NHL.com wrote:
Rangers, Islanders match going to next dimensionTuesday, 03.23.2010 / 2:42 PM / NHL Insider By Rocky Bonanno - NHL.com Staff WriterTelevision history will be made Wednesday when the Rangers host the Islanders at Madison Square Garden. The MSG Network will make the latest battle between the rivals the first hockey telecast ever produced in 3D, and MSG will also be the first network in the U.S. to offer a live 3D sports telecast to home viewers.
The 3D telecast also will be shown to a sell-out crowd of 2,400 ticket holders at The Theater at MSG, with Rangers alumni Mark Messier, Adam Graves, Ron Duguay, Nick Fotiu, Ron Greschner and Dan Blackburn in attendance.
"Cablevision is bringing 3D into homes for the first time. We're not really sure how many 3D sets are in homes since they went on sale only a few weeks ago," said Jerry Passaro, Senior VP, Network Operations and Distribution, MSG Network. "We're the first network, and Cablevision the first operator, to pass 3D from the sports venue to the home. There have been other trials with events at various theaters. Like anything else, when TV was first invented, there were very few of them. So for us, this is the start, and our ground zero is tomorrow."
MSG Network is producing three telecasts for the contest: 3D; 2D with Rangers broadcasters; and 2D with Islanders broadcasters. Calling the 3D telecast will be Kenny Albert, with former Ranger Dave Maloney providing analysis. Al Trautwig will serve as television host for the evening.
MSG HD subscribers with 3D compatible televisions will be able to watch the telecast on a separate channel offered by Cablevision (iO TV Channel 1300).
"Tomorrow we will gain experience and learn how to do this with the game of hockey," Passaro said. "Hockey can be a difficult sport to produce, with the speed, the glass, the netting ... 3D is an interesting type of experiment because you're not just seeing a flat picture. We're concerned with how this will translate on television."
To enjoy the full 3D experience at home, viewers will need a 3D-ready television, HD cable service, and a cable box with an HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) output. 3D-ready television sets operate in conjunction with LCD shutter glasses.
There are two types of 3D systems -- shutter glasses and polarized. The latter is what movie-goers are familiar with, watching a film while wearing flimsy glasses. Purchasers of a 3D-ready television also receive LCD shutter glasses. "The left and right eye alternate viewing images at 60 frames a second, and decode the video with the 3D glasses," Passaro said.
As for the work Passaro and his team face at the arena, one difference was the positioning of the cameras, which need to be lower for 3D. "At Madison Square Garden, the principal camera placements are on the ninth floor. For 3D, we needed to move them to the sixth floor, so we had to kill some seats to do that," Passaro said. "Two other cameras were moved down to the blue lines to get away from the protective nets, and those cameras are situated on the seventh floor, where they are generally on the eighth floor. Two other cameras at rigged at ice level right up against the glass, and there is a point-of-view camera set up behind the goal on the Eighth Avenue side of the arena.
"The goal is to shoot from behind the net as much as possible. That's the stuff we're learning about, because we don't want to put something on the air that is so jarring to the viewer at home."
Unlike the standard 2D telecasts, the 3D viewers will watch the game commercial free. Time outs will be filled with replays and shots of the arena, coaches and players at the bench. Interviews with players will be conducted during the intermissions.
"It's too early to say when all games will be broadcast in 3D. Where the technology goes, the industry goes," Passaro said. "Our goal would be to try and do a few more next year and keep working in the field.
"It's going to be a fabulous evening, showcasing 3D for the first time. We will be learning a lot for the future. This is the perfect opportunity to usher the 2D industry into the 3D world."
For more information please visit
www.msg.com/3D.
