Orad’s 3D Graphics Solutions Offers the Moon and More to Turner NBA All-Star Viewers

During four
days of NBA All-Star Week coverage this month, Turner Sports deployed Orad
Hi-Tec Systems real-time 3D graphics solutions to make reality virtual. Among
other things, Orad’s graphics systems transformed the full moon into the Turner
logo, enhanced hazy mountains, and created virtual scoreboards on the skyline
of Phoenix.

“This
is our second year working with the Orad graphics solutions during NBA All-Star
Week, and I have to say the effects were incredible, a complete success,” says
Jordan Shorthouse, art director for Turner Sports. “In my view, virtual
enhancements are the future of broadcast because the more we learn about their
use, the better we get, and the more we can do. Viewers enjoy being
entertained, and the sophisticated effects we create using the Orad systems are
great entertainment.”

Turner
relied on the Orad 3DPlay solutions to enliven the entertainment experience for
viewers throughout the four-day NBA All-Star broadcast. For example, to orient
viewers to host city Phoenix,
Ariz., Turner relied on shots
taken from the 22nd floor of a downtown building.

Unfortunately,
real-life views of the outlying Phoenix
Mountains were
disappointingly hazy and washed out. To compensate, Shorthouse found stock
images of the mountains which were then enhanced using Orad’s 3Designer and
dropped into shots in real-time using 3DPlay. The result was so realistic it
amazed not only viewers, but also the Turner director.

Turner also
used the Orad solutions for the virtual inclusion of scoring updates and promos
on the sides of prominent buildings within the skyline. And one night, when a
cameraman noticed an especially beautiful full moon over the city, Orad
solutions enabled the moon to be both repositioned into the shot and redesigned
so that it morphed into the TNT logo before viewers’ eyes.

“Orad’s
advanced technology and capable customer support allowed Turner to realize
graphic effects that are beyond the capabilities of any other platform or
broadcaster,” says Avi Sharir, CEO and president of Orad Hi-Tec Systems.
“The high reliability and versatility of the Orad solution surpassed
Turner’s requirements, enabling them to create broadcasts that run smoothly and
are entertaining.”