What high technologies are there in the NFL?

As the leading professional sports league in North America, the NFL has always been very active in adopting new technologies. To take the simplest example: Over the past 100 years, head protection has evolved from the simplest leather hat to a composite helmet with a shock-absorbing liner. The following mainly talks about some technological advancements related to television broadcasting, because the major TV stations that provided funds to the NFL after World War II.

1. Slow motion replay

Now this technology is child’s play, but cameras more than fifty years ago still used video tapes. Let alone slow motion, even rewinding and replaying is very difficult. difficulty.

In 1963, CBS first implemented the relatively primitive replay technology at the time for college football live broadcasts. The equipment weighed 1,300 pounds. In this game between the Black Knights of the West Point Military Academy and the Warrant Officers of the Naval Academy, the TV station replayed a touchdown scene, and the commentator had to explain to the audience: "This is not a touchdown twice! It was a replay!"

(Raleigh Stitchaway's touchdown was the first replayed shot on live television in American football.)

Replay technology immediately made its way from college football to the NFL. , and derived functions such as freeze frame and slow playback. The rhythm of American football changes very quickly, and replay technology allows the essence of this sport to be presented on television.

In addition, live broadcast technology also directly brings about another unexpected technological progress. Since 1986, the NFL has used video replays to assist referees in confirming key decisions, and later a system for head coaches to challenge penalties was created. At present, video replay-assisted review has spread to high-level leagues in many sports such as tennis, ice hockey, baseball, and basketball.

2. Sky camera

There are two most common perspectives for NFL live broadcasts. One is from the side of the field, with two teams fighting left and right, similar to football. This kind of lens is shot with a lens from the auditorium on the side of the field, which is more old-school: the other is often shot behind the quarterback's head, similar to the perspective of playing a game: this is with a camera called "SkyCam" )" technology. The diagram is as follows: Simply put, it is a rotatable camera, which is pulled by two slide rails on the four corners of the high place to take high-speed and accurate overhead shots above the site. Sky cameras were first installed by CBS in 1984. At present, basketball, ice hockey, racing and other sports have adopted this technology.

3. Augmented reality

Many viewers who have just started watching football will ask a question: "How do you get the blue and yellow lines on the field in the NFL live broadcast? Reality Does this thing exist in "?"

(The 2016/17 NFL American League Finals broadcast on CBS, there are virtual lines on the TV screen.)

The core concept of American football is " "Number of gears and yardage" system, this is also a part that is difficult for new fans to understand. It would be best if the current gear number and yardage could be seamlessly transplanted to the field.

The initial version of the technology for drawing virtual lines on the field was available in 1978, but CBS at the time felt that this technology was not cost-effective and the time was not yet ripe. By 1998, ESPN implemented this technology, and later several major wireless stations followed suit and became standard equipment. This technology is actually not difficult to talk about. It is to conduct a three-dimensional modeling of each stadium, calculate the position of each camera before the game starts, and generate virtual lines in real time during the game.

The enhancement technology has now become more powerful and can produce more special effects, such as visual effects like the game interface (the name on Rogers’ head and the yellow circle under his feet will follow him): Another example This year's Super Bowl was used to show Matt Ryan's pass hit rate at different distances: Augmented reality technology has also proliferated. In the past ten years, strike zones in baseball, record-breaking lines in racing events, Similar technology is used in scenes such as showing offside in football games.

4. Pseudo holographic imaging

This Super Bowl has an Intel commercial starring Tom Brady:

The commercial says it can be paused at any time and Replay technology that can rotate at any time without blind spots, that is to say, the effect achieved by this technology is similar to the legendary holography. At present, major broadcasters have also used this technology. For example, FOX, the broadcaster of this Super Bowl, has it.

This technology is actually not a true hologram, but there are many camera positions, and then an algorithm is used to fill in the parts not captured by the lens, forming a holographic feeling. It is precisely because of this, This technology can currently only be used during recording and broadcasting.