Live From the US Open: ESPN's Successfully Serves Up Immersive AR on the Domestic Front, HDR for the World By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, September 9, 2024 - 9:57 am
Print This Story | Subscribe
Story Highlights
The 2024 US Open concluded yesterday afternoon with Italy's Jannik Sinner defeating American Taylor Fritz in the mens final and it also wrapped up a championship that saw ESPN's US Open coverage enhance its on-air graphics look with both Hawkeye virtual graphics as well as more dramatic AR graphics powered by Girraphic who also provided AR graphics for the Australian Open tennis tournament which kicks off the Slam season every January.
(l-to-r) ESPN's Brett Jackson, Isabel Bristol, and Joe Durante outside the ESPN production center at the USTA Billie Jean King Tennis Center.
While Girraphic has worked with ESPN on other sports and platforms this is the first they have lent their expertise, their skill, their vision of what they can do to the tennis atmosphere, says ESPN Tennis Executive Producer Jamie Reynolds. They're already working with TA in Australia, so we've seen this integration before and now we're taking advantage of that relationship and experience and figuring out how to use it here in New York. And that was a benefit because they've already been embedded with our coverage going back to the Australian Open courtesy of Tennis Australia.
Reynolds says that a big difference between the Tennis Australia philosophy and ESPN's is that Tennis Australia was looking to use AR graphics to shape how they wanted the Australian Open's brand to be looked like for a world-wide audience.
But for us we already have this sort of AR functionality in primetime for football, basketball, and baseball and for tennis we are using it to give a demonstrative, larger brand feel that also gives a little bit of sparkle and primetime appeal, he adds.
Isabel Bristol, Manager Animated Graphics Innovation & Production Design, says the creative development began last spring in house, taking inspiration from the current animation package. ESPN then took the design concepts to Girraphic to bring the package to life.
We were looking for a blend of what complemented our current look and identity and in August, we fine-tuned the creative with a nod to some of the design elements the USTA was using in their marketing campaign, she says.
The AR graphics are tied into images captured with the Spidercam and Joe Durante, ESPN, associate director, product engineering, says that from a movement standpoint the Spidercam is the best do those sorts of graphics.
Spidercam is the most stable camera for it, and it was an easy transition for them as they work with our team to create the moves for it, he says. It's been a success and also one of the most talked about pieces of the production.
Brett Jackson, Managing Producer, ESPN Production, credits Charlie Collin, ESPN, motion graphics design, manager, and the ESPN Creative Department with playing a big part in the effort.
They helped bridge the communication [between Girraphic and Spidercam] and design a new look for the US Open, he adds.
Jackson also points to new Hawkeye graphics as another great addition to the production as they have added a new layer of creativity to animations and graphics.
They have been a part of this for multiple years and is constantly amplifying their technology and giving us new options for coverage with different styles of tracking and different information planning, he says. Now Hawkeye is in a cool, virtual setting with it that takes the graphic look to the next level. We first saw it at Wimbledon and now it's here.
ESPN's other big lift this year was working with the USTA to make HDR a reality for the world feed. The HDR production at the US Open used the same BBC-created LUT (look-up-table) that was used at Wimbledon, allowing the production team to get used to that HDR workflow. The HDR coverage included matches at Arthur Ashe Stadium, Louis Armstrong Stadium, the Grandstand, and then courts 5 and 17 (he outside courts (or ACE courts) were produced in SDR using Simplylive ViBox).
Olsen says one of the challenges was the mix of HDR and SDR sources as while most of the cameras operated in HDR mode there were some POV-style cameras that still had to operate in SDR mode. All graphics and archived material were also in SDR and needed to be converted to HDR.
Some consuderations in the workflow were monitoring it as you can't switch out 500 SDR monitors, he adds. We also had to handle conversion between SDR to HDR and apply the correct LUT to the SDR graphics, so you are maintaining the integrity of the colorimetry of brands and sponsors. The hardest part is handling the archive, post-production, and frame rate conversion involved in the SDR/HDR workflows. We have found a lot of people have compared this like going from SD to HD when there was a lot of learning curves.
Steve Raymond, ESPN, senior technical specialist, adds that it took a lot of work to lay out the ecosystem.
We had to a diagram of all the moving parts and where the conversion was required so we could assign devices to the signals, says Raymond. And we also took a fairly conservative approach to HDR as we've seen some stuff that pops too much.
Olsen says the effort has paid off as the images are much improved over SDR.
Arthur Ashe Stadium is unique in that you have shadows that go from north to south in the morning and then from east to west in the afternoon, he says. It's a double whammy but the HDR images show a huge improvement aside from the colorimetry which also allows you to see how vibrant the subject colors are.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
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...
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...
08/05/2026
In our latest blog, Tim Pearson reflects on the recent launch of Play Snooker, the new digital home of snooker by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker A...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Riedel Communications today announced its return as a sponsor of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, where the company will serve as the Official Connectivity ...
08/05/2026
For the second straight year, Miri Technologies Inc. has been honored with a pair of coveted awards at the broadcast, media and entertainment industry's pre...
08/05/2026
Nine Alumni Nominated for Tony Awards More than 20 alumni contributed to this year's Tony-nominated productions.
May 7, 2026
By
Tori Donahue
Boston Co...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/05/2026
Liberty University on why broadcast technology isn't just a technical invest...
08/05/2026
COW Jobs: UGC, On-Camera Video Content
Brie Clayton May 7, 2026
0 Comments
UGC, On-Camera Video Content
April 17, 2026Documentary Editor - US,......
08/05/2026
Wuppertal May 8, 2026
Riedel to Support Glasgow 2026 as Official Connectivity Integration Provider Riedel Communications today announced its return as a spons...
08/05/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Announces Standalone Sequel to Global Hit La Palma
Entertainment
08 May 2026
GlobalDenmarkFinlandNorwaySweden
Link copied to clipb...
08/05/2026
ICG is excited to share news of our official launch in Northern Ireland, marking a significant milestone in the agency's growth.
Led by Digital Marketing M...
08/05/2026
Over the past ten years, Thames Water, in partnership with Arqiva, has installed more than 1.2 million smart meters, creating one of the most extensive advanced...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
Live From the US Open: ESPN's Successfully Serves Up Immersive AR on the Domestic Front, HDR for the World By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
