On the Hardwood: Sacramento Kings Improve In-Venue, At-Home Experience With Intel True View at Golden 1 Center Fans can watch 360-degree replays on team's mobile app By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor Tuesday, February 9, 2021 - 11:49 am
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The doldrums of 2020 may be in the past, but 2021 is still presenting challenges to in-venue production teams. Now out of the Orlando bubble, NBA organizations are hosting games in their home arenas and navigating the continuing difficulties of the pandemic. Like SVG's At the Ballpark and On the Gridiron series, On the Hardwood will take a look at the hardships, creative ideas, and teamwork of NBA franchises.
Fans may not be in attendance, but the Sacramento Kings are continuing to innovate. The franchise has installed Intel True View at Golden 1 Center, one of the more forward-thinking venues in professional sports, for 360-degree video highlights and replays that can be viewed on the mobile app and played on the videoboard.
We teamed up with Intel about a year ago, and initially, we have over 300 HD cameras in the building that are mostly located in the lower bowl around the court, says Maurice Brazelton, senior director of entertainment, Sacramento Kings. Every game, we have high-definition recordings where fans can get really tight on a play and be immersed from a player's perspective.
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360-Degree Coverage: Intel True View Transform Video Consumption Before the postponement of last year's NBA regular season, the organization announced a partnership with Intel in February 2020 that would launch the league's first research and development site in the arena. The organization has been wholeheartedly committed to technological innovation, and after tinkering with this project over the course of the offseason and the first games of the current schedule, the activation is ready to be rolled out at full capacity. Since fans are not permitted inside the venue, they'll be able to access these immersive replays through the Kings and Golden 1 mobile app.
You wanted another angle of @swipathefox s dunk?
We got you.@Intel TrueView pic.twitter.com/wjfAaJos59
- Sacramento Kings (@SacramentoKings) January 12, 2021
The mobile app is filled with tons of gameday features, but this new concept is one that is keeping fans busy while at home. When patrons eventually return to the Golden 1 Center, they will be able to digest this content on their phone as well as on the videoboard throughout the course of the game.
When we get fans back into the building, we're going to be able to take it a step further by showing these replays on our videoboard, says Brazelton. We lead the league, and for that matter professional teams, in pushing the envelope on technology and I think this is a partnership that's going to be with us for a while.
Along with this digital benefit, the organization is diving deep into an esports application that connects fans while they're at home watching the broadcast.
We're one of the first professional teams to launch a Discord server, he adds. It allows our fanbase to engage with each other and have a platform for us to give them specialized content that they would normally see in Golden 1 Center. A couple of our players as well as our GM have also dropped in to hang out with some fans.
Productions in Sactown: Legends of the Game, Drip Cam Populate In-Venue Videoboard Cardboard cutouts are taking the place of in-person fans.
In Sacramento, the franchise has a history filled with notable names that have worn the purple and grey. Ranging from sharpshooter Peja Stojakovic and sublime passer Jason Williams to clutch point guard Mike Bibby and college-turn-pro postman Chris Webber, the Kings have a deep arsenal of legendary players. To shed some light on these icons, the department is leveraging their video archive to create pre-produced packages.
We're doing a series of video segments that tie into our basketball history, says Brazelton. A couple of examples include This Date in King's History and Legends of the Game, where we talk about a player on the visiting team, like Bill Russell when we played the Boston Celtics.
In addition to honoring their distinguished alumni, the production team is leveraging both the style and on-court skills of their current roster. Whether players are entering the building before a game or putting a spotlight on tremendous plays, the in-venue videoboard is the home for this content.
We've been having some fun working with our social team by sharing some of the content that they would normally run during a pregame, he adds. For example, we're running something that we call the Drip Cam, where we capture our players coming into to the building in their swag. We have very few eyes in the building, so we're doing a lot of video playback like Top 10 plays since the players like to see themselves in highlight reels.
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