
NHL partners with GoPro to deliver fans unique perspectives of the game - jschwartz11
http://www.nhl.com/ice/news.htm?id=750014
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fredleblanc
The NHL has started adding additional "non-standard" camera angles to their
streaming (pay) NHL GameCenter app/service. Many (perhaps all, I don't know)
now give you a top-down shot of each goalie in addition to the standard home
and away broadcasts. I watch them now and then, and it's really interesting if
you're a fan of the game.

I know the adoption of this is mostly going to be extracurricular for now,
maybe used during All-Star games and such (they've been known to mic up and
interview goalies in those _while_ they're in goal).

Although these videos did make me dizzy, it's such an interesting way to
become more engaged in the game. I love that the NHL (being the "4th-place
league" in the US) is always doing interesting, creative things to try to make
their league better.

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cpwright
I'd be interested in that, but as I understand it they black out your home
games; so I'd still have to watch them on cable anyway without the whiz-bang
features. I'd guess most people are like me and are fans of the team in their
market.

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fredleblanc
They blackout your home games _and_ all nationally televised games (although
there may be a carrier-exclusive deal worked out here and there).

It's a shame that the NHL signed such a long deal with NBC. I know it was just
a couple years ago, but everything was so different then. I hope when their
next deal comes around, the NHL is the first to abandon these stupid blackout
restrictions.

Besides, if you stream it live, you're still watching the commercials.

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at-fates-hands
This was a video that was making the rounds last year in early 2014 of an AHL
ref who wore a GoPro for a game:

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBoOr12BrI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBoOr12BrI)

If it's anything like this, I'm all for it. This is about as close as you can
get to the action without actually playing. Plus, you get all the commentary
from the refs, which is really where all the action is.

You also get to find out all the BS they have to put up with the players and
coaches.

EDIT: forgot to mention, you get a good reality check on how big and how fast
these guys are, and these are essentially minor league NHL players

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luma
I'm really curious if they're going to offer the audio feed along with the
video feed. We have the technology to broadcast audio from the players in
basically every major sport in the US but broadcasters are terrified of doing
so because... well let's say pro athletes aren't real big on self-censorship
while they're playing.

I get the impression that the NHL (and NFL and everyone else) doesn't want
home viewers to actually hear what the players are saying to each other and it
drives me nuts, because I really feel like the interpersonal aggression is a
part of the sport that nobody wants me to see.

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Dwolb
I wonder what GoPro's end game is here. A partnership to deliver content isn't
much of a revenue boost (in terms of #units sold). Seems like GoPro wins
because of new market penetration via NHL (i.e. reaching traditional sports
with its camera products) and the NHL wins because fans another reason to tune
in to NHL content.

I also wouldn't be surprised if this partnership pushes GoPro's mechanical
and/or software image stabilization technology forward magnitudes. It's a cool
project with a big name customer the engineers will be spurred to find
creative solutions to enhance the viewing experience.

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niravshah
Don't underestimate the completely different experience of watching sports
from a first-person perspective instead of the God view we get today. As
broadcast TV becomes more slanted towards live sports, since all other content
can be consumed in other, more convenient ways, these kinds of deals are going
to be very important to a space filled with a lot of money.

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jcastro
Indeed, the first time someone hits a goalie-mounted one of these with a
slapshot from the blue line it's going to make people jump out of their seats.

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osard
GoPro + Oculus Rift? We could see injuries.

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dingaling
It is interesting to read the comments here and notice what brand-power GoPro
has achieved.

No-one is saying 'I'll attach a mini-cam to my helmet.'

It would be an interesting thesis topic to study how this was achieved.

'Wrote this comment on my LG'

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soneca
That's interesting, but I worry about safety. I saw in the news that the
severity of Schumacher's accident was due to the support of the camera
(GoPro?) he was using at his helmet at the time.

If someone could confirm this, please. But a rigid cilinder (as I imagine
consists a cam support) on a helmet might be an issue.

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Retric
Presumably, the issue is a non smooth helment. One option would be to use a
fiber optic line to seperate the camera's location from immage capture. The
other is a slightly taller helment with a built in camera window. Sure it
would be bulky but I doubt an extra inch or so would mean all that much and
looking at celphone camra's you could probably make it vary thin.

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rynop
How awesome would it be if they could pull off 3D? A 3D view from the goalie
would actually make me want to break out those 3D glasses I got with my TV
that are still in the plastic wrapping.

This is a great first step however - getting into the market will open the
doors for some really cool stuff - and hopefully give fans a better
appreciation for the real speed of the game .

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macNchz
I'd never thought much about that because I've always found 3D to be kind of
gimmicky, but POV 3D video in realtime sports broadcasts could really make for
an unreal experience.

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rynop
Totally agree - 3D is a fn gimmick. Hockey goalie view is the only scenario i
can currently think of that would make me really want to use it. GoPRO I'm
here for you if you want help in implementing :)

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LanceH
View of the quarterback in football comes to mind. Not on a regular basis, but
on some plays it would be incredible. I've seen it before where the
quarterback was sacked from behind. The camera panned up, you could see the
lights and the night sky, then rapidly came back down past the lights, the
stands, the sidelines, the players and finally into the ground and dark.

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rynop
That would be awesome. They already have other electronics in their helmet for
the in-helmet speaker - so why not add a few more ha

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euphemize
This is interesting for GoPro (good client, huge promo), the fans (great new
angles, different perspectives), but I like to see this as big upgrade for the
NHL and the players too, as they rely more and more on cameras to enforce the
rulebook, review plays, rewatch sequences, etc.. For example:

\- Illegal & dangerous checks often come with a suspension, which is always
dished out after video evidence is reviewed by the department of player safety
\- It's very common for goals to get reviewed in-game to check whether there
was goalie interference, high stick, kicked in, etc. \- All players watch
countless hours of video during a week to improve their game and study their
opponents (ex: shootout moves)

All in all, more power to the referees, more power to the coaches/players =
better, safer, more entertaining hockey, IMO.

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tswartz
These new views could bring a lot more entertainment to the game, especially
if they can stream it live from the devices. Even cooler if they had this in
pro cycling.

Does anyone know what attachment they are using on the helmets to get that
overhang angle looking back at the player?

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eCa
> Even cooler if they had this in pro cycling.

They started with on-bike cameras last season. Not streamed yet, though.

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE97iUvSHk0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QE97iUvSHk0)

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tswartz
Yes, those have been great to see. But a live stream, similar to F1 would be a
huge step forward and make the viewing more engaging to a larger audience.

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kmnc
It will be amazing when I can watch sports from the first person views of the
players.

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k-mcgrady
Do you think so? I'm not sure I agree. It's useful from time to time but
generally you need an overview of everything going on to understand a game. F1
has had this for a while (each weekend you can select from several cars to
view live, onboard footage for the entire race. Just watching that you have no
idea what's going on overall and it's quite boring. A picture in picture
scenario is more useful.

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furyofantares
It probably depends greatly on the sport. American Football seems particularly
well suited to first person speciation, given there are only about 11 minutes
of actual gameplay in a 3 hour broadcast - there is already a lot of detailed
replay after you've seen the bigger picture. There are also lots of individual
sports where the big picture isn't as important to understanding what's
happening, where a mix of first and third person sounds pretty exciting -
skiing, maybe tennis if it isn't too disorienting, for example. And some team
sports have predictable moments where the big picture is not necessary, like
the pitch and swing in baseball.

Plus, if first person is compelling enough, sports may adapt to be a better
fit, especially if they suffer from competition with sports that are already
well suited to that type of spectation.

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joezydeco
The video seems kind of misleading since it looks like the camera is mounted
to an arm extended from the helmets. In a real game they're not going to be
like that.

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covati
This is great for NHL viewers, but even better for GoPro - good to keep
getting their name out there as the go to for amazing action footage wherever
you are.

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protomyth
I hope it works and is safe for the players. Hockey is one of those sports
that looks like crud on a TV as opposed to having ok seats at an arena. Hockey
is one of those sports that I have only met fans that became fans by watching
a live game. Its not quite as bad for motorsports since TV seems ok for them,
but in person is so much better.

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fredleblanc
Agreed, but I found watching this video that I felt more like I did while at
the game than the standard "god view" that you usually see. It wasn't fully as
good, but it was closer.

I believe they experimented with the refs wearing GoPro cameras for a couple
of games. You rarely saw them live, but when they were helpful or interesting
or worth watching for novelty they were included in the replays.

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protomyth
Good, anything they can do to make it more like going to the game will help. I
would dearly like live views off the ref cams. It might (note I said might)
help the folks see things for penalties and such.

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swframe
It would be interesting if they could stitch the video together so we could
see the play from any angle. Kind of like using street view and microsoft
photosynth to create something like the latest star-trek khan bombing photo.

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smoorman1024
IMHO adding the new camera angle is only half the battle. The other really
important half is having a director that can use that angle to add value to
the viewer.

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jmhobbs
This is amazing. I love hockey, but I had no idea how amazingly good these
guys are at handling the puck. I didn't even read the article, just watched
the video a couple times.

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osard
Great idea. Next best thing to getting people inside the arena. It really is a
great spectator sport. Even passes look like laser beams at ice level.

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neylonbill
I read this as "NHL partners with GoPro to deliver fans' unique perspectives
of the game" and thought that would be very boring.

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longlivegnu
I am so hyped for this, I might elect to not go to as many games now so I can
watch the NHL channel's POV content.

