
Live From MLB All-Star 2019: Fox Sports Debuts Virtual Eye Graphics and 4DReplay, Revives DirtCam for the Game Also returning are Skycam, HelmetCam, and in-game miked-up players By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Tuesday, July 9, 2019 - 3:37 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Coming off massive shows at the U.S. Open, FIFA Women's World Cup, MLB London Series, and Gold Cup, Fox Sports could just maintain the status quo at its MLB All-Star Game production in Cleveland this week. However, in true Fox form, the broadcaster has rolled out its largest and most technology-rich All-Star production ever, including transporting Virtual Eye Graphics from the golf course to the ballpark, deploying 4DReplay for the first time, and reviving the DirtCam after a three-year absence.
MLB All-Star is obviously one of our huge tent poles and one of our favorite events, says Mike Davies, SVP, technical and field operations, Fox Sports. We put all this technology into one event here, but the All-Star Game is, almost by definition, a short game without a lot of time to put all these cool elements in. So, as much as we like to get this technology on TV, the All-Star Game also functions as a very valuable testing ground for this technology in a real-world environment. Then we can have a better gauge whether to use the technology [for MLB Postseason] in October and on other events down the line.
Virtual Eye Shot-Tracking Goes From Tee Box to Diamond
Fox Sports worked with Animation Research Ltd (ARL) to bring the Virtual Eye graphics system that has become a staple of the network's U.S. Open coverage to baseball.
The Virtual Eye was provided with MLB ballpark data to create a 3D virtual representation of Progressive Field and the surrounding area in downtown Cleveland. For the All-Star Game, the system will leverage MLB Statcast tracking data to provide AR graphics that track and compare pitches (for example, fastball vs. curveball), home runs, and other key moments in the game.
We've been working with Virtual Eye for a while,' recounts Brad Cheney, VP, field operations and engineering, Fox Sports. Obviously, they make phenomenal 3D models of golf courses, so we asked them, Could you do this for baseball?' And they said, Sure. If we have the data, we could build the model. Then you can pretty much do anything you want.' The outputs have been pretty stunning so far.
These packages will be provided to the production team to integrate into the telecast as either full-screen or side-slab graphics.
It's a new view on what we can do, because we're no longer limited to a certain way to show a pitch or to show a ball being hit, adds Cheney. We can actually morph it and move with it to [illustrate] how a ball travels - either from the pitcher to the plate or off the bat. We think that there are a lot of opportunities out there to use it; this is really just the tip of the iceberg.
DirtCam: In-Ground System Returns for All-Star
Tonight's All-Star Game will see DirtCam again deployed, with three buried Inertia Unlimited camera systems at home plate, first base, and, for the first time, second base. Previously used at an All-Star Game in 2016, the system - in what Inertia Unlimited President Jeff Silverman refers to as version 1.5 - now features a new prism that dramatically improves the system's picture quality.
The DirtCam is nearly imperceptible with the naked eye.
It's a great shot. It has been something that we've always liked, and we've missed in the last couple of years, but, as imaging technology advanced, we felt that it didn't fit in [the broadcast], says Cheney. Jeff Silverman and the team at Inertia have done a great job rebuilding it and breathing some new life into it. And it looks great so far.
The systems at first and second have full pan-and tilt capability (home plate is a lock-off shot), allowing capture of a variety of angles along the base paths. The system is also entirely wireless, relying on unique underground RF transmitters that cannot be touched once the system is buried.
The only part of the system above ground is the 4-mm prism (with a -mm sapphire window to make it waterproof), which has been painted to perfectly match the color of the Progressive Field infield dirt and is almost imperceptible to the naked eye.
We started testing it in Minnesota with the Twins about four weeks ago, and it's worked great, says Francisco Contreras, director, technical field operations, Fox Sports. MLB has been really great in working with us on DirtCam. The casing is painted brown to match the dirt so you literally can't even see it. We think it will be especially cool to have at second base, and we're hoping to get a great shot of a close tag or a runner being thrown out at second. We have full pan-tilt control at first and second base, so we can get a lot of different shots. We think it's going to get a lot of use.
4DReplay Makes the Jump to the Main Event
After debuting on ESPN's coverage of Home Run Derby during last year's All-Star festivities, 4DReplay will appear tonight in the main-event telecast for the first time.
The 4DReplay system at Progressive Field relies on 60 4K cameras tied together.
The system relies on 60 4K cameras mounted on the concourse level behind home plate and stretching from first to third base. The cameras are tied together, and, for each play, the single operator selects the pivot point on which the camera axis turns. The operator can then manipulate the replay from side to side and can zoom in without losing resolution (thanks to 4K).
Since the 4DReplay system simply stitches together 60 camera feeds and does not have to virtually create filler frames, no rendering is required, allowing clips to be ready in under 10 seconds and sent on to the Fox Sports EVS
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
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, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
02/04/2026
HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...
02/04/2026
Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...
02/04/2026
Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...
02/04/2026
Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...
02/04/2026
Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...
02/04/2026
Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...
02/04/2026
LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...
02/04/2026
Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...
02/04/2026
Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...
02/04/2026
The Kansas City Current and Scripps Sports have announced that ION will broadcas...
02/04/2026
ESPN will debut Courtside at the Women's Final Four Presented by AT&T, an alt-cast airing Friday, April 3 at 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, and Sunday, A...
02/04/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are ...
02/04/2026
ESPN's MegaCast Coverage of 2026 NCAA Women's Final Four Begins Friday, ...
02/04/2026
DAZN has announced the launch of DAZN Playmakers, a global influencer program designed to build a network of sports content creators. The programme will give cr...
02/04/2026
Tony Cole, Jessica Lee shift into new roles reporting to ESPN SVP/Content Operations Chris Calcinari....
02/04/2026
Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...
02/04/2026
Real-time tracking, virtual production, and Pixar storytelling converge for Apri...
02/04/2026
NASA's long-awaited Artemis II mission has launched four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the moon, marking the first manned launch toward the moon sin...
02/04/2026
(L-R) Molly Belle Wright, Wyatt Solis, and John Magaro appear in Omaha by Cole Webley, an official selection of the 2025 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo courte...
02/04/2026
4 - 11 April 2026
VEMIA's latest gear auction is just around the corner, and there's already a wealth of sought-after instruments and studio gear li...
02/04/2026
Little Labs emulation now available to all
The latest Universal Audio plug-in to become available outside of the company's DSP-powered UAD2 platform has...
02/04/2026
SBS Welcomes Back Cup Fever! For The Biggest FIFA World Cup Ever
2 April, 2026
Media releases
Santo Cilauro, Ed Kavalee and a host of special guests retur...
02/04/2026
Truth. Power. Perspective: NITV's Flagship Current Affairs Programs Return t...
02/04/2026
L3Harris has successfully powered the historic launch of the Artemis II mission, providing propulsion and avionics....
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Already deployed extensively by NBC Sports, FOR-A Corporation will demonstrate GoVertical! AiDi, the real-time 9:16 autocropping feature of viztrick AiDi, durin...
02/04/2026
Interra Systems, a provider of end-to-end quality assurance solutions for the digital media industry, announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its B...
02/04/2026
Harmonic's Media Processing Solutions Maximize Bandwidth Efficiency for Terrestrial Broadcast Delivery
Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced that TDF, a...
02/04/2026
NBC Sports Deploys viztrick AiDi to Stream Live Events in 9:16 Mobile-First Formats with Auto Tracking, Development Signals Strategic Shift for FOR-A
Long reco...
02/04/2026
Evergent will showcase new innovations in subscriber lifecycle management and monetization at NAB Show 2026 (Las Vegas, April 18 22), including:
New advances i...
02/04/2026
Riedel Communications is proud to be part of Binghamton University, State University of New York, Athletics' milestone year, celebrating the university'...
02/04/2026
Encompass Digital Media and Techex have today announced new, fully managed, cloud-native Master Control services designed to meet the growing operational demand...
02/04/2026
Avid today announced it will showcase new innovations designed to help media companies win in the new media economy at NAB Show 2026 (April 18 22, Las Vegas Co...
02/04/2026
PlayBox Neo helps AIS PLAY kick-off premier football content direct to fans
PlayBox Neo has provided MIMO Tech with a brand-new major installation to extend it...
02/04/2026
Globo has transitioned its primary content distribution to Secure Reliable Transport over a fully IP-based managed backbone using Synamedia's Quortex PowerV...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
02/04/2026
Student Spotlight: Al-Fadl Salem The Danish singer recently performed for the queen of Denmark.
April 1, 2026
By
Editorial Staff
Image by Junia Morrow
Wh...
02/04/2026
Taku Hirano's Career Is Defined by Identity Whether he's performing, composing, teaching, or developing instruments, the do-it-all percussionist sees ...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils Official Trailer for The Trials of Winnie Mandela
Entertainment
02 April 2026
GlobalSouth Africa
Link copied to clipboard
...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Start of Production and New Cast for Second ...
02/04/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer for Ronaldinho: The One and Only Features Never-Be...
02/04/2026
Red Seat Ventures Launches Speakeasy, a New Hosting, Distribution and Monetizati...
02/04/2026
GoVertical! AiDi Powers Real-Time 9:16 Autocropping for Immediate Streaming to M...