Sports Big Business No. 2819, welcome to pay attention to the leading sports industry information platform
Wen | Fu Zhenghao
Sports big business reporter
After 75 years of passing on the torch and going through 3/4 of the years, what eternal and shining evolutionary qualities can a sports league accumulate? In the past All-Star Weekend in Cleveland, the NBA League's 75th anniversary celebration ushered in the climax of the drama, and also revealed the three characteristics of the NBA as the world's top sports IP, namely the thick historical precipitation, the perfect performance of superstars, and the active exploration of cutting-edge technology.
If the 75 biggest stars in NBA history gathered together to shine together is enough to make people worship, if the All-Star Game Curry's record 16 three-pointers and James's hit kill is a heartbreaking perfect script, then the latest black technology introduced in this All-Star Game - "volumetric image" technology is expected to open the NBA's highly subversive "basketball universe" era. When the NBA, the world's top sports IP, actively explores the current hottest "meta-universe" concept, the way NBA fans watch the game will usher in unprecedented changes.
360° full angle viewing experience! For the first time, the NBA All-Star Game introduced "volumetric imaging" technology
Even the world's most imaginative screenwriter probably won't be able to set up so many wonderful scenes for the 2022 All-Star Game. Curry, who scored 50 points and hit 16 three-pointers, felt hot and confident, and he even turned to the audience to make a celebratory gesture without looking at the basket for the first time after the shot, and the next moment the ball entered the net, Curry finally became the first All-Star MVP to lift the new version of the "Kobe Bryant Cup". "Alphabet Brother" staged multiple violent dunks to steal and quickly attack a dragon, and his talent for attacking and defending made the audience scream continuously. James, who spent most of the game as a wedding dress for his teammates, stepped forward at the critical moment when his opponent was clinging to the score, hit the turn and back jump shot to let the team score the 24th point of the final quarter, thus ending the game in one fell swoop...
What's even more remarkable is that these wonderful moments of the All-Star Game only took a few seconds to generate a virtual environment video and 3D data model that fans can watch at a full 360° angle. NBA fans feel as if they are in a video game-like virtual scene, freely adjusting the perspective to look back at the dynamic lens of the game - this is exactly the "volumetric image" technology introduced by the NBA in this All-Star Game.
The so-called "volumetric image" technology refers to the shooting method of using multiple high-resolution cameras to capture portraits from different angles, and the spatial information captured by it will form stereoscopic image data and convert it into animation model data, so as to use scientific and technological means to link and create a virtual digital space that maps and interacts with the real world. At present, the concept of "metaverse" is on fire, and various fields are exploring how the "metacosm" can integrate the real world and virtual space, and the NBA, which has always actively explored cutting-edge technology, is also creating a new era of "basket universe" through "volumetric image" technology.
This year's All-Star Game is equipped with 110 cameras around the arena, each camera can be independently moved according to the photography needs, through the all-round shooting of 110 cameras, capture the player's dynamics and basketball trajectories and generate a virtual environment, that is, based on the real image of the game to generate a virtual animation model, for fans to bring a 360 ° full-angle viewing experience.
According to the sports business, the NBA's "volumetric image" technology is currently mainly used for wonderful picture playback and social media videos, and in the future, the "volumetric image" technology will also be used for live broadcast of the game, which will bring a new way of watching the game that allows the audience and players to share space and time. Specifically, fans can choose the perspective of different players to watch the game, completely get rid of the fixed camera position restrictions in the traditional broadcast mode, truly use the "first perspective" to watch the game, and enjoy an immersive viewing experience that is completely dominated by themselves.
Previously, on Jan. 15, the Brooklyn Nets became the first team in the NBA to introduce "volumetric image" technology, and the Nets' home barclays center surrounded the entire court with more than 100 Canon cameras to catch players, balls and referees moving and generating 3D video, which resembled video of video game virtual scenes for live game playback, social media dissemination and replay for fans in the stadium on the Barclays Center display. After winning wide acclaim, the Nets quickly filed three "Netaverse" trademark applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and the media exclaimed that the Nets became the first meta-universe team in the NBA.
After the Nets took the lead in eating crabs, the Cleveland Cavaliers home loan center, which hosted the 2022 All-Star Game, also introduced the technology of "volumetric image". In the end, the NBA All-Star Game history used this technology for the first time and surprised fans around the world, and the NBA has since ushered in a new era of "basketball universe". At present, the NBA's "volumetric image" technology is just a small test knife, it is foreseeable that in the future, with the continuous maturity of technology, the NBA will truly lead the basketball game to achieve the perfect integration of reality and virtual, fans will have more immersive ways of watching games, and in the future, it is even expected to get many real experiences of watching games in the NBA directly at home.
The NBA has long led technological innovation and created a global benchmark for immersive viewing experiences
There is no doubt that the active exploration and application of cutting-edge technology is one of the characteristics of the NBA as the world's top event that has been able to shine for a long time and lead the trend of the times. Before opening the "basketball universe" era and enabling the "volumetric image" technology, the NBA has been a model for actively exploring cutting-edge technology and focusing on the transformation of scientific and technological achievements in the field of sports events for many years. The big sports business takes stock of the many advanced technologies and benchmarking cases introduced in the NBA in recent years:
NBA Replay Center: In order to improve the fairness of the game, the NBA introduced live video playback technology in 2002, which greatly improved the sense of experience for fans. From the 2014-15 season, the NBA officially opened the NBA Replay Center, that is, real-time connection to the NBA Replay Center in New Jersey through a high-speed stadium network to improve the accuracy of key penalties on the court.
360 freeD: The NBA used freeD technology for the first time in the 2016 dunk contest, and the highlight was the 360-degree replay technology. Each stadium is equipped with dozens of ultra-high-definition cameras, combined with high-speed transmission systems and servers, providing the production team with the possibility of making new playback shots. Remember Zach Lavin's stunning dunk replay? It is the use of 360 freeD technology.
VR game live broadcast: The NBA has provided fans with a VR viewing experience since 2016, allowing fans to obtain a more immersive and live viewing experience, and through these technologies, they can also let the audience choose their favorite perspective to watch the game. The 2016 Nuggets vs. Warriors regular season was the first time the NBA achieved regular season VR broadcasting, which immediately triggered unanimous praise from fans around the world. At present, with the blessing of increasingly perfect signal production and content transmission technologies, the NBA's VR broadcast mode has matured.
Homecourt Online Shooting Review: Homecourt uses artificial intelligence to track your shooting movements during your personal basketball training, record your training video on any court, and then Homecourt will tell you what is wrong with your movements and analyze your shooting data.
CourtVision AR Viewing Experience: Installing a large number of cameras on each NBA arena to collect spatial data, including the position and movement of the ball and players, bringing a whole new perspective to the technical analysis of players and teams. You can also add event information in the form of AR to the live video, such as the name of the player, the score of the match, etc.
For 11 consecutive years, the New Year + digital collection has been launched, and the NBA has become a bridge for cultural exchanges between China and the United States
As mentioned above, the NBA has always kept pace with the times and actively embraced cutting-edge technology, and the core purpose is to continuously improve the quality of fan service by enriching the way it interacts with fans. For example, with the advent of the era of digital collections, during the 2022 Chinese New Year Festival, the NBA released the Chinese New Year digital collection in China for the first time with the help of ant chain technology, including five Chinese New Year digital collections. As a result, all digital collections were instantly illuminated after the release, and the popularity of Chinese fans to the NBA's digital collections was evident.
Chinese fans are proud that the NBA's five Chinese New Year digital collections are specially launched for Chinese fans. The five collections of "NBA Tiger Edition New Year Card", "NBA Tiger Edition New Year Celebration Hall", "NBA Flavor NBA", "NBA Arena Newspaper New Year" and "NBA Dragon and Lion Dance to Celebrate the New Year" fully integrate the traditional Chinese New Year culture, which is not only of great viewing and collection value, but also fully reflects the NBA's respect for Traditional Chinese Culture and actively promotes Sino-US cultural exchanges.
Taking the "NBA Dragon and Lion Dance together to celebrate the New Year" video digital collection as an example, there are both traditional Chinese folk martial arts performances in the NBA arena and ancient Chinese style folding fan dances, and the celebration scenes that occur on the other side of the ocean are all presented to you and me. The 3D digital collection of the "NBA Year of the Tiger New Year Arena" directly takes the Chinese New Year as the design core, and is dyed with red and overflowing with New Year, representing the joy, bustle and peace of the Chinese New Year Festival.
It should be pointed out that the NBA's launch of five Chinese New Year digital collections is also part of the NBA's 2022 Chinese New Year campaign. As we all know, as early as 2012, the NBA has started the Chinese New Year activities, and this year is the 11th consecutive year that the event has been held. For 11 years, all 30 teams in the NBA League have celebrated the Chinese New Year with Spring Festival-themed sessions, live performances, traditional cuisine, partner events, or social and digital media blessings.
During the 2022 NBA Chinese New Year, in addition to launching the above five Chinese New Year digital collections, 24 teams held various Chinese New Year activities. Among them, the Nets invited Qin Gang, Chinese ambassador to the United States, Huang Ping, consul general of the Consulate General in New York, and others to the Barclays Center to watch the Nets play against the King. Ambassador Qin Gang also congratulated Chinese and American fans on a happy Chinese New Year through video, and the Nets team wished the Beijing Winter Olympics a smooth start.
In China, NBA China has come to many provinces and cities across the country to hold a series of offline activities to celebrate the New Year with fans. Among them, as part of the NBA care action during the Chinese New Year, NBA China launched a youth basketball training camp, a community basketball game and a Spring Festival rural basketball carnival in Qianjiang District, Chongqing on January 16. Since then, NBA China has also held a variety of Chinese New Year basketball theme activities in Ding'an County and Danzhou City, Hainan Province, to celebrate the New Year with people everywhere in the form of positive and healthy sports culture. In addition, NBA Cares gave Chinese New Year gifts to students in 10 rural schools in 8 provinces.
Online, the NBA has also actively launched a variety of activities to actively interact with fans. On January 18, the NBA officially launched the Spring Festival New Year short film "NBA Fantasy New Year", and NBA China Experience Officer Zhong Chuxi will lead the audience to explore a fantasy town where virtual and real characters coexist. Fans participated in The Chinese New Year theme interactive activities through Multiple Platforms such as Tencent and China Mobile Migu and won exquisite gifts from the NBA.
At the just-concluded 2022 NBA All-Star Game, the NBA New Year logo was also specially presented. The Chinese people have always paid attention to the "new month is the year", the NBA is obviously well versed in Traditional Chinese culture, very careful through the All-Star Game to continue to give Chinese fans a new year, which also makes Chinese fans really feel the NBA's sincerity in continuing to promote Sino-US cultural exchanges and actively playing a bridge of Sino-US cultural exchanges.
Obviously, whether it is the NBA All-Star Game for the first time to use the "volume image" technology, or the NBA New Year to launch five New Year digital collections, all reflect the NBA's long-term determination to adhere to scientific and technological innovation and lead the trend of sports technology. Behind the NBA's continuous promotion of scientific and technological innovation, the NBA League has been adhering to the original intention of establishing a diversified interaction model with fans, comprehensively improving the fan viewing experience, and serving fans in a three-dimensional way for 75 years. And now, as the NBA takes the lead in entering the "basket universe" era, the logic of the global sports competition performance industry will be completely reconstructed, and an unprecedented change has come, are you ready to enter the "basket universe"?
Note: The images used in this article are from the Internet