More Hologram Technology Coming to Cable

First it was CNN’s tomograms — not holograms — used during election night last year (remember Jessica Yellin playing the part of a Jedi Knight?) Well now ESPN is getting in the game. B&C’s Glen Dickson reports on the technology which could hit the ESPN airwaves this spring. Dickson went to Bristol to see a test:

ESPN assembled longtime anchor Chris Berman and EVP of technology Chuck Pagano in a conference room, seated some eight feet apart, with a series of large HD displays behind them. Then longtime anchor Bob Ley magically appeared, seated on a chair between them, in hologram form on the TV screens.

“This is just an example of the cutting edge technology that will save us so much money on airfare for the World Cup,” quipped Ley, who will host ESPN’s coverage of the 2010 FIFA World Cup from South Africa. Ley, who was actually seated in a green-screen set down the hall from Pagano and Berman.

Ley’s virtual appearance onscreen was remarkably realistic, without the significant image blurring seen in hologram technology used by CNN on Election Night last fall.

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