Super Bowl 2017: Fox Sports, Intel develop Elaborate Experience For The Big Game

Fox Sports is working with Intel to make sure sports fans never have to leave their homes to “attend” a game. For Super Bowl LI, Fox will have 70 Ultra High Definition cameras placed throughout NRG Stadium to capture every angle possible, so you can "Be The Player.

Intel's “Be the Player” feature allows Fox producers to request a view from inside a specific player's helmet at any point throughout the game. While there are no actual cameras inside any of the helmets, Intel has placed 38 Ultra High Definition cameras around the stadium that allow them to show what the players are seeing.

The “Be The Player” feature will only be used on major plays due to the process required to compile the footage. Each 15-30 second clip uses around 1 terabyte of data and takes Intel staff two minutes to finalize it for broadcast. This technology has already been used in college football games as well as MLB and NBA All-Star games.

Fox is also using a player tracking technology from Zebra Sports Solution that allows it to track acceleration, distance traveled, and speed. It will be shown at certain times throughout the game on easy to follow billboards.

Fox Sports will also be making an improvement to the pylon cameras. Television companies began introducing “pylon cameras” in 2015 to give viewers an angle of the goal line and surrounding areas. For Super Bowl LI, Fox Sports will have 24 cameras installed in end zone pylons compared to the 8 usually used in a normal broadcast. These cameras will allow fans, players, and referees to be absolutely sure if a team scored a touchdown or stepped out of bounds before the end zone.

While Fox is planning on using only 4k and even 8k cameras, they will not broadcast the game in 4k. Sports fans have been requesting live 4k broadcasts ever since Sony released the technology several years ago, but companies are still testing its capabilities on lesser viewed sporting events. Even without the 4k broadcast, there will be a noticeable difference in the video quality according to a Consumer Report interview with Fox Sports senior vice president of field and technical operations Michael Davies.

Even without the 4k broadcast, Fox Sports is using every technology possible to encourage fans to stay home and watch events on television instead of enjoying the experience of a live event.