On-air graphics keep sports viewers watching

For broadcasters, offering compelling graphics and analysis can make a huge difference when trying to attract new subscribers and keeping the ones they already have.

With so many choices of live sporting events to watch, how does a viewer pick one game or match over another? Certainly, if their favorite team is playing, that's the game they'll watch. But what about the avid sports fan that does not have a particular stake in a game but wants to watch anyway? What network will they choose?

The answer lies in on-air production values and how well a sports network tells the story of the game. To do that effectively, graphics are the clearest and most visually appealing way. With today's data-driven and interactive technology, graphics are also the easiest and most cost-effective method to covering the action as it happens.

Using a combination of interactive graphics and immersive graphics in the studio can offer a more informative sports broadcast.

On-air sports graphics continues to represent the new frontier when it comes to pushing the envelope of what is possible in order to keep viewers captivated to their screens. In an age of interactive smart phones and high-resolution, immersive television technology, 2D images just won't cut it anymore.

For the TV service operator, offering compelling 3D graphics and new ways to look at sports replays and analysis can make a huge difference when trying to attract new subscribers and keeping the ones they already have. In today's highly competitive environment, the bar continues to be raised to new heights and technical capabilities. It helps distinguish one TV network from another-sometimes with simplicity and subtlety and other times with in-your-face verbosity-as long as they are attractive and make sense while enhancing the sports broadcast experience.

Canal presenter, Julio Maldonado, entered from the studio into the Virtual Presenter football pitch to analyze the UEFA Champions League game.

In May, Canal used a system called Virtual Presenter, which electronically placed on-air talent on the field with the players for in-depth sports clip analysis, The technology uses Viz Libero software in tandem with Vizrt's Viz Engine. The Canal presenter, Julio Maldonado, entered from the studio directly into the Virtual Presenter football pitch to analyze the UEFA Champions League game between of FC Bayern against FC Barcelona.

The Canal staff first pre-produced a 3D analysis clip within the Viz Libero software suite of tools. Viz Engine was then used to combine the clip with a green-screen recording of Maldonado for on-air playout. Highly accurate camera tracking capabilities within Viz Engine ensured that Maldonado, perfectly positioned in the virtual scene, was always in perfect proportion to the play being analyzed. The scene looked realistic and gave viewers a much better understanding of the individual play being discussed.

By combining the available camera angles with Viz Libero's 3D flights and virtual perspectives, the system creates a unique view of the action on the field. Interactive telestration and annotation tools combine the full flexibility of Viz Liberos scenes with an intuitive interactive user interface for TV experts. With it, producers can create and display realistic 3D replays; unique on-air perspectives to resolve key plays; electronically insert customized ads to sponsor the 3D analysis clips; on-screen annotation; virtual SloMo effects to synthesize high-speed camera footage; and animate a player's run path for further player analysis.

Other major sports networks in the U.S. and Canada make heavy use of interactive touch screens for their studio shows. The technology, also using Vizrt technology to drive the graphics and other elements on the screen, adds excitement to what might otherwise be two anchors sitting behind a static desk. On-air talent naturally walks up to a screen and touch different parts to reveal new perspective on a story.

What's clear is that the technology to create new, never-before-seen visual experiences for the viewer is affordable and easy to deploy (Viz Libero is a one-box solution with hardware and software that does not require any additional infrastructure and can be set up in only 15 minutes).

With the Winter Olympics in Russia and World Cup tournament in Brazil coming in 2014, graphics production, supplied by technology companies with extensive graphics experience like Vizrt, will be brought to new heights. No doubt producers are already at work designing their next big ideas for how to bring the viewer closer to the field and keep them informed as never before.

For every sports production organization, no matter what event, the goal is to provide avid sports fans with unique perspectives and give reporters and on-air announcer with a wide variety of analysis tools to tell the story in new imaginative ways. Their TV ratings (and business bottom line) depend on it.

*Editors note: Vizrt will feature Viz Arena and Viz Libero at IBC 2013 booth 7.A10.

LINK:	http://www.vizrt.com/news/newsgrid/38653/On-air_graphics_keep_sports_v...
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