Turk Posted January 20, 2014 Share Posted January 20, 2014 (edited) By David Murphy January 19, 2014 02:13pm EST If you're expecting to get an up close and personal look at what taking an elbow or a basketball to the face might feel like for your average NBA player, we have some disappointing news for you. The recent revelations that the Sacramento Kings are planning to use Google Glass during one of their games is a wee bit of a misnomer. Yes, some Kings players will don Google Glass and use technology from CrowdOptic to broadcast exactly what they're seeing as part of the NBA game experience to the Jumbotron of the Sleep Train Arena, as well as those viewing on smartphones or televisions. Also included in the broadcasting mix are the game's announcers, the Kings' mascot, and the team's dancers to name a few extra participants. However, if you're expecting to watch passes, blocks, and picks from the perspective of the players themselves, you're a bit mistaken. While you'll probably be able to see the game from the perspective of others watching it, the players themselves are likely not going to be wearing Google Glass during the game itself. The move is similar to an earlier CrowdOptic-partnered event at Stanford University, which had various sideline members at a Stanford Football home game donning Google Glass including members of the Stanford Band. However, those expecting to see a Google Glass-wearing linebacker run over an opponent were likely a bit let down. Glass allowed the company to provide viewers with a closer-than-nosebleeds experience to the action, but only so far. The January 24 game that pits the Kings against the Indiana Pacers will mark the start of the Kings' adventures in Glass broadcasting. CrowdOptic executives see this as the start of a new trend, especially given the higher-level discussions that they've had with NBA executives about licensing rights for Glass-created content. "The investment is for the long-term, and it's the very first footage anyone has so close to the game," said CrowdOptic's Jim Kovach, head of business development, in an interview with ABC News. "There really is a strong interest in building this out." The Sacramento Kings have already released a trailer of what the Glass experience might look like, which we've embedded below. Watching some of the warm-ups from a player's vantage makes us wish that the NBA would roll the technology out for the annual All-Star Game, at least. We'd love to watch the three-point shootout from the perspective of the person trying to frantically make the shots... and just imagine the slam dunk contest! http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2429701,00.asp Edited January 20, 2014 by Turk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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