Glitches Abound in Live 3D Telecast of Butler-Duke NCAA Final
Reminiscent of HDTV’s early days, the live CBS telecast in 3D Monday of the NCAA basketball final between Butler and Duke was rife with compelling moments and annoying glitches. The 3D telecast, sponsored by LG Electronics and beamed via satellite to about 100 Cinedigm digital cinema screens nationally, sported an on-air crew different from that of the regular CBS broadcast. It also featured a limited palette of commercials not in 3D supplied by LG, plus house ads for CBS shows such as Criminal Minds and NCIS: Los Angeles.
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Consumer Electronics Daily was at Manhattan’s Clearview Chelsea Cinemas, where the event was shown on a 26-by-6-foot screen and viewed through RealD polarized glasses. Pre-game viewing was confined to a shot from a camera mounted at one end of Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. On-screen graphics showing the Butler and Duke team names and a countdown clock to game time seemed to us to hang in the air, so much so that audience members who ventured near the theater’s fourth or fifth row seemed careful not to bump their heads against the graphics as they took their seats. Organizers closed off the first three rows, presumably to maintain optimum viewing.
Once the game started, the 3D effects we found most compelling were from images beamed from two remote-controlled cameras. One appeared to be mounted atop one of the backboards, another at midcourt on a jib about 20 feet high that ran along the perimeter of the court. The backboard camera highlighted the arc of the ball as it hurtled toward the basket and gave a unique view of how high players had to leap to snatch rebounds. The midcourt camera allowed the viewer to see offensive and defensive formations not typically visible in 2D camera shots from the side of the arena.
Close-ups of players in 3D gave us a better sense of their physical size than seems possible in 2D. The bruising physical play of the game captured on the backboard camera also delivered a compelling “You are there” experience. In one shot of Duke guard Jon Scheyer at the foul line, Scheyer seemed almost to be staring past members of the theater audience. When Butler forward Matt Howard flew out of bounds under the Butler basket, some audience members stuck out their arms as if to break his fall.
Unfortunately, there were few other “gotcha” 3D effects, such as those that ESPN crews experienced last September when they beamed a USC-Ohio State football game in 3D and sent theater audience members scrambling from their seats when one of the teams ran an end-around. One was a shot of the trombone section of the Duke band, when the instruments’ slides shot out toward viewers as the band played Blue Devils’ fight song. Others came when a Duke player barreled toward the backboard camera for a dunk and when confetti thrown in the arena at game’s end appeared to be landing inside the theater.
But a noticeable problem recurred about a dozen times during the two-hour telecast, and it tainted the whole experience. What we can best describe as a grating electronic sound kept emanating from the theater’s speakers. That seemed to coincide with a degradation in the picture, almost to the point where the projector’s 3D lenses seemed out of sync. The effect was like looking through distorted glass, and it was very uncomfortable. We presume what we saw and heard were transmission errors. Soon, another sound brought with it a stabilized picture, but not for long. All in all, most of the glitches lasted for a few seconds, but the longest went on for almost three minutes.
Other problems seemed to result from questionable camera placements. One 3D camera was positioned behind Butler fans at one end of the arena, facing the court. The apparent intent was to give viewers the sense that they were part of the crowd, seated a few rows back. But the effect was disconcerting because it made the players who stood on the court beyond look miniature in size, juxtaposed against life-size fans seated directly in front of the camera. Pom poms waved by those fans created a jarring effect, forcing us to try to fuse together the images near and far. In fact, we observed several audience members complaining of dizziness when they tried to focus their eyes on the on-screen graphics, the fans who appeared to be standing right below them, and the action on the court beyond. So disturbing were the negative effects that several people left the theater before the game was half over.
Overall, the experience left us with the impression that live sports in 3D can be compelling if done right, but taxing on the eyes and stomach if done wrong. Most of the game was shot from the conventional side court angle, mounted several floors above the court, which didn’t improve much on the 2D experience. But seeing a jumper from Duke’s Kyle Singler coming directly at the viewer from the arc was like having a seat on top of the backboard. That’s an effect that can’t be had from 2D.