The NBA All-Star Saturday Night show was enhanced by hi-def 3D graphic delivered via Chyron’s HyperX2 graphic system.
The Feb. 14 show was broadcast in conjunction with the NBA, TNT and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. The event, broadcast from the US Airways Center in Phoenix, Ariz., represented the first commercially marketed deal to deliver an NBA sporting event in live 3D nationwide.
It was broadcast by satellite to more than 80 digital theaters across the U.S. Powered by 3D technology developed by PACE, Chyron worked closely with NBA engineers, Cinedigm and PACE to ensure that graphics used for the event were integral but not overwhelming for a 3D production. The goal of the production was to make viewers from all 80 cinemas feel they had the best seat in the house.
“The genuine excitement created throughout the country following the success of this groundbreaking event bodes very well for the future of 3D productions of sporting and many other live events. Chyron’s contribution was seamless and struck just the right balance for what we wanted to achieve,” said Cinedigm Entertainment Group President Jonathan Dern.
The basic principle of stereoscopic 3D video is to produce two video channels; a right eye and left eye view. Two cameras are aligned so that each camera captures what the right and left eye would individually see. Those parallel video signals are then processed through the entire production chain and played back in a way that enables viewers with polarizing glasses to experience the 3D effect.
To make stereoscopic 3D graphics to track with the live parallel video, Chyron modified a two-channel HyperX2 machine to generate left and right eye views. By using two cameras to provide a slightly offset view (the way eyes are naturally spaced) a true 3D image can be created in the composition.
