Win or lose, it's how you see the game. Despite the recent struggles of the Blueshirts, tonight's rival matchup against the New York Islanders will have a unique twist as it will be broadcast in 3D HD.
While this is still a growing technology, this will mark the first live sports event ever broadcast in 3D. For those who haven't seen it yet, take a ride down to your local Best Buy and check it out.
To commemorate the event, MSG will be hosting a 3D viewing party at the Theater tonight. We'll be there with all the latest fan reactions, notes, and analysis so follow us on Twitter.
Here's the official release:
New York, NY – March 18, 2010 - MSG, a leader in delivering
state-of-the-art, cutting edge technology to viewers, announced today that it
will telecast the March 24 Rangers-Islanders matchup from Madison Square Garden
in 3D, the first network hockey telecast ever produced in 3D. MSG will also be the first network in America
to offer home viewers a live 3D sports telecast. In 1998, MSG was the first regular provider
of sports coverage in high-definition television, producing all Knicks and
Rangers home games in that emerging format.
The Rangers
will host a special viewing party of this historic telecast at the Theater at Madison
Square Garden that will include appearances by popular Rangers alumni Mark
Messier, Adam Graves, Ron Duguay, Nick Fotiu, Ron Greschner, Dan Blackburn and
others, as well as fan contests and giveaways . Tickets to the 3D screening are $20 and available at newyorkrangers.com via Ticketmaster. MSG HD
subscribers with 3D compatible televisions will be able to watch the telecast
on a separate channel offered by Cablevision, and MSG is in discussions with
other providers. For more information
please visit msg.com/3D.
“MSG has been a leader in delivering emerging
technology to our viewers, and a leader in high quality original programming,
including a record 64 Emmy nominations this year,” said Michael Bair,
president, MSG Media. “We were the first
regular providers of high-definition sports telecasts with Knicks and Rangers
games more than a decade ago, and we’re excited to continue this tradition of
providing the most innovative and creative telecasts to our audience.”
MSG is
planning a renovation which will be a comprehensive top-to-bottom
transformation of the arena that will enhance the experience for customers,
athletes, entertainers, fans and marketing partners. The state-of-the-art facility will also
include the most up-to-date technology throughout the arena for fans attending
events.
Longtime
Rangers voice Kenny Albert will call the play-by-play, former Ranger Dave
Maloney will serve as analyst, and Al Trautwig will serve as television host
for the evening.
The game
will be shot using 3ality Digital’s image-capturing technology, which
integrates with existing broadcast equipment for pixel-perfect 3D imagery. 3ality
Digital, which has more than a decade's worth of development work behind its
systems, has been the technology of choice behind a number of recent 3D sports
productions, including BSkyB's January Premiere League Soccer broadcast, the
first live 3D broadcasts of NFL and college football games shown in theaters,
and the 2010 Sony Open golf tournament. Gamecreek Video will provide a separate
high-definition mobile video production unit for the game, working with 3ality
Digital camera rigs and image processing systems. In the Theater at Madison
Square Garden, RealD’s 3D stereoscopic Cinema Processing System will enable the
audience to view the game in 3D via eyewear, screen and filtering
technology. A provider of advanced 3DTV-capable
technology, Harris Corporation, an international communications and information
technology company collaborating with MSG on the telecast, supplied NetVX ™
encoders and signal processing equipment that will be used to ensure
synchronous transport of the 3DTV signals from Madison Square Garden to the
network operations center.
