Ever wonder what it would be like to play in the Super Bowl? Most of us will never be able to experience that in real life, but this weekend, anyone can get a players-eye view from the comfort of home.
Fox Sports teamed with Intel on a new "Be the Player" experience, which lets viewers see what any player on the field is seeing, from their point of view, without requiring players to wear a physical camera. For viewers, the result will be a video game-like experience, according to Fox Sports' SVP of field and technical operations Michael Davies.
"This broadcast enhancement is like no other — it literally brings the audience down to the viewpoint of the player at the critical decision-making moment," Davies said. "What other choices did he have? Was his sight blocked? It all looks much different from field level, and can assist our announcers in describing what actually happened on the field."
The feature relies on Intel's 360 Reply technology and an array of cameras circling the stadium to capture the scene and reply it at any angle. Check out a sneak peek in the video below:
"The cameras, backed up by a huge bank of Intel computing power, allow a moment to be recreated in 3D space, so that a 'virtual camera' can be placed at the player's eye line — not unlike how limitless camera views can be created in video games," Davies said.
According to Preston Phillips, director of business development for the Intel Sports Group, about 20 of the biggest plays can be redone in the 3D, 360 replay view during the game. But viewers will probably only see five.
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"We produce over a terabyte of data every minute, which currently is why there are several minutes of latency," Phillips said. "This will be improved with technology in the coming year."
But as he points out, "five is five more than most NFL fans have ever seen in a game broadcast." You can also view them on Fox Sports's online live stream.
There should be no shortage of streams online from those lucky enough to watch the game in person. Verizon, in an effort to ensure its network doesn't get bogged down from the many people who will be snapping and streaming video, increased its data capacity in Houston by 450 percent ahead of the big game.