The NBA All-Star Game Will Be Filmed with VR Cameras

After CES back in January, everyone seemed to leave talking about two things — wearables and VR. We covered the first section, since that’s more of our bag. But we stayed away from VR for the most part since all the booths and presentations and talks mainly revolved around gaming. Companies were betting big on the idea that players wanted to feel totally immersed in the game, like they were right there. And judging by the long lines and big smiles at the Oculus Rift booth, this is the case. Now, the technology that seems to pair so well with gaming (yes, and porn) is making a move into professional sports.

According to Wired, the NBA is teaming up with Samsung to offer a VR experience for this year’s All-Star Game. Using cameras from BigLook360, the All-Star Game, the three point contest, the dunk contest, and even a dunk contest practice session will be captured.

The downside is that it won’t be streamed live. This is a technology that exists, but not one that the NBA and Samsung will be utilizing. The NBA says the footage (more of a highlights package, not the entire event) will be available a few weeks after the game. It will be offered, for free, on Samsung’s Milk VR Store. This means that the experience will only be offered to Samsung smartphone users, though there are ways to get the VR Store on other Android devices with some rooting magic.

It’s great to see the NBA venturing into the VR sphere so early in the game. Everyone seems to be pretty sure that VR is going to create some mini singularity, and we won’t understand how people lived before it existed. So while it’s new and weird and only accessible to a few people now, I imagine those who download the free footage (and purchase the not-free Gear VR Headset) will be quite impressed by the experience. And that’s what Samsung is really selling. Yes it’s trying to sell VR headsets — and to a lesser extent, phones — but it’s really trying to sell you the VR headset it releases in two years when VR is actually good. Games are a way to do that, but there are many different sectors that can get sold on the future of VR. Someone finally figured out a way to bring sports into the fold.

Providing a VR NBA experience isn’t going to catapult the technology into the mainstream. Honestly, it’s not polished enough yet. But you can get by on buzz a lot longer that you used to, and VR has that going for it in spades. Samsung is just hoping you’ll remember that solid they did for you when it’s your turn to buy into the hype.

(Image via SamsungTomorrow)