A pair of scissors in one hand and the NCAA tournament championship game net in the other, North Carolina coach Roy Williams stood on the ladder waving after the Tar Heels had beaten Gonzaga. Virtual reality viewers were able to come face to face with Williams in that moment.
The NCAA March Madness Live VR app provided up-close sights and sounds like that one in six NCAA tournament games this year — double the number of games offered last year. Fans got an immersive experience, and with a gold premium viewing option for $2.99 per game or $7.99 for all six games, they were very much in control of what they could see and hear.
Virtual reality already offers a courtside seat to basketball games, but with Intel True VR (rebranded from VOKE VR), a fan could choose from one of six camera angles providing 180-degree footage at any time during the game. Two camera angles were for the action under each basket (that came in handy while getting a look at Williams cutting down the nets), and two were placed along one sideline for a view of each end of the court. An additional two camera angles provided the view of each school’s band playing and cheering behind each basket. It was easiest to watch the VRCast, which had a producer switch from one optimal camera angle to another depending on where the action was headed.
With the gold viewing option, there were dedicated announcers for the VR broadcast featuring Spero Dedes on play-by-play, analyst Steve Smith and reporter Lisa Byington. Asked last month at NCAA tournament media day in New York about technology that blew his mind, Smith had mentioned virtual reality. Now here he was in North Carolina’s national semifinal win against Oregon noting how with the VR view of the rim, you could see in detail a key 3-pointer roll around and go down for the Ducks.
You’re about 2 enter another dimension, not only of sight & sound but of mind. A journey into a wondrous land of imagination. Next stop, #VR pic.twitter.com/2sCb3N6lQa
— Spero Dedes (@SperoDedes) March 25, 2017
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With no commercial breaks in the action for the VR broadcast, fans were offered an intriguing second-screen experience from the action that could also be seen on CBS. Want to watch Gonzaga coach Mark Few’s reactions for the entire game? That was a possibility. From a worm’s-eye view, VR cameras could provide close views of team huddles during timeouts while TV viewers were subjected to the guy in AT&T commercials singing Aerosmith. Byington was able to track down VR-only postgame interviews.
The experience could use some improvements. Having a running game clock to go along with the scoreboard would have been nice, as VR technology for live broadcasts still makes the game clock in the arena difficult to see.
But it was nice that the broadcast continued even after the dedicated announcers signed off, with the cameras hanging around to see the Tar Heels’ joy of cutting down the nets Monday night. North Carolina guard Joel Berry II once he climbed the ladder was handed a Twitter mirror to take a selfie with the rest of the team. Cheerleaders spontaneously danced on the floor. Gonzaga fans sat in their seats dejected. You could watch a piece of confetti fall to where it seemed you could reach out and grab it. Special moments like that could be seen in virtual reality and added to the experience.
Never mind the Charles Barkley VR jokes.