You may not be headed to Santa Clara, Calif., to take in Super Bowl 50 in person, but CBS is making sure your view from the couch is the best its ever been thanks to a bunch of new camera technology.
A new story in Wired spells out what’s in store for television viewers of the NFL’s golden anniversary championship between the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers. If you love multiple angles, enhanced replays and on-field sound, you’ll love the news that CBS Sports will be using 70 cameras to capture the action on Feb. 7 — that’s 30 more cameras than were used in 2015.
Some of the highlights, according to Wired and CBS:
- Eye Vision 360: The replay view relies on 36 5K resolution cameras fitted along the top deck at Levi’s Stadium. The cameras can freeze, zoom in, wrap around and provided a “Matrix” moment to key plays.
- Pylon cameras: You’ve probably seen this view from the orange end zone markers in other football telecasts. They’re making their Super Bowl debut this year, and fans can hope that the one of the 16 cameras inside eight pylons with provide a field-level view of a key touchdown or out-of-bounds call.
- SkyCam: The camera suspended above the action on a series of cables has been around for years, but improvements to the system make it faster than it’s ever been. Get ready to see what the quarterback sees as he looks for a receiver down field — and come along for the ride as SkyCam races to catch up to the fastest guys on the field.
The game and the way it is broadcast has come a long way in 50 years. Last year’s Super Bowl was watched by a record 114 million people. USA Today points out that Super Bowl I, in 1967, offered just “30 minutes of pregame programming, one marching band at halftime, 11 cameras, two production trucks and “Lassie” aired directly afterward.” This year there will be seven hours of programming from the Bay Area, Coldplay and Beyonce will perform at halftime and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” gets the coveted post-game slot.
