JustSpurs
06-08-2007, 11:15 AM
Cleveland fans to see finals game in 3-D HD
Web Posted: 06/07/2007 09:57 PM CDT
L.A. Lorek
Express-News Business Writer
For the first time, the National Basketball Association will broadcast a finals playoff game in high-definition 3-D to a fan party in Cleveland.
When the San Antonio Spurs go on the road, though, their fans back home at an AT&T Center viewing party won't be able to see the game with the same technology.
The Cleveland broadcast will be a joint venture between the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will air Sunday's Game 2 of the series for its fans.
An estimated 15,000 fans will be able to go to the Quicken Loans Arena, put on 3-D glasses and watch the game for free.
"Everyone has a connotation of what 3-D is, but I know that when I put on the glasses and actually saw it, I was blown away by the viewing experience," said Len Komoroski, president of the Cavaliers, who saw the technology in Las Vegas. "It's like nothing I've ever seen. The '3-D HD' tag underserves what the experience actually is."
The technology takes fans into the arena and gives them virtual courtside seats, said Vince Pace, CEO of PACE, based in Burbank, Calif. He developed the Fusion 3-D cameras along with movie director James Cameron. Cameron, director of "Titanic," currently is using the technology to make "Avatar," a 3-D science-fiction movie slated for release in early 2009.
The Spurs will host a viewing party next Thursday at the AT&T Center for Game 4, but they will not use the high-definition 3-D technology, said Russ Bookbinder, the Spurs' executive vice president of business operations.
"It's something we're going to look at in the future," Bookbinder said.
The Spurs weren't able to put together a high-definition 3-D viewing party in a week, Bookbinder said.
The NBA's 3-D broadcast will not be like hokey 3-D productions featuring monsters jumping out of the screen, Pace said. It's a more lifelike experience.
"We really try to mimic human vision," he said. 'We're going beyond the effect and gimmicks of 3-D, and we're concentrating on the experience of 3-D."
Fans will watch Sunday's game at the Quicken Loans Arena in Ohio on four special 3-D high-definition screens, each 40 feet by 23 feet, that will be placed around the court. Texas Instruments is providing eight projectors to display the images on the screens.
From San Antonio, the NBA will produce the game with three specialized high-definition cameras courtside and one placed higher up in the arena.
The NBA used this technology during the All Star Game earlier this year in Las Vegas. The NBA held viewing parties at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in which it invited a list of select partners and guests.
The technology delivers a lifelike, in-the-arena experience, said Steve Hellmuth, the NBA's senior vice president of operations and technology.
The camera operators layer the pictures so that people watching do not experience eye fatigue, Hellmuth said.
"The picture is filled with such detail," he said.
The NBA first saw Vince Pace's technology at a demonstration at the National Association of Broadcasters in spring 2006.
After that, they sent Pace to a Los Angeles Lakers game to film the first high-definition 3-D basketball game. The NBA used that footage to showcase the technology to a select group at last year's NBA finals in Miami. NBA Commissioner David Stern saw it and wanted to use the technology for more NBA special events, Hellmuth said.
The technology is significantly more expensive than traditional broadcast technology, so the NBA plans to only use it for "marquee" events such as the finals and the All Star Game, Hellmuth said.
This first high-definition 3-D broadcast fits in with the rest of the Cavaliers' "fairy-tale season," marking their first time in the finals, Komoroski said.
"Our market is beside itself with excitement," he said.
An estimated 15,000 fans were expected to attend Game 1 in the arena Thursday, and team officials expected to announce news of Sunday's 3-D viewing party there. Komoroski wouldn't disclose the cost of the 3-D broadcast.
"This is our ability to deliver a whole level of experience to our fans," Komoroski said. "It's as close as possible to watching an actual game. We're excited in being able to play a pioneering role."
Web Posted: 06/07/2007 09:57 PM CDT
L.A. Lorek
Express-News Business Writer
For the first time, the National Basketball Association will broadcast a finals playoff game in high-definition 3-D to a fan party in Cleveland.
When the San Antonio Spurs go on the road, though, their fans back home at an AT&T Center viewing party won't be able to see the game with the same technology.
The Cleveland broadcast will be a joint venture between the NBA and the Cleveland Cavaliers, which will air Sunday's Game 2 of the series for its fans.
An estimated 15,000 fans will be able to go to the Quicken Loans Arena, put on 3-D glasses and watch the game for free.
"Everyone has a connotation of what 3-D is, but I know that when I put on the glasses and actually saw it, I was blown away by the viewing experience," said Len Komoroski, president of the Cavaliers, who saw the technology in Las Vegas. "It's like nothing I've ever seen. The '3-D HD' tag underserves what the experience actually is."
The technology takes fans into the arena and gives them virtual courtside seats, said Vince Pace, CEO of PACE, based in Burbank, Calif. He developed the Fusion 3-D cameras along with movie director James Cameron. Cameron, director of "Titanic," currently is using the technology to make "Avatar," a 3-D science-fiction movie slated for release in early 2009.
The Spurs will host a viewing party next Thursday at the AT&T Center for Game 4, but they will not use the high-definition 3-D technology, said Russ Bookbinder, the Spurs' executive vice president of business operations.
"It's something we're going to look at in the future," Bookbinder said.
The Spurs weren't able to put together a high-definition 3-D viewing party in a week, Bookbinder said.
The NBA's 3-D broadcast will not be like hokey 3-D productions featuring monsters jumping out of the screen, Pace said. It's a more lifelike experience.
"We really try to mimic human vision," he said. 'We're going beyond the effect and gimmicks of 3-D, and we're concentrating on the experience of 3-D."
Fans will watch Sunday's game at the Quicken Loans Arena in Ohio on four special 3-D high-definition screens, each 40 feet by 23 feet, that will be placed around the court. Texas Instruments is providing eight projectors to display the images on the screens.
From San Antonio, the NBA will produce the game with three specialized high-definition cameras courtside and one placed higher up in the arena.
The NBA used this technology during the All Star Game earlier this year in Las Vegas. The NBA held viewing parties at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in which it invited a list of select partners and guests.
The technology delivers a lifelike, in-the-arena experience, said Steve Hellmuth, the NBA's senior vice president of operations and technology.
The camera operators layer the pictures so that people watching do not experience eye fatigue, Hellmuth said.
"The picture is filled with such detail," he said.
The NBA first saw Vince Pace's technology at a demonstration at the National Association of Broadcasters in spring 2006.
After that, they sent Pace to a Los Angeles Lakers game to film the first high-definition 3-D basketball game. The NBA used that footage to showcase the technology to a select group at last year's NBA finals in Miami. NBA Commissioner David Stern saw it and wanted to use the technology for more NBA special events, Hellmuth said.
The technology is significantly more expensive than traditional broadcast technology, so the NBA plans to only use it for "marquee" events such as the finals and the All Star Game, Hellmuth said.
This first high-definition 3-D broadcast fits in with the rest of the Cavaliers' "fairy-tale season," marking their first time in the finals, Komoroski said.
"Our market is beside itself with excitement," he said.
An estimated 15,000 fans were expected to attend Game 1 in the arena Thursday, and team officials expected to announce news of Sunday's 3-D viewing party there. Komoroski wouldn't disclose the cost of the 3-D broadcast.
"This is our ability to deliver a whole level of experience to our fans," Komoroski said. "It's as close as possible to watching an actual game. We're excited in being able to play a pioneering role."