This year’s Super Bowl is the first in 31 years to be played in Silicon Valley, the tech capital of the world. So, it is only fitting that CBS is pulling out all the broadcasting stops, and implementing three camera technologies that no prior Super Bowl has witnessed.
As Wired’s April Glaser first reported, CBS is using 70 cameras for the game on Feb. 7—a sizable upgrade from last year’s 40-camera operation. In addition to the normal broadcasting coverage in 5K, CBS is utilizing the updated SkyCam, pylon cameras and for the first NFL game ever—Eye Vision 360.
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The new SkyCam system, dubbed the Wildcat, made its debut this past summer at the MLS All-Star game. The Wildcat is suited for faster and smoother videography, as it zips above the field on its wire and captures players from the air.
We’ve covered pylon cameras as they have slowly been implemented in the middle of this season—cameras have been placed on each side of the pylon so that referees can get a more objective view as to whether a player is out of bounds or whether the ball crossed into the end zone.
Eye Vision 360 is being unveiled for its NFL debut. It is a highly complex system of 36 different cameras situated on the top deck of Levi’s Stadium, and it produces a 360-degree view of each and every play. This will be used for replays only, and could seriously help referees review calls, while being entertaining for viewers too.
Now, this is a considerable step forward for sports broadcasting, and appropriate that it comes for America’s biggest sporting event. But, there is still an entire frontier of camera angles and resolutions open for future Super Bowls.
As more consumers look towards 4K and 8K televisions, whichever broadcasting organization picks up the Super Bowl in the future will surely implement those resolutions as they gain favor.
There are also two different camera angles that would be an entertaining fixture for football fans in the future. A number of NFL teams use helmet cameras during practice, but the technology has not yet been picked up for actual games. The Arena Football League has begun to use it, and rumors are that the NCAA is looking into airing helmet cameras.
A more far out angle would be that of the ball. Check out the video below to see a football rigged with an HD GoPro inside. This would not be a defining viewpoint, but something fun to explore.