Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Virtualization of Fans Breathes Life Into Stadiums for the Return of Serie A

15/07/2020

Virtualisation of fans breathes life into stadiums for the return of Serie A Netco Sports helps the unreal become more real behind closed doors in Italys stadiums By Roberto Landini, Italian Correspondent

Monday, July 13, 2020 - 15:48

Print This Story

After the COVID-19 emergency of the first months of 2020, the coveted resumption of sports activities has had to deal with a less spectacular television show due to the total lack of fans in the stadiums.

Empty stands and the missing enthusiasm of the fans have removed a lot of colour' from matches and forced the various football leagues to look at the possibility of putting imaginative graphic alternatives on the field to help bring fans' into the match.

During the game home spectators are mainly focused on the action and the player in possession of the ball; unfortunately, however, there are periods such as the pre-game, half-time and post-game in which the TV images are really empty, without appeal, precisely because the large frame captures the desolation of the empty stands in full.

Given this consideration, one of the four Italian subsidiaries of the international Euro Media Group, Netco Sports, in partnership with Interregional Sports Group (ISG), developed a virtual' dimension with team colours and sponsor branding.

After some simulations, the Lega Calcio Serie A chose a simplified' virtualisation to be applied, during the pre- and post-game and in the interval.

100 games in 30 days

Given the physical impossibility of going to the stadiums during the quarantine period to carry out tests, during the proposal and testing phase Netco Sports had to recover static images and broad perspectives from its archive to create renders that could simulate the final output - but in offline mode.

After the static tests it was necessary to explore the potential of the system because it was crucial to understand that even with a camera movement, such as a pan or a zoom, this technology would have always allow the virtual graphics to be viewed in the right perspective. The next step was, therefore, to test these graphic elements within a technology framework that also included tracking.

Netco Sports sales manager Claudio Cavalolotti told SVG Europe, after some very positive tests, and checking that there was sufficient elasticity in the movements of the camera, we took the field for the Italian Cup and performed a final test, in real time, during the game.

This led to approval by the Football League which decided to have all the remaining matches played with this technology until the end of the championship about 100 games spread over just 30 days.

Netco Sports then started with a complex preparation phase lasting three weeks to create a mirror digital graphic model for each stadium, since they are all different and each has its own perspective for the chosen shots.

Netco Sports operations manager Dario Marra said, each game requires the creation of different

Dario Marra, operations manager, Netco Sports

renderings from a different shooting angle with different logos and graphic content a very heavy effort. In each stadium we started from a beauty shot which is a static image in long shot created from the main camera 1 positioned high in the central grandstand, and from that the mathematical model was rendered.

Then the central graphics engine applied tracking capabilities that allowed us to make different optical movements and connected shots, while maintaining the right perspective with the lively graphic elements added in virtual mode.

During the match, graphics added in place of the stands could be a bit annoying, because the viewer only sees a few rows of seats. In the pre-game, however, the shots often follow small groups of players and the TV director has the opportunity to add interesting virtual graphic elements. The same is valid for the half time and the post-game.

These are also the same broader and steadier shots that, in pre-Covid' games, were usually used to insert classic linear' infographics with statistics, formations, athlete performances and so on.

Netco Sports' technology composes a complex image that collects various elements: the live image in the foreground with the players; the overlaid linear graphics; the image of the virtual stands in the background; and a virtual circle positioned in the centre circle where each club can insert their own colours, logos or sponsor image. This last virtual element allows the sponsor to have a new opportunity for visibility, creating a new element in the marketing mix.

Cavallotti continued: During the testing phase we had also proposed more substantial interventions for further enhancement of the images through virtual graphics, to be implemented in other phases of the game.

This would have required a different and even more demanding technical setting. However, the profile that was decided on for this phase and in full agreement with the customer is still very effective and avoids the use of complications such as additional hardware, image recognition, sensors and more.

Virtual stands coloured with satisfaction

On the day of production, the team gets to the playing field and imports the model of the stadium concerned into the production graphics engine. Some tests and calibrations are then carried out with respect to the models already created at the level of animated graphic rendering, to guarantee the best possible tracking.

Thus educated, the virtual placement graphics engine makes some virtual lines to coincide with the respective real lines of the field. When for editorial reasons the director requests camera movements, the software interprets the request and returns the correct positioning of the graphic and virtual elements to be applied to the field and geometrically arranges them correctly.

This set up an
LINK: https://www.svgeurope.org/blog/headlines/virtualisation-of-fans-breath...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

26/03/2026

Phantom C-Series High-Speed Cameras Set a New Standard for Automotive Crash and Safety Imaging

Wayne, N.J., March 26, 2026 Phantom High-Speed announces the latest product li...

25/03/2026

In The Hot Seat: The Art of Directing a Premier League Match

Live match directors Sarah Cheadle (Sky Sports), Rob Levi (TNT Sports), and Andrew Swift (BBC Sport) sit down with the Premier League's Rachel Nightingale t...

25/03/2026

SVG Students To Watch: Kyle Maier, St. Bonaventure University

The senior from Upstate New York is manning the mic while also interning for the athletic department's sports-information team In the live-sports-video ind...

25/03/2026

NAB 2026: Synamedia Launches Edge Watermarking Solution, Marks 10 Years of ContentArmor

Synamedia has announced ContentArmor Edge Watermarking, a server-side solution t...

25/03/2026

SES Taps K2 Space to Build meoSphere MEO Satellite Network

SES has announced meoSphere, a medium Earth orbit (MEO) satellite network targeted for operation by 2030. The first phase will pair SES-developed software-defin...

25/03/2026

Reuters and TVU Networks Begin Satellite-to-IP Migration for Live News Distribution

TVU Networks is working with Reuters on a phased migration from satellite to a c...

25/03/2026

Nielsen Names Three Senior Hires in Sports, Advertising, and Publishing Roles

Nielsen has announced three senior appointments. Seth Ladetsky has been named Head of Global Sports. Trevor Fellows will lead Nielsen's advertiser and agenc...

25/03/2026

Anoki and Amagi Bring Scene-Level Intelligence to In-Content CTV Ads

Anoki and Amagi have launched In-Scene Ads powered by Anoki ContextIQ across Amagi's portfolio of in-content ad formats for Free Ad-supported Streaming TV (...

25/03/2026

NAB 2026: Arkona to Unveil BLADE//planner and Platform Updates

Arkona Technologies will announce a series of enhancements to its BLADE//runner platform at NAB 2026 (Booth C.1808). The updates focus on usability and workflow...

25/03/2026

San Diego Padres Partners With Daktronics to Enhance Petco Park

Daktronics has installed two tower displays and a video wall in the Lexus Club at Petco Park in San Diego ahead of the 2026 season. Continuing to improve the ...

25/03/2026

NAB 2026: MultiDyne Marks 50th Anniversary

MultiDyne Video & Fiber Optic Systems is celebrating its 50th anniversary as NAB Show 2026 approaches. The company was founded in 1976 by Vincent Jachetta, an N...

25/03/2026

NAB 2026: IPC to Debut with One Connect Intercom Platform and New One Link Keypanels

IPC, a provider of integrated communication solutions, will make its NAB 2026 de...

25/03/2026

ESPN Tops 2026 Sports Emmy Nominations With 63 Nods

Live production categories were led by NBC, FOX, and ESPN's NFL coverage...

25/03/2026

Atlanta Braves and Spectrum Reach Multiyear Distribution Agreement for BravesVision

The Atlanta Braves and Spectrum have announced a multiyear distribution agreemen...

25/03/2026

The AI Doc Asks the Question No One Wants to Answer

(L-R) Charlie Tyrell and Daniel Roher attend The AI Doc: Or How I Became An Apocaloptimist Premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre ...

25/03/2026

Kelsey Lu and Savanah Leaf Lean Into the Emotional Core of Running To Pain' in Episode Three of Directed By'

Directed By, Spotify's documentary-style series that pulls back the curtain ...

25/03/2026

BTS and Spotify Bring ARIRANG' to Top Fans in New York City

BTS is so back., This week, the global pop superstars took the stage at New York City's Pier 17 for their first U.S. performance in four years. Part of Spo...

25/03/2026

Step Into Sound at Our New Spotify Listening Lounge in London

How you listen can shape what you hear. That's the idea behind the new Spotify Listening Lounge, an acoustic space at our London headquarters purpose-built ...

25/03/2026

Iconic Instruments launch Transport Vintage Tape

Tape effects taken to the extreme The latest release from New York-based developer Iconic Instruments is said to accurately recreate the saturation and comp...

25/03/2026

Sonuscore introduce Fantasy Vocal Phrases

Launched alongside new Vocal Phrases bundle Sonuscore's latest release has been designed specifically for composers working on fantasy TV, film and game...

25/03/2026

Steinberg unveil Nuendo 15

Latest update now live The latest version of Steinberg's post-production-focused DAW has just arrived, and comes packed with new dialogue editing, sound...

25/03/2026

Rohde & Schwarz joins FormFactor's MeasureOne partner program

Rohde & Schwarz joins FormFactor's MeasureOne partner program FormFactor and Rohde & Schwarz advance their partnership for on-wafer RF component character...

25/03/2026

L3Harris, RFTEQ Sign Agreement to Advance Sovereign Electronic Warfare Capability in Australia

L3Harris Technologies and RFTEQ Pty Ltd signed a memorandum of understanding to ...

25/03/2026

L3Harris to Provide Autonomous Underwater Capability for US Navy Submarines

L3Harris delivers combat-ready Torpedo Tube Launch and Recovery system, which deploys and retrieves Iver4 900 autonomous underwater vehicles through submarine t...

25/03/2026

Nielsen Names New Senior Leaders Supporting Sports, Advertising and Publishing Clients

The company expands leadership team under Chief Revenue Officer Amilcar Perez S...

25/03/2026

Stable TV Viewership in Poland in February as Warner Bros. Discovery Retains Top Spot

Winter Olympic Games Opening Ceremony features in top 10 programmes of the month...

25/03/2026

Mediaproxy to Show Upgrades to LogServer at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/03/2026

Hitomi transforms production synchronisation with the lau...

Providing wide view timing visibility across the entire production chain...

25/03/2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026

Continuing development drives advances in security, availability, access and connectivity...

25/03/2026

Caudalie Paris HQ elevates brand experience with INFiLED...

Caudalie, the renowned French cosmetics brand, has unveiled a state-of-the-art 200-seat auditorium at its new headquarters in the historic Marais district of ce...

25/03/2026

Telestream Unlocks Adobe-Centric Media Pipeline and Strea...

Telestream, a global leader in media workflow technologies, today announced expanded integration with Adobe Premiere, Adobe Media Encoder (AME), and Frame.io, d...

25/03/2026

Marshall Electronics Showcases New Feature Rich CV320 and...

Marshall Electronics is expanding its lineup of high-performance POV cameras designed for broadcast, live production and professional AV applications with the d...

25/03/2026

OOONA Achieves TPN Gold Star Shield - the Highest Level o...

OOONA, a global provider of professional management and production tools for the media localization industry, announced today that it has been awarded the TPN G...

25/03/2026

Gray Media to Simulcast 2026 Atlanta Braves Home Opener

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/03/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Appear

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/03/2026

Deepfakes Vulnerable to AI Fingerprint Hacks, Study Finds

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/03/2026

SipMX launches at NAB Show 2026 to democratize media orch...

SipRadius, specialists in secure, low-latency media transport, will drive innovation and interoperability still further with the launch of the SipMX Alliance at...

25/03/2026

QuickLink to Showcase StudioPro Video Production Ecosyste...

QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote contribution solutions, will showcase its award-winning StudioPro ecosystem at The 2...

25/03/2026

Alfalite returns to NAB Show alongside FOR-A showcasing L...

Alfalite, the only European manufacturer of LED screens, will once again be present at NAB Show, the leading global event for the broadcast, media and entertain...

25/03/2026

First Time Exhibitor IPC Introduces One Link Keypanels fo...

PC, a leading provider of integrated communication solutions, will make its NAB 2026 Show debut in Booth C 3341. The company will highlight the newly branded On...

25/03/2026

LTN showcases satellite-to-IP migration solutions for cha...

Open video transport network simplifies satellite transition with new partnerships and global reach as spectrum auction nears LTN will demonstrate how its purp...

25/03/2026

Leader to present full suite of advanced Test and Measure...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, will present the full range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix T&M solutions at the NAB Show, which takes pl...

25/03/2026

MNC Software Appoints Heartland Video Systems as North Am...

MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, today announced the appointmen...

25/03/2026

Samsung Launches Shoppable TV Experience with Amazon

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

25/03/2026

Gray Media to Simulcast 2026 Atlanta Braves to Home Opener

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...