Major League Baseball is teaming with Japan's NTT DATA Corp. to provide fans with super HD viewing designed to deliver realistic field-level vistas to remote viewers in real time.
As part of three-year technology and sponsorship deal announced Sept. 4, the league is looking to tap NTT's Ultra Reality Viewing technology, which synthesizes multiple 4K camera angles. NTT's technology is designed to generate crisper, more detailed pictures than 4K, a viewing standard that already offers four times the pixel resolution as standard high-definition TV.
The MLB and its new technology partner plan to offer several "proof of concept" super HD viewing initiatives during an Arizona Fall League game in September, as well as MLB Network (US)'s coverage of one of two Division Series playoff games scheduled for early October.
In an interview, Kazunari Moriuchi, executive manager of the global alliance section of NTT Advanced Technology, said the technology has been used in different event settings in Japan: an amateur baseball game, a soccer match, a concert and Kabuki theater. On a demonstration tape at the Sept. 4 MLB announcement, Ultra Reality Viewing delivered a wide, low-level look at the players on the field, as if it were shot from near the dugout on the first baseline.
Vito Mabrucco, vice president of global marketing strategy at NTT, said the technology works, and now the company is looking at how to best adapt it to a Major League Baseball environment.
In some respects, Ultra Reality Viewing is akin to Intel Corp.'s True View technology, which relies on an array of small 5K cameras mounted around a venue to provide more panoramic views. But the NTT executives emphasized the goal for Ultra Reality Viewing is to supply live shots, whereas Intel True View stitches together vistas on a delayed basis.
Moriuchi said NTT would be meeting with the MLB clubs to discuss the use of cameras and technology. Some footage could also be provided to regional sports networks and/or MLB's national carriers, FOX Sports, Turner Sports, ESPN (US) and MLB Network, according to the executives.
An MLB spokesman said potential distribution platforms could also extend to the digital, mobile and social arenas.
Commissioner Rob Manfred said the NTT partnership continues baseball's legacy of technical innovation. The league streamed its first contest in 2002. More recently, MLB Network worked with AT&T Inc.'s DIRECTV in presenting its Showcase games in 4K Ultra HD.
NTT President and CEO Jun Sawada said he believes the new format will enhance the MLB fan experience, especially among the younger generation.
In addition to sponsoring the MLB Network Ballpark Cam, a network of stadium cameras, NTT is shooting creative for commercials that will run on baseball's in-house channel and on networks owned by the sport's other national rights holders, FOX Sports, Turner Sports and ESPN as part of its first major branding push in the U.S.
