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Steve Helmuth
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Sports broadcasters and
leagues played a role in driving
HD adoption. Will the same be
true for 3D and mobile video
devices?
Top executives from networks and
leagues discuss how they
are gearing up for 3D at
home and the business
opportunities related to
reaching mobile devices
during today’s Super
Session “The Business
and Technology of Sports
Broadcasting: From
Mobile Devices to 3-D,”
11:30–12:30 p.m.
The session is produced
in partnership with
Sports Video Group and
sponsored by Level 3
Communications.
“We’ll be bringing together different
leagues and networks,” said moderator
Ken Kerschbaumer, editorial director of
the Sports Video Group. “Our goal is to
show different approaches and philosophies
towards 3D.”
That, he said, as well as the realities and
challenges of current 3D production, and
future techniques and opportunities.
Panelists for the session include Ken
Aagaard, executive vice president of
Operations and Production, CBS Sports;
Peter Angell, director of production,
Host Broadcast Services; Steve Hellmuth,
executive vice president of Operations
and Technology, National Basketball
Association; George Hoover, chief
technology officer, NEP Broadcasting; and
Jerry Steinberg, senior vice president of
Field Operations, Fox Sports.
The National Basketball Association has
been at the forefront of 3D production. It
produced stereoscopic versions of its All
Star Game in 2007 and 2009 for cinema
theaters across the United States, as well as
the second game of the 2007 NBA Finals for
an audience of 14,000 fans at Cleveland’s
Quicken Loans arena.
This year, the NBA took 3D footage of
the All Star Game at the Dallas Cowboys
Stadium for a feature
presentation slated for a
later date.
Host Broadcast Services is gearing up
for the first 3D broadcast of FIFA’s World
Cup soccer tournament in June. According
to Kerschbaumer, this endeavor would entail
capturing “about 22 games from three to five
stadiums.”
Europe’s Sky Sports Channel already
showcased a 3D live TV broadcast of
an earlier match between Arsenal and
Manchester United, shown at nine pubs in
the United Kingdom this January.
Fox Sports is currently strategizing how
to provide one of the most challenging
examples of 3D coverage with its July airing
of the first Major League Baseball’s All Star
Game in 3D.
“A lot of people think that baseball will
be the most difficult sport to produce in 3D
because the ball can go any which way,” said
Kerschbaumer.
Rounding out the discussion,
Kerschbaumer said that NEP’s 3D veteran,
George Hoover, would talk about the
challenge truck companies face to make
their fleets 3D-capable, with a look at what
the costs and engineering requirements are
for these trucks.
Last year NEP announced the debut of its
SS 3D, a one-of-a-kind truck optimized for
3D. It utilizes the FUSION 3D system codeveloped
by Pace and James Cameron, the
folks behind “Avatar.”
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3D-Lensed Audience at 2010 NBA All Star Game, Dallas
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“There’s a lot of 3D going on, so
we’re going to have a lot of fresh 3D
content to discuss and demonstrate,” said
Kerschbaumer. “We want to go into best
practices for setting up for the events — how
to properly set up cameras, the differences
between a 2D and 3D sports production
— and the potential for an integrated
production, where the 2D and 3D units share
cameras and production personnel.”
Time permitting, the panel will also
discuss mobile devices, he said, noting
proven initiatives like NCAA Tournament
offerings on the iPhone, streamed NBA
video and a World Cup initiative.
“It requires some processing of the signals
to make sure that there’s actually a viewable
image on a three-by-four-inch screen,” said
Kerschbaumer. Despite this, he noted that
“You have people talking about producing 3D
for movie theaters while delivering the same
content to small handheld devices — there’s
a wide range there. How do you make an
applicable experience for both?”