Live From NBA All-Star: Inside Intel, Turner's NBA on TNT Virtual-Reality Production It marks the beginning of live VR coverage for a weekly game By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor
Saturday, February 17, 2018 - 3:59 pm
Print This Story
Story Highlights
This weekend's NBA All-Star festivities mark the launch of Turner Sports and Intel's virtual-reality-production effort. The partnership, announced in November, tips off this weekend with live VR coverage of Rising Stars on Friday, All-Star Saturday Night, and the NBA All-Star Game on Sunday on the NBA on TNT VR app. Beginning next week, Turner and Intel will team up to present one NBA on TNT game per week for the rest of the season, as well as TNT Playoff games.
We announced our partnership all the way back in November, so we're very excited to finally be starting it up with All-Star weekend, says Nadia Banks, customer Implementation manager, Intel Sports. Our core VR group has grown so much over the last couple years, and this is definitely a big moment for us. It's now starting to become more like a rinse and repeat: we go, we learn, we optimize, and then we go again.
Inside the Truck: NEP's Cobalt Serves NBA on TNT VR
Both NBA on TNT test VR productions, which took place on Jan. 15 (Rockets at Clippers) and Jan. 25 (Timberwolves at Warriors), were produced out of NEP's Cobalt mobile unit, the same truck onsite at the Staples Center truck compound this week for the All-Star VR show. Intel and Turner worked with NEP to customize Cobalt for VR production, and it will serve as the primary Intel True VR mobile unit for the rest of this season.
Intel Sports' Nadia Banks (third from right) and the NBA All-Star VR team inside NEP's Cobalt mobile unit.
We have a couple other trucks that we will start to introduce also, but this is the main truck [for NBA on TNT VR], says Banks. What is great about this truck is, it lets us have a bigger camera show. For MLB [VR weekly productions], we used a smaller Sprinter van, and it had four cameras. We can have twice that on this truck.
The camera complement for the VR productions varies throughout this weekend depending on the event, with as many as eight for the Slam Dunk contest and All-Star Game itself. Among the primary positions on the court will be a midcourt camera sitting on Turner's announcers table, one under each basket's stanchion, two behind the glass, and a Steadicam.
You have to remember that you're not just capturing the event itself. It's also about how we cover the player intros, the concerts, and things like that, says Banks. You also have to remember that these cameras aren't just looking forward; they're capturing [180 degrees]. So, when we work with the league on camera angles, we've got to think about everything that's being captured, not just what's right in front of it.
NEP's Cobalt mobile unit will serve as home to Intel and Turner's weekly NBA on TNT VR productions throughout this season.
In addition, Intel has deployed an ENG camera to capture scenic shots from throughout Los Angeles this week.
Since we don't have commercials in our [VR feed], we are looking to push shoulder content, notes Banks. We are thinking about what kinds of content we can create when television goes to break. We're not trying to be television; we're trying to give you a glimpse of what it's like to be sitting and watching in the arena. But we also want to keep [the viewer] engaged when there are breaks in the game.
Intel has rolled out two types of True VR camera pods at Staples Center. Its primary rig features 12 4K cameras with specialty lenses, six on each side of the pod. These six camera feeds are stitched together in the truck to create the full 180-degree image. The second camera-pod model, which is being used for the Steadicam and ENG, is smaller and more portable.
VR vs. Broadcast Production: So Similar and Yet So Different
This weekend's VR production marks one of Intel's largest to date - in terms of crew members, totaling 26 onsite. As Banks and company develop a live-VR-production model for basketball, they are also cognizant that much of the operation should follow the traditional broadcast-production model.
At the front bench, the director often must wear the VR headset in order to properly guide the show.
When it comes to the operational side, says Banks, we try to keep it as close to broadcast rules and processes as possible because it's familiar and proven. The difference is, if you're looking at the image, you're not just getting a picture of what's happening in front of the camera, you're getting a 180 view. So you do have to train everyone to look not just at the center but also at what is happening all around.
Even with talent, he continues, they have to remember that they're not just calling the play; they need to look left or right sometimes to see what is happening. Also, the director has to put the headset on to actually see what's happening in the 180 space. It's really just trying to embrace what the environment is and get comfortable with that.
Among the chief differences between broadcast and VR productions is the added element of stitching for the video operator.
Our main camera pods have six lenses for the left, six for the right, so we're stitching them together. That's a completely brand-new [role]. The video [operators] aren't just coloring and shading your video; they are also making sure you're stitching it together properly. Unlike broadcast, where you've got one role that does this one specific thing, you're wearing multiple different hats.
The User Experience: Dedicated Commenters, a Virtual Studio J
The free NBA on TNT VR app officially launched for Samsung Gea
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
(L-R) Mark Gatiss and Polly Walker on set
Monday 29 April 2024 Further casting is now confirmed for Bookish (6x70), a brand-new drama created by Emmy Award-wi...
29/04/2024
A groundbreaking initiative offering training and mentoring to 30 women journali...
29/04/2024
Even though we've been doing this for over 40 years, a spark of excitement r...
29/04/2024
L3Harris is delivering manpack radios to U.S. Army CH-47 Chinooks as part of the Air-to-Ground Networking Radio program, providing seamless, resilient communica...
29/04/2024
He writes in Defense One: Despite the near-universal acknowledgement throughout the U.S. government and defense industrial base of the criticality of resilient ...
29/04/2024
eds3_5_jq(document).ready(function($) { $(#eds_sliderM519).chameleonSlider_2_1({ content_source:......
29/04/2024
Codemill aims to revolutionize media workflow efficiency at this years NAB Show by introducing Just-In-Time (JIT) playback technology in Accurate.Video Validate...
29/04/2024
April 29, 2024
-- TF1 Chooses Broadpeak to Power Targeted Advertising for New...
29/04/2024
LOS ANGELES Allen Media Group (AMG) has partnered with LG Electronics to bring 223 Local Now FAST channels to LG's free streaming service, LG Channels, avai...
29/04/2024
OTTAWA Ross Video has announced the introduction of Raiden, a data-driven weather graphics software that combines data gathering, processing, and visualization ...
29/04/2024
Panalux, a leading rental provider of lighting and power solutions for the motion-picture industry and part of Panavision's end-to-end service offerings for...
29/04/2024
Cobalt Iron Inc., a leading provider of SaaS-based enterprise data protection, today announced that it has received a patent on its technology for dynamic autho...
29/04/2024
SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that Rally Access Workstation, a fully managed solution for editing in...
29/04/2024
Premier Sports, a premium sports broadcaster, has selected QuickLink's Remote Commentary solution for introducing professional, high-quality remote commenta...
29/04/2024
Glookast has chosen Jigsaw24 Media as the only UK channel partner to represent their portfolio of ingest and workflow optimisation products. The agreement, sign...
29/04/2024
Clear-Com played a pivotal role in the seamless coverage of the recent solar eclipse on April 8, 2024. Leveraging its cutting-edge Eclipse HX Digital Matrix i...
29/04/2024
PlayBox Neo will promote its complete range of television channel management, graphic branding and playout solutions to EMEA region media content owners and bro...
29/04/2024
Lingo, RuPaul's word-twisting game show, returns for season two on CBS Friday, May 24. Two episodes air that night, and stream on Paramount Plus, too....
29/04/2024
ESPN and Amazon Prime Video are reportedly close to scoring television rights to the National Basketball Association, according to published reports....
29/04/2024
Judge Judy and Hot Bench, CBS Media Ventures' genre-leading court shows, have been renewed through the 2025-26 TV season in more than 95% of the country, Gr...
29/04/2024
Premier Sports, an Irish-based premium sports broadcaster, has selected QuickLink's Remote Commentary solution for introducing professional, high-quality re...
29/04/2024
The awards celebrate the craft of behind-the-scenes TV talent and the best programmes of 2023
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: April 29, 2024
The awards cel...
29/04/2024
The team at Milk had to create and deliver the VFX and environment work for the royal residences featured in the drama from scratch
By Jenny Priestley
Publis...
29/04/2024
CEO Bob Bakish is expected to leave the company as early as today, with a new leadership committee likely to run the company on an interim basis
By Jenny Pries...
29/04/2024
Albena Ivanova, director, media and entertainment and strategic products at CHAOS talks to TVBEurope about her route into the industry
By TVBEurope Staff
Pub...
29/04/2024
The acquisition gives Grand Technix the opportunity to expand its footprint in the audio visual and broadcast technology sectors
By Jenny Priestley
Published...
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...
29/04/2024
April 29th, 2024 UNINTERRUPTED AND TRIBECA ENTERPRISES PARTNER FOR SECOND-ANNUA...
29/04/2024
Rebrand and refresh: SailGP talks bringing its graphics operations inhouse for a...
29/04/2024
Reflecting on a Storied Career: Sean McManus Looks Back While Keeping an Eye on ...
29/04/2024
Drones Take Flight Inside MSG: How Sky Candy Studios is Upping the Excitement fo...
29/04/2024
Back to All News
Netflix Announces a Diverse Lineup of Polish Titles to Debut i...
29/04/2024
Tonight on Smoke and Mirrors: Fanyana feels embarrassed about his sexual mishapDon't miss Monday, 29 April's riveting episode of South African soapie Sm...
29/04/2024
Talk about commitment. When startup SEA.AI, an NVIDIA Metropolis partner, set out to create a system that would use AI to scan the seas to enhance maritime safe...
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....
Live From NBA All-Star: Inside Intel, Turner's NBA on TNT Virtual-Reality Production It marks the beginning of live VR coverage for a weekly game By Jason Dachman, Chief Editor 
