The Technology Behind the NBA Finals 48
BobB-nw brings us NetworkWorld's behind-the-scenes look at the technology supporting the NBA Finals. They primarily use Lenovo ThinkPads which run an automated statistic-gathering system. The NBA eschews Wi-Fi due to security concerns, and it abandoned attempts to use touch-screen technology because of durability and ease-of-use issues. Whether or not basketball is your sport of choice, it's an interesting view of how modern sports presentations come together.
"Other courtside systems with proprietary software synch up with compact belt packs worn by the referees, who automate clock stoppages by blowing their whistles. Hellmuth noted that he oversaw an effort to ensure that clock stoppages could be seen from any angle in the arena by having lights on the backboard and elsewhere all flash at once."
Re:What is this 'NBA' of which you speak? (Score:4, Funny)
Heh (Score:2)
Hmmm (Score:1)
Re:Hmmm (Score:5, Informative)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TD_Banknorth_Garden [wikipedia.org]
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Communication speeds (Score:2, Interesting)
The majority of the text concerned itself with pure statistics, so insignificant amounts of data move around, but how abo
Re:Communication speeds (Score:5, Informative)
the live webstream is generated by an entirely separate entity who derives their video from our cameras, but as for their transmission, i believe they transfer from site to NBA.com offices via the house WAN (typically t3 trunks)..
networking in television production trucks, while rather basic, employs some pretty interesting technologies... the EVS machines (basically really advanced dvr's that allow for "live slowmo", and creation of clips from the incoming video signals instantaneously, for all those instant replays) transmit all audio/tvideo to a proprietary dataserver located inside the truck by use of a proprietary coaxial network (called sdti)
as for your hd broadcasts, those still go out the old fashioned way, via satellite...
and i gotta tell you.. if you own an hdtv, you're getting hosed by your service provider. it's crazy how bad the signal you get at home is in comparison to what gets beamed to/from that satellite.
Re:Communication speeds (Score:4, Interesting)
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Possible to get NFL games?
Not really "automated" (Score:5, Interesting)
What would be cool is if the data collection were to be truly automated! Detect all sorts of things unobtrusively, whether through cameras, positioning systems for the ball or the players, etc.
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Hey code monkey... learn electronics! [nerdkits.com]
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I'd rather have a human operating the scoreboard, given that it's far more likely to be accurate (or if not, catch the errors right away)
It can't be terribly expensive to hire somebody to push a button every time a player scores. What exactly would an "automated" stats collection system achieve that cannot already be done?
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high tech (Score:5, Funny)
Referee belt packs (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Referee belt packs (Score:5, Funny)
I take the greatest possible exception to your comments. The quality of the officiating the NBA has always been above reproach, and represents the highest ethical standards in any professional sport. The NBA is known world-wide for having the most ethical, most accurate and most honest officials, and we work hard to maintain that standard.
Sincerely,
Tim Donaghy [wikipedia.org]
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Really, few of us can imagine the incredible skill and knowledge required to consistently perform such a difficult job, on such a big stage, night in night out. Especially with that electro-shock device built into your belt pack being remotely operated by the Sternmeister.
Technology of the NBA (Score:1, Insightful)
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NBA: Irrelevant since Michael Jordan retired (from the Bulls, that is)
Referees (Score:5, Insightful)
Fact is the NBA refs are extremely good at their jobs. You just notice when the occasional, inevitable mistake crops up. Funny how when LeBron James makes a bad pass or Kobe Bryant makes a bad shot no one calls them "inept". I have no problem with the use of replay in important situations, especially in the pros where they have the money to do it right, but to call the refs "inept" is just ignorance at its finest.
And in the interest of disclosure, yes I officiate sporting events and have for some years. Yes it is a LOT harder than most people even remotely realize.
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Re:Referees (Score:4, Insightful)
I've been around sporting officials most of my life and I'm speaking from direct experience here. While there are occasionally corrupt or incompetent officials they are extremely rare, especially at the higher levels of play. Most officials don't give a rat's ass who wins, they just want a fair contest with no controversy. Ron Luciano [wikipedia.org] wrote some entertaining books that are worth reading though perhaps not universally applicable. Most refs are talented, hard working, and get way more abuse than they are actually paid to take by fans who generally have a very incomplete understanding of the rules of the game.
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All the more reason to eliminate referees entirely, and simply automate them out of existence: a computer can do their job better.
Of course, you're still going to have to have them in minors etc, because the machines will cost too much for a while.
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All the more reason to eliminate referees entirely, and simply automate them out of existence: a computer can do their job better.
While there are some tasks that can be automated at the pro level (I've long wondered why balls and strikes are still called by a human in MLB for example) most of what an official does cannot be automated. There is NO substitute for having an experienced official on the field. You have to remember officials not only judge disputed calls but in most contests they also ensure smooth and orderly flow of the game. You could not have organized sports without them. If you could, don't you think the athletes
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They won't be referees any more, they'll just be there to make sure that players don't beat each other up. They can still flip a coin and handle the balls. :P
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All that technology and they can't use replay to correct the mistakes of human refs.
Also, your analogy is bad. The players aren't expected to make good plays all the time. Refs are expected to make the right call all the time. That's their job. Anything less and it's not a fair game. Fans are sick and tired of the outcomes of games being decided by people who aren't even playing. And that's what happens when a ref screws up; they help determine w
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Also, your analogy is bad. The players aren't expected to make good plays all the time. Refs are expected to make the right call all the time. That's their job.
That is also impossible and every athletic rule book I've ever seen (and I've seen a lot of them) makes allowances for imperfection in play calling. Doctors are ideally expected to be perfect too but they aren't and never will be. Expecting unattainable perfection is stupid especially in the context of a game.
Make no mistake, I highly encourage the use of technology wherever it might make play calling more accurate. Just understand that perfection is unattainable in judging any sport.
Oh, and athletes AR
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The NBA is THE most difficult sport to officiate because of the constant pace of action and breadth of rules (3 second violations are physically impossible to monitor precisely).
However, the league has definitely hurt itself with the loose interpretation of rules. Plus, crap like fudging calls based on reputation and superstar status really detracts from the game.
But, that's been the status quo for I bet 20 years. My opinion is that the NBA went downhill when they decided to price the little guy out of
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The NBA is THE most difficult sport to officiate because of the constant pace of action and breadth of rules (3 second violations are physically impossible to monitor precisely).
You'll get no argument from me that basketball is a hard sport to officiate. It's loaded with rules that are illogical, difficult to monitor and rarely or (worse) selectively enforced. It's allegedly a non-contact sport but it certainly isn't played like one.
However, the league has definitely hurt itself with the loose interpretation of rules. Plus, crap like fudging calls based on reputation and superstar status really detracts from the game.
If I remember right Michael Jordan never (or almost never) fouled out of games which I find ridiculously unlikely to have happened without a lot of referees looking the other way. I can't begin to count the number of extra steps superstars get to t
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Re:Technology of the NBA (Score:4, Funny)
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NBA GamesStats (Score:1, Interesting)
As for a truly automated system, there were rumors years ago about putting sensors in the floor, around the rim and backboard, and in the ball. Unfortunately, that is an expensive proposition and some people complained about sensors in the ball would be tampering.
Seattle SuperSonics (Score:1, Interesting)
It's worth it though. You get to play Horse before the fans arrive.
Two blasts from the past: "NBA" and "NetworkWorld" (Score:1, Flamebait)
Comment removed (Score:5, Funny)
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