Among the tech innovations on tap are Panasonic 8K cameras, which will be used to generate replays from each end zone, part of the 115 cameras the network will use, including a bevy of Sony 4K replay cameras. And for the first time, CBS will also use a live wireless handheld camera with AR graphics and camera-tracking capability designed to provide real-time virtual graphics from the players’ perspective on the field.

Comcast is turning on YouTube in 4K for pay TV subscribers on its X1 platform after integrating YouTube in 2017. So, X1 subscribers will be able to enjoy higher resolution content from YouTube, but only if they have a compatible XG1v4 or Xi6 TV Box with a compatible 4K TV.

Making sure that 4K signals maintain their integrity offers big, new challenges. “It’s a change in physics, in the way you make the cameras and capture the images,” says Phabrix’s Phillip Adams. “We need new instruments to understand what is happing with the high-dynamic range.” And then there are issues when the signals are also being distributed over broadband and mobile networks.