01-09-2009, 09:56 AM
I went to this extravaganza last night (see column from Miami Herald below). It was amazing.
The cameras were mostly at field level, but on occasion we got a slightly elevated view. It really was like being right on the field, but the one minor problem was that you coudn't see everything and on occasion the play was hard to follow because of the congestion on the line of scrimmage.
The clarity was spectacular and the 3D was very impressive. It wasn't typical movie 3D where every once in a while something would seem to come off the screen (but the graphics, when displayed and the confetti at the end seemed to jump off the screen). This was more like ViewMaster (remember those??) 3D that moved. And it was the entire game, including the halftime show.
Very limited commercials, and the ones that we did see all had something to do with 3D.
It was very different sitting in a movie theater and being able to talk in normal voices and jump up and down and cheer or scream for something to happen. Total bonus that my team won!!! GO GATORS!!!!
My only two complaints were that they didn't show the game info nearly enough (down, yards, game clock), and the announcers (Kenny Albert and Tim Ryan) were annoying.
Overall, a tremendous experience that I was very excited to be part of.
From the Miami Herald:
BCS title game going 3D in theaters
By BEN VOLIN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
GAINESVILLE ââ¬â Until now, only the Florida Gators have known what it's like to have Tim Tebow screaming in your face during a football game.
But fans will finally get that experience, too, for the BCS Championship Game betwen UF and Oklahoma on Jan. 8. The game will be broadcast in high-definition 3D in about 80 movie theaters across the country, the company 3ality Digital announced Tuesday.
Just watch out for the spittle.
"We think this gives viewers an opportunity to get an incredibly lifelike and realistic view of their favorite sports teams," said David Modell, chairman of 3ality Digital and the son of former Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell. "We will put on a show that will please both sets of fans."
In South Florida, the closest theater will be the Rave Motion Pictures St. Lucie West 14 in Port St. Lucie, near the New York Mets' spring training complex. It will also be shown in Bradenton, Fernandina Beach, Melbourne and Pensacola.
Tickets will cost anywhere from $18-25, and it marks the first time the public can watch a live sporting event in 3D.
The broadcast is being produced through a partnership between 3ality Digital, the Fox network, Sony, Cinedigm Digital and RealD, which has provided 3D projectors to Cinedigm's movie theaters.
"As boxing fans once gathered at local theaters to see heavyweight title matches ... the new technology will give audiences another reason to head to the theater," Michael Lewis, CEO of RealD, said in a statement.
Tuesday's announcement came less than two weeks after 3ality Digital used the NFL's Chargers-Raiders game as a test-run for the 3D technology. Invitation-only showings were held in theaters in New York City, Boston and Los Angeles, and despite a few technical glitches, the broadcast received rave reviews.
The Boston Globe wrote that the "technology shows enormous potential.
"Once you adjusted to the glasses, which didn't take long, the visuals were stunning, the picture sharp, and when the graphics came up on the screen, you felt as if you could reach out and pluck them off with your fingers."
Though there was little drama in the Chargers' 34-7 win on Dec. 4, The Los Angeles Times noted that "the novelty of the 3D made it hard to take my eyes off the screen."
The NFL executives were especially impressed, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, who attended the New York screening.
"It was fantastic," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday. "You could see the passion of the players. There were a number of instances where the ball literally was coming right at you and you want to put up your hands to make a catch. It took the viewing experience to another level."
Modell said his three-year-old company will have anywhere from five to 10 3D cameras at the BCS Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium, separate from the cameras Fox will use for its broadcast.
The 3D broadcast will also have its own announcing crew (yet to be determined), graphics and presentation.
Fox and 3ality Digital have worked on this agreement for several months, and it came into fruition after the success of the Raiders-Chargers game.
McCarthy said the NFL is looking into the 3D movie theater experience as a potential business model for the future, where fans can pay a fee to watch a day's worth of NFL games in 3D at the local movie theater.
NFL executives will be watching this BCS Championship Game intently.
"This was an initial test, which certainly passed with flying colors," McCarthy said. "You could get a sense of where the future of television is, and it was tremendous."
For more information about where to watch the game in 3D, visit cinedigmentertainment.com.
The cameras were mostly at field level, but on occasion we got a slightly elevated view. It really was like being right on the field, but the one minor problem was that you coudn't see everything and on occasion the play was hard to follow because of the congestion on the line of scrimmage.
The clarity was spectacular and the 3D was very impressive. It wasn't typical movie 3D where every once in a while something would seem to come off the screen (but the graphics, when displayed and the confetti at the end seemed to jump off the screen). This was more like ViewMaster (remember those??) 3D that moved. And it was the entire game, including the halftime show.
Very limited commercials, and the ones that we did see all had something to do with 3D.
It was very different sitting in a movie theater and being able to talk in normal voices and jump up and down and cheer or scream for something to happen. Total bonus that my team won!!! GO GATORS!!!!
My only two complaints were that they didn't show the game info nearly enough (down, yards, game clock), and the announcers (Kenny Albert and Tim Ryan) were annoying.
Overall, a tremendous experience that I was very excited to be part of.
From the Miami Herald:
BCS title game going 3D in theaters
By BEN VOLIN
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
GAINESVILLE ââ¬â Until now, only the Florida Gators have known what it's like to have Tim Tebow screaming in your face during a football game.
But fans will finally get that experience, too, for the BCS Championship Game betwen UF and Oklahoma on Jan. 8. The game will be broadcast in high-definition 3D in about 80 movie theaters across the country, the company 3ality Digital announced Tuesday.
Just watch out for the spittle.
"We think this gives viewers an opportunity to get an incredibly lifelike and realistic view of their favorite sports teams," said David Modell, chairman of 3ality Digital and the son of former Baltimore Ravens owner Art Modell. "We will put on a show that will please both sets of fans."
In South Florida, the closest theater will be the Rave Motion Pictures St. Lucie West 14 in Port St. Lucie, near the New York Mets' spring training complex. It will also be shown in Bradenton, Fernandina Beach, Melbourne and Pensacola.
Tickets will cost anywhere from $18-25, and it marks the first time the public can watch a live sporting event in 3D.
The broadcast is being produced through a partnership between 3ality Digital, the Fox network, Sony, Cinedigm Digital and RealD, which has provided 3D projectors to Cinedigm's movie theaters.
"As boxing fans once gathered at local theaters to see heavyweight title matches ... the new technology will give audiences another reason to head to the theater," Michael Lewis, CEO of RealD, said in a statement.
Tuesday's announcement came less than two weeks after 3ality Digital used the NFL's Chargers-Raiders game as a test-run for the 3D technology. Invitation-only showings were held in theaters in New York City, Boston and Los Angeles, and despite a few technical glitches, the broadcast received rave reviews.
The Boston Globe wrote that the "technology shows enormous potential.
"Once you adjusted to the glasses, which didn't take long, the visuals were stunning, the picture sharp, and when the graphics came up on the screen, you felt as if you could reach out and pluck them off with your fingers."
Though there was little drama in the Chargers' 34-7 win on Dec. 4, The Los Angeles Times noted that "the novelty of the 3D made it hard to take my eyes off the screen."
The NFL executives were especially impressed, including Commissioner Roger Goodell, who attended the New York screening.
"It was fantastic," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said Wednesday. "You could see the passion of the players. There were a number of instances where the ball literally was coming right at you and you want to put up your hands to make a catch. It took the viewing experience to another level."
Modell said his three-year-old company will have anywhere from five to 10 3D cameras at the BCS Championship Game at Dolphin Stadium, separate from the cameras Fox will use for its broadcast.
The 3D broadcast will also have its own announcing crew (yet to be determined), graphics and presentation.
Fox and 3ality Digital have worked on this agreement for several months, and it came into fruition after the success of the Raiders-Chargers game.
McCarthy said the NFL is looking into the 3D movie theater experience as a potential business model for the future, where fans can pay a fee to watch a day's worth of NFL games in 3D at the local movie theater.
NFL executives will be watching this BCS Championship Game intently.
"This was an initial test, which certainly passed with flying colors," McCarthy said. "You could get a sense of where the future of television is, and it was tremendous."
For more information about where to watch the game in 3D, visit cinedigmentertainment.com.
There's no crying in baseball
