Sports Graphics Forum: As Next-Gen AR Becomes the Norm, Repeatability and Ease of Use Are Essential Broadcaster, vendor execs agree: augmented reality must advance the story By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Friday, March 23, 2018 - 8:00 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Although augmented reality is nothing new to sports production - the 1st & Ten line celebrates its 20th anniversary this year - AR has taken a giant leap in the past three years and is dramatically changing the way stories are told, both on the field and in the studio.
From left: Turner Studios' Zach Bell, Fox Sports' Zac Fields, Vizrt's Isaac Hersly, SMT's John Howell, and ChyronHego's Bradley Wasilition
At SVG's Sports Graphics Forum this month, a panel featuring executives from Fox Sports, Turner Sports, The Future Group, ChyronHego, SMT, and Vizrt discussed best-use cases, platforms, and workflows for AR, as well as how its use within live sports coverage is evolving. The one principle the entire panel agreed on was that AR cannot be used for technology's sake alone: these elements must be used to further the story and provide valuable information to fans.
Our philosophy has always been to use [AR] as a storytelling tool. We try not to use it for technology's sake - whether that is in a live event or in the studio, said Zac Fields, SVP, graphic technology and innovation, Fox Sports. The interesting thing is that people can interact with [AR] on their phones and are familiar with what AR is now. That puts the onus on us to present those elements at an even higher quality now. [AR has] become the norm now, and it's just going to continue to grow. The tools are there for people to come up with new ideas. The one thing that I would hope is that we can make it easier [to use] moving forward.
Fields's desire for more-user-friendly AR creation and integration was echoed throughout the panel by both users and vendors. Although a bleeding-edge AR project may be exciting and create a new experience for the fan, the goal is to create a solution that can be set up and used simply for every game.
We're trying to make sure that customers have ease of usability and repeatability every day, said Isaac Hersly, director, business development, Vizrt. It is an issue, and we are always looking for tools that are going to make it easier to set up and not need a rocket scientist. You [need to be able to] have someone that can operate the system very simply. That is our challenge, and we are always looking to come up with solutions to solve that.
Turner Sports Brings Videogame Characters to Life With AR
Last year, Turner Sports teamed with The Future Group to introduce augmented reality to its ELEAGUE coverage. The two companies worked with Ross Video to create life-like incarnations of videogame characters, allowing fans tuning in to watch games like Street Fighter V or Injustice2 to see these characters brought to life in the studio.
I think creating AR characters from the games and bringing them to the audience adds an enormous amount of value for the fans and the viewing experience, said Zach Bell, senior CG artist, Turner Studios. If you can take characters or aspects of the game and have them as dimensional elements within that environment, it creates a much richer experience and allows fans of the game to visualize these characters in a new way. That in itself adds an enormous amount of connection to the experience for the viewer.
Although esports presents a different case from a live game taking place on a field, Bell said, he believes similar AR elements will soon be making their way into live sports content (for example, NBC's 3D AR elements from player scans during Super Bowl LII).
More Than Just a Game: Bringing AR to the Masses
It was only a couple years ago that high-end AR elements were reserved for the highest-profile sports events, such as NFL A games. However, with the technology's rapid advance in recent years, AR has become ubiquitous for most national-level live sports productions and is making its way into even lower-tier properties. In addition, AR elements are becoming available on multiple cameras rather than just the main play-by-play camera (such as the SkyCam), and these systems can even be remotely controlled from offsite.
The technology is allowing us to drive the next generation of this [content], noted John Howell, creative strategist, SMT. We have done the yellow [1st & Ten] line for 20 years, but, two years ago, SMT helped to create a technology that allowed us to do it on the SkyCam. Having that optical vision tracking to create the pan-tilt information off a $30,000 camera head for an image has enabled us not only to do this off the SkyCam but also to do it remotely.
[That allows us to deploy AR] on more shows [more cheaply], he continued, and that technology will then trickle down to more shows. It won't be just on Fox's 4 p.m. Sunday NFL game or ESPN's MNF or NBC's SNF; now this [technology] gets to go on a lot more shows.
What's Next?: Getting More From Player-Tracking Chips, Customizing AR
The use of AR and the technology driving it has evolved rapidly over the past few years, raising the question, What's next? The panel had plenty of predictions regarding the next great leap forward, but the primary point of excitement revolved around the continued advance of player-tracking RFID chips, especially the NFL's Next-Gen Stats system.
With the emergence of Zebra [Technologies] chips on players and [the NFL] looking at instrumenting the football [with a chip], you could see how that can tie to your first-down-line [graphic], said Bradley Wasilition, director, sports analysis/lead sports analyst, ChyronHego. The first-down line could actually dynamically change color, for example, when
Most recent headlines
04/08/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, is excited to announce Santiago Solanas as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO)....
03/06/2024
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, a...
29/04/2024
29 04 2024 - Media release Screen Australia announces James J. Robinson's debut feature First Light
First Light
Principal Photography is underway on Firs...
29/04/2024
Capitol Broadcasting recently became the inaugural company honored with inductio...
28/04/2024
Mediahaus delivers the first SRT live-streaming sports production over 5G with U...
27/04/2024
On April 26, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher E. Kubasik joined CNBC's Mor...
27/04/2024
PORTLAND, Oregon Audinate Group Limited, the developer of the Dante AV-over-IP solution, announced significant new additions to Dante Connect, its cloud-based D...
27/04/2024
TORONTO Bell Media has launched 10 English and French-language FAST channels featuring entertainment, factual, news, and sports programming. The new free stream...
27/04/2024
An extensive new analysis of the news segments in the broadcast evening news programs of ABC, CBS, NBC and PBS has found that broadcasters devoted most of their...
27/04/2024
GERMANTOWN, Md. EchoStar's Hughes Network Systems has opened a new manufacturing facility and private 5G incubation center in Germantown, Maryland....
27/04/2024
Harry Pappas, one of three brothers who founded Pappas Telecasting Companies in 1971, died April 24. He was 78 years old....
27/04/2024
ATLANTA and LONDON Mexican telecommunications and broadcast company Televisa has selected Synamedia for an overhaul of its broadcast distribution....
27/04/2024
Participate in the Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this surve...
27/04/2024
SDVI Rally Access Workstation Earns Two Top Awards at 2024 NAB Show
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
SDVI, the leading platform provider for clo...
27/04/2024
Berklee's Music and Health Institute Launches Community Health Musician Cert...
27/04/2024
Charter Communications reported higher first-quarter profits despite continued cord-cutting and competition for broadband customers....
27/04/2024
Two environmentally-focused groups are partnering to engage the unscripted TV world in finding better ways to address climate change. Reality of Change is an ec...
27/04/2024
Sarah Garcia has been promoted to weekend anchor at KTLM McAllen, Texas, known as Telemundo 40. Starting April 27, she will anchor Noticias Telemundo 40 weekend...
27/04/2024
CBS Sports said it launched a new 24-hour free, ad supported streaming television (FAST) channel devoted to the UEFA Champions League....
27/04/2024
Comcast chairman and CEO Brian Roberts received $35.4 million in compensation in 2023, up 11% from the previous year, according to a proxy statement filed by th...
27/04/2024
Art Happens Here With John Lithgow, which sees the actor study dance, ceramics, silk-screen printing and vocal jazz with students in Los Angeles, debuts on PBS ...
27/04/2024
Remember Leave It to Beaver? Bewitched? Dragnet? When cable ratings were rising?...
27/04/2024
Next up for the weekend binge at Catchy Comedy is Gomer Pyle, U.S.M.C. Every weekend, Catchy Comedy features The Catchy Binge, a marathon of a classic sitcom....
26/04/2024
Sundance Film Festival CDMX 2024 kicks-off today with screenings in 5 theaters in Mexico City and the opening-night film, FRIDA, directed by Carla Guti rrez...
26/04/2024
[Editor's Note: This interview is part of a larger feature about the women d...
26/04/2024
Once again this year, SGL Carbon opened its doors to interested children and young people. On the occasion of the German Girls and Boys Day, which took place on...
26/04/2024
Orders1 of $5.5 billion; book-to-bill of 1.06x
Revenue of $5.2 billion, up 17%,...
26/04/2024
Five Considerations For Communications Modernization In The 21st Century
In the digital-enabled battlespace, the Joint Force needs to shoot, move and communica...
26/04/2024
CBS Sports has launched Champions League as a new, 24-hour streaming channel that will serve as the year-round destination for nonstop highlights of the UEFA ...
26/04/2024
Despite tough competition in the streaming space, Roku reported solid results in Q1 2024, beating revenue expectations, with total net revenue up 19% YoY to $88...
26/04/2024
LONDON AND TORONTO Pinewood Toronto Studios has appointed Sarah Farrell as general manager of the Studios in downtown Toronto....
26/04/2024
Quantum to Offer Advanced Filesharing Technology and Performance in StorNext and...
26/04/2024
FilmLight Colour Awards welcomes 2024 entries and introduces new Emerging Talen...
26/04/2024
Picture Shop Announces Chris Evans as Head of Unscripted
Brie Clayton April 26, 2024
0 Comments
Picture Shop announced Chris Evans will lead Unscripte...
26/04/2024
Participate in a Survey - The Impact of AI on Media and the Creative Industry
Pascal Wagner April 26, 2024
0 Comments
By participating in this survey,...
26/04/2024
Toy maker Mattel said it is working with Samsung to launch its first free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels later this year....
26/04/2024
Trusted Media Brands (TMB) said it named Marty Moe as president....
26/04/2024
Ron Howard is the director on Jim Henson Idea Man, a documentary that premieres on Disney Plus May 31. Henson of course created Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Big...
26/04/2024
The ice continues to melt under the regional sports network business as the Seattle Kraken of the National Hockey League have made a long-term deal to broadcast...
26/04/2024
Heading into the upfronts, Warner Bros. Discovery said it launched Olli, a first-party data platform advertiser can use for converged, targeted advertising camp...
26/04/2024
CBS has renewed the drama The Equalizer, which will see season five on in 2024-2025. Queen Latifah stars....
26/04/2024
The CW has entered into an exclusive multiyear broadcast partnership for the Miss USA Pageant and the Miss Teen USA Pageant. The 73rd Miss USA Pageant will air ...
26/04/2024
Fuse Media isn't mincing words in a campaign urging its young viewers to register and participate in the 2024 elections....
26/04/2024
Dead Boy Detectives, a series from Neil Gaiman about a detective agency staffed by ghosts, debuts on Netflix April 25. George Rexstrew and Jayden Revri are in t...
26/04/2024
The Story Collective has gradually repurposed the former Mortlake Brewery to include production offices, workshops and sound stages
By Matthew Corrigan
Publi...
26/04/2024
Perkett joins the company following a 25 year career in product management, product marketing, engineering and user experience (UX) across multiple industries
...
26/04/2024
Teradek, the industry leader in wireless video transmitters and receivers, announced today the launch of new Bolt 6 LT 750 and Bolt 6 Monitor Module 750 RX with...
26/04/2024
NEW YORK Amagi has appointed Richard Perkett chief product officer (CPO)....
26/04/2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) has announced the results of the 2024 NAB Radio and Television Board of Directors elections. The...
Sports Graphics Forum: As Next-Gen AR Becomes the Norm, Repeatability and Ease of Use Are Essential Broadcaster, vendor execs agree: augmented reality must advance the story By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
