The first NBA broadcast rendered with volumetric video puts basketball in the uncanny valley

Image: ESPN/NBA

The Brooklyn Nets and the Dallas Mavericks game is notable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that it is the first time we will be able to watch a full game live with new technology. The Nets local broadcasts on Yes Network have used volumetric video capabilities for highlight clips, replays, and in-arena video, but this time they are being used to broadcast an entire game start to finish.

Canon's Free- Viewpoint Video tech is used to track player movement. It combines that data in real-time with 3D models that have been built of each player, and renders it, very similar to how things would work in NBA 2K. Virtual camera operators can show off the action from any angle they want, as virtual cameras swoop around the floor like drones.

The effect is impressive even if the models have some glitchy artifacts, as you would see in a game of NBA 2K22. The amount that real player movements make up for any graininess is hard to explain, as it makes it hard to tell the difference between a normal broadcast and this rendered one.

You can watch the NBA court view broadcast on ESPNews or the regular NBA broadcast on ESPN. I will wait for the game to end before I decide if this is really the future of broadcasting, as a clip on the NBA's website gives an idea of what it looks like.

An earlier version of the story referred to the New Jersey Nets. They are in Brooklyn. We regret the mistake.