Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside SkyCam and Sony's Efforts to Make 4K 240 fps Imaging on SkyCam a Reality By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Saturday, February 8, 2025 - 7:49 pm
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
SkyCam having a big presence at a Super Bowl is nothing new but this yeartwo SkyCam units that will be flying around the Caesars Superdome and each will bring something new to the world of cabled camera systems. First, the lower one will have a Kudan Lidar sensor mounted on the bottom of it which will improve the stability of AR graphics that are inserted into SkyCam shots. And the upper SkyCam features a new Sony P50A camera which will capture 4k images at 240 frames per second, providing a new pixel and frame-rich environment for the Fox Sports replay team to do everything from HD cutouts to tracking objects, telestration, and much more.
(l-to-r): Stephen Wharton SkyCam, GM, COO; Jason Curl, Game High Sky EIC; Brad Eisele SkyCam Lead EIC; and Tim Demers, SkyCam, VP Software
It will provide more of a tactical view where you can see the routes and a lot of the blocking, especially on the edges of the line, says Steve Wharton, SkyCam, GM, COO, and CTO. So on the lower SkyCam we can get show the big pockets and holes from a low perspective but then the high SkyCam can offer a tactical view.
The high SkyCam at Super Bowl LIX is outfitted with a Sony P50A which will capture 4K images at 240 frames per second.
SkyCam has about 20 people on site including four sets of pilots and operators: one set for the low SkyCam, one for the high SkyCam, a third for the pre-game show, and then a fourth for the halftime show.
Each of the guys has a set of responsibilities and controls, says Wharton. The pilots are responsible for flying the SkyCam and you can think of it like flying a fighter jet. And then the operators are the ones pulling focus.
The SkyCam system is comprised of three distinct components: the cameras and the pilot and operator controls; the winches and cabling (which will be located on the 600 level for Super Bowl LIX); and then the truck ties and the AR graphics.
Everything gets orchestrated together, adds Wharton.
(l-to-r): Austin Ellsworth, High Sky Operator; Alex Milton Low Sky Pilot; Sam Walker High Sky Pilot;
Tim Demers, SkyCam, VP Software; Stephen Wharton, SkyCam, GM, COO & CTO; Mark Streapy, SkyCam, Technical Operations Manager
Getting SkyCam ready for a Super Bowl requires months of planning as they have to not only figure out where to rig the system but also make sure they are aware of the additional speaker and lighting clusters that are put in place for the halftime show. And then this year getting the new Sony camera integrated into the SkyCam workflow took some time as well to ensure signals were transported properly across fiber connects that run from the camera to the production team.
This camera is going to get looks the production team otherwise would not have, says Wharton. And it's not like a pylon cam which is only useful for plays on the goal line: this is useful on every play.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
12/06/2026
YES Network and The Gotham Sports App will air seven Athletes Unlimited Softball...
12/06/2026
The United Football League will host its FAST Innovation Suite at the 2026 United Bowl presented by Credit One Bank on Saturday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. ET at Audi...
12/06/2026
PTZOptics and LayerJot will present live demonstrations at InfoComm 2026 showing how natural-language AI prompting, robotic camera control, and on-device comput...
12/06/2026
MultiDyne Video and Fiber Optic Systems will exhibit at InfoComm 2026, featuring...
12/06/2026
Ateme has announced that Eurovision Services is using Ateme's software-based frame-rate conversion technology for international live event workflows. The de...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin and Simplestream have announced a partnership with Xperi to simplify the launch of OTT streaming services on TiVo OS smart TVs and devices. The collabo...
12/06/2026
Net Insight has announced that a multinational technology company is deploying a...
12/06/2026
MLB Players Inc., the business arm of the MLB Players Association, has announced a partnership with Athletes First to develop and sell brand partnerships across...
12/06/2026
Guntermann and Drunck (G&D) and VuWall have announced the CommandKeyboard-Advanc...
12/06/2026
Comcast Smart Solutions announces a new smart technology deployment with Major L...
12/06/2026
Elevation Worship completed the initial leg of its Elevation Nights 2026 tour ...
12/06/2026
AJA Video Systems has announced KONA IP25 support for Colorfront Transkoder and ...
12/06/2026
Audinate Group Limited (ASX: AD8) will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth C7321, Ce...
12/06/2026
Pac-12 Commissioner Teresa Gould has announced the appointment of Scott Adametz as Chief Technology Officer. The Pac-12 describes the hire as the first CTO appo...
12/06/2026
Grass Valley has announced AMPP Edge Live, a production system combining Grass Valley hardware, NVIDIA Blackwell GPU acceleration, and AMPP OS in a single platf...
12/06/2026
At one time a trailblazer with the launch of the Longhorn Network, the Universit...
12/06/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
12/06/2026
Chyron has announced PAINT 10.4, an update to its illustrated replay and sports ...
12/06/2026
SVP, Production Mark Gross: With the new schedule, with not having every Sunday night, it's given us an opportunity to take a step back and reimagine what ...
12/06/2026
For Televisa Technical Engineering Manager Roberto N nez Ibarra and the small team of 12 technicians and two production personnel at the IBC things are already ...
12/06/2026
Simple Steps to Better Acoustics - Taming The Small Room
Most of us mix in spare rooms and small spaces, where the acoustics fight us at every turn. At Gear...
12/06/2026
Latest addition expands vintage-inspired effects palette
Meris' Ottobit pedal range draws its inspiration from vintage gaming consoles, and the latest a...
12/06/2026
Soundbox-based chamber strings series expanded
Sonora Cinematic have just announced the launch of the second instalment in their Soundbox-based chamber stri...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
AJA Announces KONA IP25 Integration with Colorfront Software
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Collaboration enables uncompressed SMPTE ST 2110 I/O ...
12/06/2026
URSA Cine 12K LF Used to Create Visuals for STUTS' K-Arena Concert
Brie Clayton June 12, 2026
0 Comments
Organic visuals projected on a giant scre...
12/06/2026
MTI FILM Acquires Mango New Edit, Expanding its Global Post-Production Services ...
12/06/2026
AI Point Tracking Speeds Up Complex VFX Tracks in Mocha Pro
Jessie Electa Petrov June 12, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic point trac...
12/06/2026
Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Simplestream, a provider of OTT and broadcast solutions, and technology provider Xperi, to...
12/06/2026
Leostream Corporation, creator of the world-leading Leostream Remote Desktop Access Platform, today announced Jigsaw24, a leading B2B IT solutions provider wit...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
12/06/2026
How Aussie indie games and screen are levelling up with IP 11 June 2026
Ari Harrison, Pro Jank Footy
Head of Games Joey Egger and Ari Harrison of Umbrella sha...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils First-Look Images from Villaflor, Santiago Mitre's New Film
Entertainment
12 June 2026
GlobalArgentina
Link copied to ...
12/06/2026
Back to All News
Cross the Boundaries of the Real World into the Spirit Realm i...
12/06/2026
With John Daro, DI Colourist at Warner Bros. Water Tower Color Tuesday 23 June, 10am-1pm or 3-6pm
Restar Corporation
Tokyo
Register here
John Daro is the ...
12/06/2026
Meet The Grumpy Onion Ireland's newest online sensation, all he wants is to ...
12/06/2026
RT stays Up All Night with brand new daily 2026 FIFA World Cup Vodcast
Adding to the fun around 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament, RT has launched a brand new d...
12/06/2026
A fentanyl countermeasure that adapts to combat future black-market drugs Scripps Research scientists developed a vaccine that teaches the immune system to rapi...
11/06/2026
The immense size of the tourney and its Atlantic-spanning operation also disting...
11/06/2026
Nielsen has released a new soccer fandom consumer research report, The Fans Behind The Game: FIFA World Cup 2026 Edition, examining the soccer audience in the...
Live From Super Bowl LIX: Inside SkyCam and Sony's Efforts to Make 4K 240 fps Imaging on SkyCam a Reality By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
