News & Commentary
ESPN: 8 HDTV Views On One Screen
The sports network displays eight different high-def angles of Monday night's Miami-Florida State football game.
By Phillip Swann

Washington, D.C. (September 5, 2006) -- For ESPN, eight is enough.

ESPN 2, the sports network's sister channel, last night broadcast eight different High Definition TV camera angles of the Miami-Florida State college football game.

However, what was unusual was that the eight HD views were displayed on the same screen.


Screen shot of ESPN's multi-camera coverage.

The mosaic-style coverage was part of ESPN's 'Full Circle' broadcast, which also included a single color commentator (Colin Cowherd of ESPN Radio) on ESPNU's airing of the same game.

The multiple HDTV screen coverage was available only on ESPN 2 HD. ESPN HD broadcast the program's main feed, which was featured in the middle of the ESPN 2 broadcast.

The mosaic-style coverage was also available on ESPN2's analog feed, but not in high-def.

The eight cameras featured the primary ESPN telecast surrounded by seven additional camera angles, including isolation shots of the coaches, the quarterbacks and other key players.

Swanni Sez:
Kudos to ESPN. Although watching the multiple screen broadcast was dizzying at times, it was certainly more interesting than your regular broadcast. I wouldn't want to watch football this way all the time, but it was a fun and novel departure.

Click TVPredictions.com to see the rest of today's Swanni Sez.

© TVPredictions.com

---

Phillip Swann is president and publisher of TVPredictions.com. He has been quoted in dozens of publications and broadcast outlets, including CNN, Fox News, Inside Edition, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Financial Times, The Associated Press and The Hollywood Reporter. He can be reached at swann@tvpredictions.com or at 703-505-3064.

And click TVPredictions.com to read more news and features on TV technology.