Apple Vision Pro's Immersive Video offers a groundbreaking, premium viewing experience for live NBA games, providing unparalleled camera angles and interactive features that redefine sports broadcasting.
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This is such a tight game. Oh my god, they pushed LeBron. Oh my god,
they're fighting. Dang. It's getting so No, didn't get it.
So we just watched the full two-hour LIVE NBA game last night on Apple Vision Pro — Lakers versus
Bucks — in full 180-degree Apple Immersive Video, together with Keeley and Kimchi.
Let me recap the experience, because if you missed this one, I want you to know exactly
what to expect for the next live game - which is February 5 the Lakers vs 76ers
So what you’re seeing right now is the through-the-lens capture. As all NBA
Games are copyright protected with DRM - Digital Rights Management, just like Apple TV content.
This is classic Apple Immersive Video — full 180, true 3D, running at 90fps,
with a measured peak bitrate of around 150 megabits per second based on our testing.
For context, we’re on fiber
with Wi-Fi 6, so very fast internet.
One thing I really like is that I can switch this into a Spatial Video mode,
watching it in a 16:9 window, while pulling up YouTube at the same time
to manage our reaction livestream and interact with Keeley and Kimchi live.
So this is not an isolated experience like the Meta or other VR platforms.
You actually get to choose how you want to watch it.
That said — for me — the best way to experience this is still full immersive 180.
Camera coverage is where this really shines.
There are at least six camera positions on the court.
Two basketball stanchion cameras, mounted alongside the traditional 2D broadcast cameras.
One camera on the scoreboard table. One high-and-wide camera — which,
in broadcast terms, sits above the crowd between the VIP booth and the
court next to ESPN or house camera. This is typically where the affordable seats
would be in a live arena, and it’s mainly used for stats, environment, and context.
Then there are camera positions that Meta’s NBA experience doesn’t have.
There’s a moving camera on the court used for halftime, the national anthem,
player interactions, pregame content, and even the Lakers Girls dance segments. Everyone love to
watch the Lakers Girls live and Spectrum SportsNet on Apple Vision Pro is the best way to watch it.
If you’ve ever had a true courtside VIP seat, you’ve seen this perspective.
For most people, this is a completely new experience.
They also have a special announcer camera courtside under the stanchion,
right in the media area.
During downtime, the commentator talks directly to the camera,
to the viewers — but what makes it special is that you still see everything
happening behind him. That context is really powerful, and very immersive.
They also have dedicated Vision Pro commentators,
completely separate from the traditional 2D broadcast team.
That matters. It shows this was
designed specifically for Apple Vision Pro viewers.
It feels premium. It feels intentional. Immersive finally carries the same weight
as traditional 2D broadcasts - not as an afterthought. As someone who’s worked in
the broadcast space for over ten years as an operator, we’ve come a long way.
There’s also a camera mounted at the Lakers tunnel side, capturing player run-ins and run-outs.
And even a press room camera behind the arena, next to player Green Room for interviews — likely
captured before the game, but still impressive to see included as a broadcast package.
If the Lakers had won last night, there would have been a post-game interview with
the SportsNet host. Unfortunately… Lakers lost. So no postgame interview this time.
Let’s talk graphics.
There’s a full
live 3D graphics package during the game. If you look down while in immersive 180, you’ll
see live stats rendered stereoscopically — you can see this clearly in the through-the-lens footage.
This is especially useful if you’re into stats or sports betting.
There are clear graphics that tell you when you’re watching live versus replay — transitional
elements that help re-orient you. They use hard cuts instead of fade-to-black,
but the stereo depth between cuts stays consistent, which is actually very impressive.
The end result is a longer,
more comfortable viewing experience — without needing to take the headset off.
As you saw in our livestream, we watched the entire two-hour game without taking
the Vision Pro off. I honestly can’t say that about any other headset.
This goes beyond headset comfort — it’s the program’s depth consistency at work.
That said, if you’re watching in Spatial Video mode, some of these graphics get cut off.
I think Apple could reduce the size a bit and make them less intrusive.
Instant Replay is one of the most underrated features here.
It might sound normal for 2D broadcasts, but technically,
instant replay for 8K-per-eye, 90fps immersive video is extremely hard.
From a DIT perspective alone — this is wild.
They honestly deserve a Sports Emmy just for pulling this off.
NBA games move fast. In full 180, you will miss moments.
Instant replay is crucial — and they nailed it.
Audio is solid.
It’s spatial. Could it be better? Sure.
I’m not an audio specialist, so I’ll leave that discussion
to the comments — I’m curious what you all think.
During the livestream, a lot of people asked if we could manually switch camera angles.
The answer right now is no.
The director chooses the camera for you — prioritizing the closest action — and
you don’t have manual control inside the app.
There are subtitles, by the way.
I personally recommend turning them off — they’re a bit distracting and can break immersion.
As a film maker, I always am looking for the camera and I see I literally see the camera
crew for the immersive camera on the court right now. I always love looking at what
they're doing because you can always glean and learn so much from what Apple is doing
right now. And Sports Net. Yeah, they're on the court with their with their uh live setup. Oh,
so so because we we do a lot of like rolling camera angle, I believe. Oh,
really? There's a rolling camera. I can see it. I can see it. And they've got the cord. They've got
a cord wrangler. That's so cool. Oh, right there. Right there. Yeah. Oh my god. They're on the court.
Since we’re a professional camera channel, we have to talk about the camera itself.
What camera is Apple using?
You can actually tell during the live broadcast — because the image quality is
so high — that the camera is likely an special version of Blackmagic URSA Cine Immersive.
Which is exciting — because that means at some point, we can do this too.
Apple just needs to show us the path forward — the same way they already have on the VOD side.
You know what's weird to me is the color seems off to me. Like the purple, it looks blue to me. Well,
I think is blue. They're wearing blue, right? They don't No, they're not cuz it should be
purple. That's their colors. And the on the floor. Like to me, this color is blue. Wait,
hold on. You're right. You're right. I'm not color blind. It should be purple, y'all. Wait.
Should be purple. Yo, what's going on? Yeah, you're right. It's It's like a navy blue. Yeah,
like the color's off. Yeah, the color's off. During the live, we both noticed the color
gray is off. It's our home team. We know the Lakers signature purple and it is not
like what we saw on the live broadcast. I hope they can fix it in the next game.
We had a blast watching this together with Kimchi.
We even got Kimchi a special Lakers jersey, because Kimchi is a hardcore Lakers fan.
If you missed the game, full replays and highlights will be available in Apple
Immersive Video on both the Spectrum SportsNet app and the NBA app within about 24 hours.
The Lakers vs Bucks replay will be available Sunday,
January 11 at 9am Pacific. So head over to Spectrum SportsNet app on
AVP after this video so you know what to look for during that 2 hour game play.
There’s also a lot of pregame immersive 180 content available right now in super
high quality — and I highly HIGHLY recommend you to check it out.
Personally, I prefer the Spectrum SportsNet app. The immersive experience feels more polished,
and based on their 2D channel strategy, this won’t stop at NBA.
More sports are coming.
Even if you’re not a huge NBA fan, there will be something for you.
⸻
If you don’t own an Apple Vision Pro yet, I still recommend booking a demo at your local
Apple Store and asking specifically to try the NBA immersive experience on Spectrum SportsNet.
If you haven’t experienced live sports in 180-degree Apple Immersive Video,
you haven’t really experienced Vision Pro yet.
⸻ If you have
the Vision Pro and just simply miss the live game Here are the next live games you should bookmark:
February 5 — Lakers vs 76ers February 20 — Lakers vs Clippers
March 5 — Lakers vs Nuggets
March 10 — Lakers vs Timberwolves March 30 — Lakers vs Wizards
here on the channel, so if you’re new — subscribe.
I really want to know what you think.
Is this the future of live sports?
See you in the next video.
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