Live From the College World Series: ESPN Deploys MLB-Level Tech With 4D Replay, UmpCam, Surround Coverage

Live From the College World Series: ESPN Deploys MLB-Level Tech With 4D Replay, UmpCam, Surround Coverage The production is boosted by help from Major League Baseball and SEC Network By Kristian Hernandez, Assistant Editor

Monday, June 24, 2019 - 5:58 pm

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The 2019 College World Series is a tale of two seasons. A team with multiple trips to Omaha, NE, the Vanderbilt Commodores are coming off a season that included multiple top-10 nods in the national rankings and an SEC Championship. The University of Michigan Wolverines, for their part, clawed their way to the school's first three-game championship series by way of an at-large bid. To tell this modern-day David-vs.-Goliath story, ESPN is deploying technology usually reserved for MLB telecasts, including a 4D Replay system, a POV camera on the mask of the home-plate umpire, and all-encompassing surround coverage on ESPN3.

A, B, C, and D units of NEP's ND7 will be in use for the championship series.

The goal is to serve the baseball fan. A large amount of them are accustomed to watching Major League Baseball, so they are accustomed to technologies that are typically available only at that level, says Chris Swihart, remote operations producer, ESPN. Our production approach has changed a little bit this year. The overarching production support and production management are being overseen by a group of folks who also do [those] Major League Baseball games. We're trying to bring that feel to some of our bigger college events as well.

4D Replay Makes Its Production Debut

The Michigan Wolverines' first appearance in the ultimate series is not the only first occurring in Omaha. Having been used for marquee games on the MLB schedule, such as the 2018 MLB All-Star Game, the 4D Replay is appearing on the college-baseball scene for the first time. Viewers at home will be able to witness all angles and details of every bang-bang play with a 180-degree display. The system comprises 100 cameras (two sets of 50) that will originate from the elevated section behind home plate and run from the first-base side to the third-base side.

The 4D Replay system will deploy 100 cameras to provide 180-degree coverage of close plays.

The cameras will basically calibrate one set to focus on home plate and one set to focus on the pitcher's mound. Those are the two most likely areas for a big play, Swihart says. [During Louisville's 4-3 win over Mississippi State on Thursday, June 20], we had a run-scoring play where the [4D Replay] was able to capture that the catcher didn't quite hold onto the ball. With the little spin-o-rama effect, you were able to slide around the catcher and the umpire and see that [the runner] was able to touch the plate, avoiding the tag and getting in safely.

Besides compiling angles, the 4D Replay system can zero in on a specific aspect of the play and zoom in without sacrificing visual clarity. Although it is used primarily to tell the cinematic story of a play, the broadcaster is leveraging the technology as a teaching tool as well.

We have a couple of analysts on our crew that are former pitchers, Swihart explains. It really helps to break down [the pitcher's mindset] because you're able to freeze pitchers in the act. You can look at that drop and drive and how they get the power from their legs. There are all sorts of things that you can break down from a pitching standpoint, and you can kind of do the same with a hitter in the box.

Step Into the Box: Live Looks and Replays With UmpCam

The 4D Replay may be covering the entire playing field with replays generally seen only in videogames, but fans can see a 95-mph fastball paint the black with a view from the position of the home-plate umpire. In its second-year behind the dish at TD Ameritrade Park, the UmpCam affixed to the umpire's mask will continue to give an inside look into what the batter, catcher, and umpire see at field level.

3G Wireless developed this year's UmpCam, which combines a lightweight camera with durable/weatherproof protection.

The ESPN team had an extensive check-list of concerns when constructing the device.

[The camera] can't be too heavy, too bulky, or out of balance. With three-plus-hour baseball games, we don't want it to wear on them any more than having to wear a mask normally would, says Swihart. We also need something with decent battery life. [And] we have to get out there and wipe off the lens to keep it clean so that the images that we get back are worth airing.

To accomplish this feat, the network recruited 3G Wireless to develop a rugged design that could withstand a high-impact foul ball while also being lightweight.

With cooperation and coordination with the NCAA and their umpires, he says, 3G has been able to develop something that we've struggled with throughout the years. There were a lot of things that we and the developers needed to take into account, but 3G has done a great job.

The device has the ability to adapt on a nightly basis. With a number of umpires controlling the strike zone, the UmpCam is catered to whoever is holding the post that night.

We've been able to develop a system that is a little bit more versatile, so you can use it with different masks. It doesn't have to be the same [mask], Swihart says. At one point [in the past], it was a Wilson model and they had to use that exact model or else it didn't fit. In the initial incarnations of UmpCam, it was basically a glorified Marshall camera. [Now, 3G] basically went down to bare component parts to kind of build the best and brightest from several different camera systems.

A look from the UmpCam during an elimination game between Texas Tech and Florida State.

In addition, the home-plate umpire will be miked, which will allow a peek into t

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