If you won’t be in Houston for the Super Bowl next Sunday but want to feel like you’re there at the big game, new technology is helping make it happen.
For the first time ever, NFL fans will be able watch the Super Bowl in virtual reality in near real-time. FOX announced on Tuesday that it has partnered with a company called LiveLike to broadcast highlight packages in VR.
The stream features four of the most important plays per quarter, as well as prepared highlights for pre- and post-game. Viewers will have six camera angles to pick from to watch the clips, which will upload soon after the play actually happens.
You can watch via the FOX Sports VR app — for iOS, Android, Gear VR — and you don’t need additional hardware to check out VR stream, though those with a cardboard VR viewer, like Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear, can have an “enhanced experience.”
If you want to watch the game in real-time, you probably don’t want to be wearing a VR headset. But this is a neat way to experience the Super Bowl’s most important plays from immersive angles.
FOX previously partnered with New York-based LiveLike to stream a college football game in virtual reality this past September and the MLS Cup in December. The two companies will work with partners like Avid (augmented reality graphics solutions); Twizted-Design (graphical integration); EVS (UHD replays solutions); and Ateme (UHD and HD encoding solutions) on Sunday to make it all happen.
FOX also works with NextVR, another VR live streaming company that showed off its technology at the Super Bowl last year and also produced highlights in VR for three NFL games this season.
Atlanta takes on New England at 3:30 p,m. PT on Sunday.
