www.fastcompany.com: The typically flashy events surrounding the NBA All-Star Game just got exponentially flashier. Other than the game itself, the court’s hosting events, including the Slam Dunk and Three Point contests, will not just be played on the typical glossy hardwood flooring, but on a glass-covered, LED-infused, color-spewing video mega-screen.
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Growing up playing sports, I was constantly in situations where I would be in a game, and because the field/court was used for a lot of different sports, there’d be a million different lines, making it incredibly confusing. That’s definitely only one issue that technology like this can solve. When starting to read this article, I was immediately wondering all of the questions regarding whether or not it can actually act as a substitute for a traditional wooden court, and I was really interested to read the actual statistics about how it compares to a wooden court floor. I’m not heavily involved in the NBA fandom, so I hadn’t heard about this new court floor technology until now, but I bet it’s probably relatively controversial. There’s definitely someone complaining about how it will never replace a proper wooden basketball court. Because it’s going to be used at a game as high-profile as the All-Star Game, I would also definitely bet that for whichever team loses, there will be fans of that team blaming the floor, which might make for some entertaining internet content.
This seems like really cool technology, though I'm not totally sure of its value. I remember when I was a kid, I saw a concert at the venue where the washington capitals and wizards played, as well as where a number of various events were held. On the walk to the parking garage, I remember seeing storage of a bunch of the currently unused panels for the basketball court, and I thought it was really interesting how they took those out every time, but I thought it likely was a lot of work. Replacing flooring with LED screens fixes a lot of this issue (unsure how well LED screens can recreate a hockey rink, however) but I'm not sure its value with the work that needs to be done for them. These are undoubtedly a huge investment, and then software and programming will be needed to make them do what is desired. That aside, if it breaks at all, that could have large consequences. I don't know if these are necessarily the best option for the whole NBA, but they definitely add some cool effects for the All-Star game.
As a huge basketball fan I was really interested in this new technological advancement with the sport. This past winter break I went to a Miami Heat game and because I just took the Video Media Design Stagecraft class I was much more attentive to what was being projected onto not only the jumbotron screen but also the court itself. I kept pointing it out to my dad and I was also watching all of the lights around the stadium. The usage of the lights and video media projects were all entertainment based while this article is discussing using the court to show the players their errors so the coaches and players can visually understand what they are doing incorrectly and to move onto the next play. This kind of reminds me of soccer and american football and how when you watch from home the tv shows the watchers what they did and honestly I think this could really help the game move forward in future generations.
I've never been interested in sports, My entire life I was not someone who ever wanted to play a sport I observed them occasionally but honestly very rarely did I do that either. And the fact that now I can't say that anymore is mildly annoying because this floor is really cool and I'm extraordinarily interested in the in this floor and how the LEDs both affect the players and how the class screen affects the players.I really love that the article talks about my first concern which was running on glass but it's annoying that they did not even mention how the light coming up from the floor might affect the players and how that if the lights bright enough to be both picked up on camera and seen by everyone in the audience how it might be a concern whether the light will get in the player's eyes and affect their play.
This is a very cool idea, having the floor be made of LED panels. This makes so many things about the floor easier, but does also cause what could be a few problems. The LED makes it much easier to change around lines and logos, meaning the space can be used for so much more than just professional basketball for one game. I do think this will become a standard in many places where the space cannot be used for just one thing, or if turnaround needs to be quick. I do see a few potential problems, one being what would happen if a panel dies? I wonder how impactful to a game it would be to have part of the floor be black, potentially making breaks in lines that may be important to the game. I also wonder how the ball will bounce on a glass floor compared to a wood-paneled floor like many other basketball stadiums. I imagine they have already mocked it up and brought in players to make sure it feels normal, but I wonder how many iterations they would have to go through and how much that means in losses if they don't get it exactly right.
I would love to know how the players will feel about playing on a glass “sport court surface.” Because no matter how much you can engineer something to work the athletes who have played their entire career on one surface will notice a difference so I will be curious to know if any of them feel a huge difference and if they like it or not. I cannot imagine that they would be actively changing the images on the court while they are actively playing because I feel like that would be a depth perception and therefore athletic nightmare. So while I am not sure how well this will go into the game itself I do think that if I was a spectator to the game it would be such an interesting awe provoking experience. I feel like there are so many interesting ways and possibilities to how you could program this equipment. I'm sure the halftime show and or other entertainment portions that the NBA all-star game will provide will essentially just be leveled up. Sounds super cool and I will tune in to see it.
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