XR

The network will use 165 cameras this Sunday for its coverage of the game in Las Vegas as well as pregame, halftime and postgame shows, which CBS says is the most ever for a Super Bowl. They will be supported by 19 mobile production trucks. And CBS’s 1080p HDR production from Allegiant Stadium will also be used as the backbone of an alternative broadcast on the children’s network Nickelodeon, Super Bowl LVIII Live from Bikini Bottom, that will use enhanced graphics and augmented reality to incorporate characters from the popular SpongeBob SquarePants animated series into live game coverage. Plus, there are the “doink cams.”

A new ESPN facility in Bristol, Conn., has introduced dramatic new virtual set capabilities for the sports network, taking its production game to the next level. Pictured: Studio X, the SportsCenter set, showing the 45’ by 16’ LED “depth wall” that supports dynamic virtual production elements.

LED systems and visualization engines are coming ever more into the range of even small broadcasters as the underlying technology and the workflows around them continuously improve. Pictured: This video wall, made to look like a big window, shows what is going on outside, and as the water rises, the window gets a crack and floods the studio. The crack, water and the sandbags are Max Reality elements. (Source: The Weather Company)