
helmet of any player on the field,” according to Davies.
There are no actual recording devices inside the helmets. Instead, an array of
38 Ultra High Definition cameras placed around the perimeter of the field will
capture a 360-degree view of the action. That allows producers to position a
"virtual" camera almost anywhere on the field to replicate an individual
player's perspective. The video feed runs through 5 miles of fiber-optic cables
to a special control room where Intel and Fox Sports producers choose and
compile the Be the Player replays.
You can get an idea of how the technology works in this video clip.
The "spin and zoom" 3D technology behind Be the Player, called Relay 360, has
been used in some sporting events, including the MLB and NBA All-Star games.
But Super Bowl LI marks the first time the tech will be used to show the action
from the player's field-level perspective. Intel acquired the technology, then
called "freeD," when it bought the company Replay Technologies last year.
According to Davies, Fox Sports will use the Be the Player technology
selectively throughout Super Bowl LI, typically on the biggest plays of the
game. One reason for that is the complexity of composing and compiling the
shots that air. Each 15- to 30-second clip eats up around 1 terabyte of data,
so it can take up to 2 minutes to get the replays ready for broadcast. So most
of the Be the Player replays will air after the commercial break following a
score or a timeout.
"We also need to make sure the clips fit with the story line," Davies explains.
"We want to make sure that we have the right shot and that it can be seamlessly
woven into the broadcast."
Fox Sports will be using several other novel technologies during the game. For
example, the overhead Skycam—the robotic camera you often see suspended by
wires during NFL broadcasts—will now be teamed with enhanced, augmented reality
cameras to insert a live first-down line on the field, so fans at the game will
see what the fans at home have seen for a while.
Player-tracking technology, from a company called Zebra Sports Solution, will
be used to produce creative graphics of real-time stats. The technology, in use
for several years now, employs wireless RFID sensors in players' shoulder pads
to track several metrics, including location, speed, acceleration, and distance
traveled. Fox will present the easy-to-digest info on colorful 3D-style
billboards during the game.
4K Cameras but No 4K Broadcast
Broadcasters have been using 4K cameras for slow-motion replays for several
years now, but Fox will use more of them than ever before. But although much of
the game will be shot in the higher-resolution format, the Super Bowl won't be
shown in 4K, surely a disappointment to those who now own 4K TVs. (So far, live
4K broadcast content has been limited in the U.S., mainly to live sporting
events on Direct TV.)
This year's game, however, will mark the first time that some of the on-field
Super Bowl action will also be shot using a higher resolution 8K camera. Fox
plans to use several 4K cameras that can record at faster-than-normal frame
rates, too. The 4K and 8K cameras offer razor-sharp, highly detailed images,
and the higher frame rates help reduce motion blur during fast-moving scenes.
That makes the super slow-motion replays look better, even when broadcast in
regular HD.
Despite the fact that the game won't be shown in 4K, Davies says the advantages
of Ultra HD cameras and faster frame rates will be apparent. "The ability to
capture a quarterback's reaction to an evolving situation on the field, or the
grimace of a sideline coach after a call, can heighten the emotional impact of
the game for viewers," he explains. "It's always best to start with the
highest-quality source material you can get."
In total, Fox Sports will use 70 cameras during Super Bowl LI, including more
Super Motion and 4K cameras then ever before in a Big Game. The 24 cameras
installed in the end-zone pylons will be able to capture high-quality video at
the goal line, enabling fans—and the refs—to see whether a player has scored on
an especially close play.
The Super Bowl will take place Feb. 5, but if you can't wait, the pregame
action kicks off Jan. 27 with Super Bowl Live, a 10-day free festival at
Discover Green, a 12-acre public park in downtown Houston. The event, which
features music, food, games, and live performances, will also be a showcase for
technology. Fox Sports will have 36 high-def cameras, including a Skycam
suspended over the park, plus dozens of microphones capturing all the action.
That still leaves the question, though, of when we can expect to see a 4K
broadcast of the game. "That day is coming. Most of the cameras are
4K-capable," Davies says. "But not this year."