Have you ever wanted to experience the moment Mo Salah buries a penalty in the net from his very own perspective or relive a wonderful crossfield pass from Kevin De Bruyne from a bird’s-eye view? Technology company Intel is offering supporters that opportunity now. In a cooperation with Arsenal London, Manchester City and Liverpool FC they will give viewers the chance to watch the action on the pitch in a fully immersive and innovative way. All the new camera angles will have the fans feeling as close to their beloved clubs as never before.
Intel’s True View starts in the Premier League next month
The imagination of experiencing defining moments in a match from not only various but the most close-to-the-pitch angles is certainly exciting for any supporter. Just think of watching Gareth Bale’s overhead kick in the Champions League final, which you could possibly perceive from his perspective up there in the air. Or what about studying England’s clever freekick variations at the World Cup from an areal view?
From March 10 on, fans in the Premier League can start watching football in a whole new way. Because Intel have struck a partnership with three of the league’s absolute top clubs: league leaders Liverpool, champions and chasers Manchester City and always attractive Arsenal London.
As a result of the deal, Intel’s True View technology will allow viewers to really immerse in the game. For now it’s only those three clubs using True View, but more shall follow. Hence, only games at Anfield, the Etihad or the Emirates will offer the viewing from such different angles.
These are the fascinating new options
As Intel do explain, one will have the opportunity to make use of three features, which will be available live and for all the post-match action and analysis on the clubs’ websites or in their respective apps. First of all, there’s the multi-angle view. It allows fans to recreate goals, tackles or saves in a 360-degree video via the innovative volumetric video process. Therefore, the viewer can see the very scenes from any possible angle and very sharply, too, as Intel uses 38 5K ultra-high-definition cameras.
Another – and probably the most fascinating – option is the be the player-view. For a moment in the match can be frozen and then the fans see it all from the eyes of a player. That’s immersive football viewing at its best. Furthermore, it could offer pundits or commentators completely new insights into how and possibly why a player makes a decision. Analysing mistakes or great bits of play will be much more revealing like this.
Finally, there’s a so-called laser wall. It enables a view from a virtual plane that provides a different perspective concerning the players’ positioning and tactical measures during a game.
How the system works
Intel is one of many companies investing more heavily in technology designed to strengthen sports experiences, especially in digital realms. In 2018, nearly one billion pound were spent in this area. Ever since the Hawk-Eye and VAR, football is becoming more and more of a technology-based experience.
With True View, Intel have created a great viewing alternative. The volumetric capture method has the 38 5K ultra-high-definition cameras recording footage including height, width and depth of data. Then, all these aspects are used to produce so-called voxels, which are basically pixels with volume. After that, modern Intel processors porecess the data and finally the viewpoints of a fully volumetric 3D person or object are created. The virtual environment is a powerful example of how digital realms merge with the development of football viewing.
Immersive media experiences continue to create more opportunities for sports teams and leagues to put the fan experience first,
comments James Carwana, vice president and general manager of Intel Sports.
Big clubs need to be embrancing technology
Watching football might be at some kind of turning point. OTT services like DAZN are taking over from traditional broadcasters, as they offer multi-screen viewing opportunities for example. Apart from that, the younger generations of fans are really Social Media-affine. For they are using Instagram, Twitter etc. while watching games, they go to YouTube for highlights and are used to expecting quick and cutting-edge content. That’s why big clubs, or actually any football club, should really anticipate and embrace the potential of different technological developments. Be it iBeacon technology like in TSG Hoffenheim’s stadium, Instagram as a medium for growth or AI solutions to generate and provide individualised real-time highlights.
Intel’s new solution has been adopted by three top clubs now – and more will probably follow. Because these clubs know about the importance of offering their millions of fans new entertainment options. Peter Silverstone, commercial director of Arsenal FC, says:
We are always looking to find new ways to bring our 780 million fans and followers around the world closer to the action and this partnership will give our fans a whole new view of the game. The technology effectively allows a supporter to step into the boots of players and see the game from their perspective. We have seen the impact this Intel technology has had in other sports leagues across the world and are excited that it will be installed at Emirates Stadium. At Arsenal we are committed to innovating and keeping at the forefront of developments on and off the pitch so it’s fitting that Emirates Stadium will be the first stadium to bring Intel’s immersive and transformational True View technology to the Premier League.
Meanhwile, Billy Hogan, managing director and chief commercial officer of Liverpool FC, is sure that True View “can significantly improve the supporter experience“ and will “add a new dynamic to how people interact with the game and create different conversations with our fans around the world“.
Ultimately, Damian Willoughby, senior vice president of partnerships at City Football Group, outlined what is most important for the clubs:
We are sure City fans, and football fans around the world, will love watching beautiful football from every angle.
And more angles and perspectives will undoubtedly lead to not only more engagement and view time but also to more excitement for the fans, eventually. Besides, with more angles covered, advertisers will surely like the thought of engaged and fully immersed fans, who can see it all.