Redakcja Choose TV
Apple wants to make even greater use of the Apple Vision Pro's capabilities and take sports broadcasts to a whole new level. The company announced that on August 28 it will, for the first time, stream a Major League Baseball game live in the Apple Immersive format. The footage will be captured in 3D at 8K resolution with a 180-degree field of view, so viewers should feel as if they're right in the stadium.
Apple Vision Pro will offer an MLB game view from a unique perspective
The first broadcasted matchup will be the Boston Red Sox vs. the New York Yankees, one of the most famous rivalries in American baseball history. Apple plans to use special shots in the broadcast that you can't get when watching a game on traditional TV. The cameras will show, among other things, moments at the plate, players' reactions in the dugouts, and key plays along the outfield wall.
Apple Immersive broadcasts are designed to give users a much greater sense of presence than a standard 3D recording. The footage is captured using Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive cameras, which can record 180-degree 3D imagery at 8K resolution per eye. The camera can also record at up to 90 frames per second in 8K, which should help preserve detail and smoothness during fast on-field action.
Baseball won't be the first sport Apple has tried to bring into the Immersive world. The company experimented with 8K and 3D sports broadcasts as early as 2024, and late last year began offering similar content from NBA games. Now the technology is coming to MLB as well, and Apple says more broadcasts are planned in the coming weeks.
This is not true 8K on Vision Pro displays
The term "8K 3D" can be a bit misleading because the Apple Vision Pro does not have displays that can show full 8K resolution for each eye. The original material is indeed recorded in 8K 3D, but on the headset it is processed into two separate 4K 3D streams one for each eye. Apple uses foveated rendering to make more efficient use of the available resolution.
That does not change the fact that the effect can be very impressive. The combination of stereoscopic imagery, a wide field of view, and specially framed shots can give the user a far more immersive experience than a traditional broadcast. Apple even says it will feel like the best seat in the house, without leaving home. Fully exploiting 8K footage would, however, require 8K-resolution displays per eye, while the current Vision Pro screens are 4K-class designs.
The first MLB game in Apple Immersive will be shown on August 28, and in September four of the seven MLB games will be available in this format. The broadcasts will run on both the first-generation Vision Pro with the M2 chip and the newer model equipped with the M5. Importantly, access will be part of the standard Apple TV subscription, so users will not have to pay extra for the Immersive format itself. Apple Vision Pro users in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan will be able to access the broadcasts.
Apple will for the first time show an MLB game live using Apple Immersive technology, offering Vision Pro users 3D footage captured in 8K with a 180-degree field of view. The first broadcast will be the Boston Red Sox vs. New York Yankees game scheduled for August 28, and in the following weeks the company will air selected baseball games in this format. Although the material is recorded in 8K, the headset does not display full 8K to each eye and uses two 4K 3D streams and foveation techniques. Despite that, the combination of high-quality visuals, spatial 3D and a wide field of view could deliver one of the most immersive at-home sports viewing experiences.
source: flatpanelshd
