BCS national championship game to be presented in 3-D

The FedEx Bowl Championship Series (BCS) National Championship Game between the University of Florida and University of Oklahoma Jan. 8, 2009, from Dolphin Stadium in Miami will be presented in 3-D at a special viewing in Las Vegas to 1200 invited guests, as well as at 80 specially equipped theaters nationwide.

The game, which is being broadcast in conventional HDTV by FOX Sports, also will be shot using 3ality Digital's 3-D image-capture technology and transmitted live via Cinedigm's CineLive satellite distribution network from Miami to an event sponsored by Sony in the Paris Hotel and Casino's RealD-equipped Theatre des Arts in Las Vegas. The 3-D presentation will occur during the 2009 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. It also will be available at Cinedigm-enabled theaters nationally.

Sony is providing its SXRD 4K projection technology for the Las Vegas 3-D presentation. RealD, a co-sponsor with Sony, is supplying its 3-D system, including eyewear, screen and filtering technology, in the Theatre des Arts, which was specifically built and customized for the SXRD 4K projection system.

For the broadcast, 3ality Digital will employ Sony HD cameras specially modified for stereoscopic production and transmission of the game. The 3ality Digital technology allows a camera operator to shoot in a style similar to traditional 2-D with pan-tilt-zoom control, and provides continuously self-correcting software to deliver high-quality stereoscopic imaging.

The feed is then transferred to the Cinedigm satellite network, which will broadcast the signal nationally to Cinedigm-enabled theaters. In the theater, RealD's 3-D stereoscopic cinema system will enable the audience to view the game in 3-D.

Mobile production facilities company Gamecreek Video will provide its high-definition mobile video production unit for the game, working with the 3ality Digital camera rigs and image processing systems on-site in Miami.