Beyond the Broadcast: Enhancing VR Tennis Broadcasting through Embedded Visualizations and Camera Techniques

TL;DR

This paper presents a novel VR tennis broadcasting system that combines embedded visualizations with cinematic camera techniques to improve viewer engagement, comprehension, and immersion, addressing limitations of current VR sports broadcasts.

Contribution

We develop a tennis-specific design framework and processing pipeline for VR broadcasting, integrating dynamic visualizations and adaptive camera movements to enhance narrative clarity and viewer experience.

Findings

System outperforms traditional VR broadcasts in user engagement

Enhanced viewer understanding of match tactics and events

Improved immersion and viewing comfort in VR tennis experiences

Abstract

Virtual Reality (VR) broadcasting has emerged as a promising medium for providing immersive viewing experiences of major sports events such as tennis. However, current VR broadcast systems often lack an effective camera language and do not adequately incorporate dynamic, in-game visualizations, limiting viewer engagement and narrative clarity. To address these limitations, we analyze 400 out-of-play segments from eight major tennis broadcasts to develop a tennis-specific design framework that effectively combines cinematic camera movements with embedded visualizations. We further refine our framework by examining 25 cinematic VR animations, comparing their camera techniques with traditional tennis broadcasts to identify key differences and inform adaptations for VR. Based on data extracted from the broadcast videos, we reconstruct a simulated game that captures the players' and ball's motion and trajectories. Leveraging this design framework and processing pipeline, we develope Beyond the Broadcast, a VR tennis viewing system that integrates embedded visualizations with adaptive camera motions to construct a comprehensive and engaging narrative. Our system dynamically overlays tactical information and key match events onto the simulated environment, enhancing viewer comprehension and narrative engagement while ensuring perceptual immersion and viewing comfort. A user study involving tennis viewers demonstrate that our approach outperforms traditional VR broadcasting methods in delivering an immersive, informative viewing experience.