Recently, a Rugby league has been toying with the idea of attaching HD cameras, much like a GoPro in size, to the heads of referees to live stream during sporting events. By doing this, it allows the viewers to get a point of view feed right in the heart of all the action. With advancing video technology, will this become the sport standard in the next few years?
At this point, its just been an experiment with a Rugby league. However, fans have been very outspoken on the idea of adapting this to all sports in the upcoming years. It seems as though the latest lines of cameras have been built for this. The latest GoPro Hero3 for example, sports WiFi, fast frame rates and wonderful resolution, making the ability to stream live events painless.
However, with such technology, it could really end up undermining the job of the referee. Bad calls will immediately be viewed by thousands of people, calls that otherwise may go unnoticed. Though fans argue that it would provide some transparency, and end the possibility of rigged sports, and making play reviews even better.
Perhaps, sometime in the near future, you'll be watching boxing matches as if you're in the ring; watching that 100 mph fast ball fly over home plate; or even watching that black rubber puck slide across the ice in front of you. As for now, its an experiment, but this sports fan is excited for its adaptation into all sports.
cool! love the intimate video! when will photographers start mounting gopros and other cameras on their dslrs to capture video throughout the shoot? we've been trying such things for a couple years with amazing video results! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--_NJ_pE77M :) the less we edit the video, the more our fans love them, as it takes them to the photoshoot. :)
we hope to broadcast a shoot live soon using a gopro black or a sony nex with wifi. mounting a video camera on a dslr could be a great aid in developing tutorials and teaching too, as one could narrate through the shoot and describe what one is doing. even simple directions given to the model could be of interest and lend to a cool tutorial. here you can see a bit of conversation/hear the voices: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zP_119wiMn4
It won't happen here in the USA. MLB, NFL and the NBA protect their ref's and umpires big time. They would never allow this to happen.
Never say never.
Looks awesome, very exciting and I hope more sports take this on board.
p.s. Rugby league is a type of Rugby.. this is Rugby union, a different type... Quite confusing the way you have worded that first sentence.