I agree, this production was really good. It was great to see all those technologies we now take for granted. HD tv with the wide aspect ratio was by far the biggest thing to improve watching the NFL. Being able to track the ball through the air, was huge. I remember seeing that megalodon (low depth of field) camera when it was first used in that Seattle game and thought, whoa is that a new camera they're using, hell ya, I am familiar with aperture in SLR cameras and thought, what a great idea to bring that to the game. I barely notice it now as its so common.
As an avid fan of the original XFL, can't tell you how much I appreciate you giving that league respect for how it became a testing ground for NBC and their Sunday night broadcast.
I’m glad that they’re trying things out in the USFL now such as the Ref Cam and Helmet Cam. I also hope that Nickelodeon’s Route Tracker can be used in more NFL broadcasts in the future.
Right?! I have no idea what half of it means from like a technical or mathematical standpoint BUT, I do know that it’s impressive AF and completely fascinating! The creativity and innovation is quite spectacular.
Always nice to see the guys behind the scenes get the credit they deserve, and fascinating to actually see and follow the evolution of broadcast technology
The 3D thing was just financial Most people do not have the $ to spend $3500 on a TV just to watch an NFL Game(s) in 3D 3D TV’s were extra pricey a decade ago Still not cheap but when the technology goes up and the price comes down I’m sure we’d LOVE 3D NFL Football But it has to be good and worth it.
I worked with SMT supporting the yellow line and next gen stats through a lot of these innovations. It’s wild to have millions of people watch your work, even if it’s a small part of the overall product. You click one button or mouse move wrong and everyone see it… LIVE. It was a crazy ride with LONG days filled with blood, sweat, and tears. This was a great video and brought back so many memories! However the stories from the guys on the road…. I wouldn’t even know where to begin.
@@RVDfanman1 here’s a little sneak peek at what I’m sure he’s referring to…the 2008 Thursday night football crew video. 2008 Thursday CFA ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-djsQ4dxcwg8.html
@@shonhenderson4227 Thank you for letting me know! I only saw the one from NFL Network a while back but didn't know about the others. I just love the longer, in-depth behind-the-scenes documentary stuff from the NFL! So fascinating to me.
@@shonhenderson4227 cool, have to find them -- would be cool if they did that every week and choose a difference stadium. start from when they arrive all the way until the wrap it all up
I’m 36 and since I was a kid I’d proud myself whenever I’d figure out / learn how a specific piece of technology works (an engine, wifi, a wing’s lift). I’ve never stopped being amazed / fully understood how the 1st down line overlay (not an overlay) and the skycam work. This video is amazing.
This is absolutely insane. You don’t realize the intricacy that goes into these “simple” things like the first and 10 line and SkyCam etc. This is awesome, thank you.
What a great piece of art! I watched my first NFL game during my student exchange year in the US back in 1981 - the viewing experience back then was, uuh, different! 🙂 I believe the overall presentation of the NFL with its technical progress has been playing a major role in the gain in popularity of NFL football across the globe. Greetings from GER!
I was an EMT in Seattle for a number of years. I can remember doing standby's for the Seahawks and you sit down there in the tunnel and just see the sheer number of tv trucks and production personnel. The entire area behind the stadium where we would drive our ambulance would be packed with semi trailers from whatever network was broadcasting the game. it's really impressive to see and if anyone gets the chance to go behind the scenes for a sporting event, they should do it. There are a ton of people working to put those games on.
I was a part of the team that supported the ‘cast of the World Cup in LA in 1994 in HD. For soccer one of the main attractions of the widescreen format was being able to see so much more of the play at any given time. Better situational awareness for the viewers. Sharp images and great color helped, too, of course, as did the audio quality. It was like watching the games from a stadium box.
Love this channel. Love the long videos. Love the respect shown towards all the people who helped make the modern day presentation of the NFL what it is today.
Great video. I totally agree that HD was the real game changer. The higher resolution and the aspect ratio allow you to see way more of the line play more clearly than in the pre-HD days. This video is a lot of fun and I learned a lot.
Whilst the quality of the image was definitely an advantage for everyone (except maybe the guys who had to make the tech work with upto 10x the data) it is more the aspect ratio than the resolution. 16:9 as standard has done so much for the media world.
wow.. this was a whole documentary. The timeline of broadcasting innovations in the NFL and all the storylines were so compelling. Thanks for putting this together.
I didn't think there was any chance I would watch this whole thing but here I am, 10 minutes from the end still very interested. This has been really good. We take a lot of this stuff for granted.
Just finished watching the video myself. Like you, I never thought I'd be able to watch the whole thing. Incredibly informative and very interesting. I wasn't around to watch the very first broadcast of an NFL game, but I have seen a lot of games in my time because well, I'm old! LOL, Love the NFL!
7:37 My favorite graphics package was from Fox Sports in the mid-2000s. The ticker at the top of the screen, the simulated, colored dot matrix indicators for the teams, the electronic noises, and the way it lit up when there was a touchdown. I loved that. I also think that sports like football would benefit from having some graphic that would indicate on-field personnel changes the way soccer does it. It might be difficult but I think it’s doable and would make the game a bit easier to follow. Other sports like hockey or basketball should do the same.
What an amazing video. The innovations and progress were fascinating, but the most incredible & beautiful thing to me was how there's actual people doing these things that you take for granted. Sound mixing, moving microphones, shooting with the cameras, flying the skycam, mixing the video & sound with the graphics, and everyone setting up the tools on the ground before and during the game. One guy manually closing and opening the microphones, one fixing the pylon cam after every hit, someone drawing the 1st down line for each snap, ... My jaw just dropped at all these, and how many people are involved in an "ordinary" NFL broadcast. Hats off to all of them ❤️
Oh my god! It’s so cool and amazing to see footage from those first two HD CBS games from 1998! I really hope you guys can upload highlights from those HD CBS games from 1998, or even the HD ABC games from 1999!
Underrated comment right here! I first read about those initial HD broadcasts probably 12 or 13 years ago and have assumed ever since that no actual HD recording of them exists. After all, HD recording technology at the time was primitive, at best. D-VHS had just come out in 1998 - which I’m assuming was used to preserve these games. Barring some obscure NFL video I’m unaware of, this may very well be the first time clips from those HD broadcasts have surfaced since the games aired. And I definitely want MORE!
Player cameras would be just beyond awesome. Imagine being able to select your favorite player on field and from their perspective, see what they see. That would bring on a whole new level of experience.
This may be one of the best insight videos the NFL has made. I can’t wait for the future viewing experience. We’re in great hands by the looks of things.
First HD NFL broadcasts from 1998: *exist without being shown publicly in any form for nearly a quarter century* The NFL: “Let’s randomly dump HD clips from these games in an obscure RU-vid video in 2022.” Fascinating video, I will say.
Wow I watched an 83 minute youtube video and didn’t even realize it until the very end. Great explanations of stuff we’ve come to expect from an NFL broadcast.
As someone who is not a football fan and has never seen more than a game or two (on tv) in his life, I really enjoyed this movie, and it's really amazing to me. I might start following football from now on...
I honestly miss ESPN 3D. I never had a chance to see a football game, but they did it for the NBA playoffs one year and it truly gave you a sense of how huge basketball players are. It really was close to watching an actual game at an arena.
So coo! I am one of those viewers that can’t imagine not having most of this technology now. Is very amazing what has happened over the past 20 years. Bravo
@@Gary_Le_Strange compact? You can see 50 yards down field and absolutely everything the RB and QB sees All you miss is the boring out routes Hands down a better system
For everything we simply take for granted when watching a modern NFL game there’s a massive army of technicians, innovators and frankly, artists, that are making it all possible for us. Thank you.
Fantastic capture of the progression of the technology that makes today's games what they are. I know that I appreciate it, as someone who could never afford to go to a regular season game, much less a playoff or Super Bowl game in person.
I remember when NFL2k (in 1999) launched on Dreamcast had the Blue line of scrimmage in addition to the yellow first down line. A few years later the blue line was added to all NFL broadcasts.
Amazing video! Thanks for the quality effort. This brought back memories of watching Auburn play with my Pops in the early nineties. Ill never forget going to my first college game and thinking how cool it was( and how much smaller the field was in person), but I'd much rather be back home watching it on the 1500lb big screen at home with Dad.
Thank you for letting us see behind the scenes! I started watching the NFL in the 1970's. The technology has for the most part, only added to the viewer experience. It is a fine balance that producers face between showing enough, too much and not enough of what's important. I realize Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime is new, but I was frustrated by the down and distance graphics during the games. It is crazy delayed and is completely missing at times. I generally keep mental track, but it's also a game to see if I calculated it correctly... Is it 3rd and 1, or a first down? During other broadcasts; after a play, the down is usually shown and once the distance is determined, the down & distance is displayed. During TNF, many times after the play, the current down is not shown, until the distance is shown. Not a good look. That being said, all of the other technology has made the game an immersive experience for the viewer. Thank you to all the people that make the magic happen.
With the advances in technology made the camera and audio cheaper and smaller for the viewership to enjoy a video-like game experience. I like the 3D "Matrix effects" and hologram effects from the various camera technology & sky cam kick-off 3D effects that bring out the 3D HD hologram effects! I love the rendering and technology enhancement experience. Great job to the Broadcast Innovation folks who made this possible.
As a media production guy myself, I found this all fascinating. I remember the season they brought in the low depth of field celebration cam. I noticed it immediately. I said 'Wow that's an amazing shot' out loud to nobody. Shared my enthusiasm for it on my Fantasy Football chat and got absolutely rinsed! I'm such a fecking geek!
All this we take for granted. Amazing technology and Evolution that has happened through the years. I appreciate this story and love being educated on this. Great video.
I'd love to have that fantasy football interface every week where I can split screen my players and get all their stats and probabilities on field. Thats so cool!
This was some of the best innovations in not only Football but sports itself. 100% easily to explain to the non-fan. Now the way the camera moves on the field looks like a video game
Watching games on VR would be the coolest thing ever! Imagine being able to walk around the field, looking at live gameplay, switching between POVs etc
Thanks for the detailed explanation on the evolution of this technology that goes into what we see on NFL tv today! I’ve always wanted to know what went on behind the scenes :)
One thing that I'll love for sports in general: an audio channel with just the crowd and field sounds -no announcers or background music. I know this could be a problem for the networks, but it's the way we watch on the stadium. I probably will still use the announcers channel most of the time to get important info, but will love to feel the vibe of the stadium in some instances. I heard some tvs supposed to have this capability but none works that good. We need a real "SAP" button for stadium sound only.
Minute 45:13 God I miss hearing that sound of Thursday night football introduction while I sat in my recliner couch. Lost my home of 20 years to a crooked bank in 2013 and with it, the enjoyment of watching football in my own living room.
I miss the FOX score bug in the corner that would accumulate leaves or snow, and especially the version that had Christmas lights for timeouts during December games.
