A sneak peek at what sports bullet-time footage will look like (VIDEO)

 

 

Late last month, we reported on a new technology being introduced into the NFL, that would give bullet-time like panoramas around the end zone of each side of the field. Now we have some demo footage from baseball that shows just how powerful such a tool can be.

The technology has been built by a company called Replay Technologies, and is dubbed "FreeD" or "free dimensional video." A couple of months ago, the company set up one of these multiple camera rigs at New York Yankee Stadium, and the video below shows what the freewheeling footage looks like.

The rig is composed of 24 high-speed cameras, each with 4 megapixels of resolution, placed around key points in the stadium. Starting Sept. 8, the Dallas Cowboys' AT&T Stadium will be using the FreeD rig for replays during football games.

What's especially interesting is that FreeD isn't just switching between various footage streams (which was tried in 2001), but actually renders an entire 3D scene to pan around. The array of cameras are used to calculate depth, create a 3D space, add color from the footage, and then pan around it. Which gives far smoother and more seamless transitions than would otherwise be possible.

(via Reddit)