NFHS Game video/production quality discussion / questions

[Rattlin Steele]

In another thread  Proseteye asked:

Quote

Can someone clue me in on how the cameras work for NFHS as I use them to watch the games that are out of town? Are they facilitated by a live person or is there some sort of sensing device? They don't seem to follow the on field action very well. 

Thought we could start new thread about the subject.

[Rattlin Steele]

I think at the lowest (worst) level this is what is used:

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/pixellot

And it appears to use some sort of AI to attempt (poorly) to track the action.  

There seems to be quite a wide range of productions put out by differing schools best I can tell.

[Ray Icaza]

1 minute ago, Rattlin Steele said:

In another thread  Proseteye asked:

Thought we could start new thread about the subject.

I've watched several different games on NFHS network and quality varies tremendously from one game to the next.  So my opinion is that each school controls the quality of the broadcast, but no doubt whatsoever that it is hit and miss.  As previously mentioned, sometimes the cameraman does a poor job of following the action as well.  So don't think it is done by some sensing device.

[Perspective]

At one school in Tampa (perhaps more, perhaps all), I believe a remote camera is attached to the press box and is operated from a remote location (either by a person or electronically).  I know this doesn't add much to the discussion, but I suspect all you get is a wide view of the field from approximately the 50 yard line with the camera somehow having the ability to track either the ball or the mass of people/movement of the ball. 

 

[Rattlin Steele]

Looks like they use 2 lenses so a single very wide angle is not needed, then digitally combine the 2 images side by side.  Problem is you can often see a difference... one lense has a little more fogginess or slightly different brightness. 

I think there are some that are using no human intervention at all.  No human could be that bad!!  It's frustrating watching the focal point just randomly meander to the unused side of the field.

 

 

[DarterBlue2]

I think you are correct. At some schools there is no human intervention. As said before in this thread, the quality varies immensely from game to game. 

Miami Columbus consistently has high quality video. But the commentary is done by kids at the school and is often not that inciteful. 

On the other end of the spectrum, I watched a semifinal game between Edgewater and a Hillsborough County school a couple years ago where the quality of the video was terrible and there was no commentary at all. 

[ExplorerHomer2]

Yeah, I can confirm that the Columbus students do both the video and the commentary, even occasional sideline reporting and interviews. They even do the away games. Kids traveled to Savanah GA for the Benedictine game last week and are headed up to Jacksonville today for the Bartram Trail game tomorrow. Then again they have a nationally competitive news broadcast program

AHP used to have their student news kids do it, but not sure what happened there. They were clearly not doing this year's IMG game.

[Proseteye]

I watched the replay of a spring game between Clearwater Central Catholic and Cambridge Christian which was played at Cambridge Christian. The camera and broadcast was very well done where the camera tracking was no different than an ESPN broadcast. But, I have seen others where the camera wanders aimlessly and there is no broadcast. I am curious how an unmanned camera works at all. 

[Perspective]

9 hours ago, Proseteye said:

I watched the replay of a spring game between Clearwater Central Catholic and Cambridge Christian which was played at Cambridge Christian. The camera and broadcast was very well done where the camera tracking was no different than an ESPN broadcast. But, I have seen others where the camera wanders aimlessly and there is no broadcast. I am curious how an unmanned camera works at all. 

The very same microchip that is being hidden in the Covid vaccines is placed inside the footballs used at football games.  The cameras just follow the ball. 

Oops, did I step over the line with that one?   

[ExplorerHomer2]

22 hours ago, ExplorerHomer2 said:

Yeah, I can confirm that the Columbus students do both the video and the commentary, even occasional sideline reporting and interviews. They even do the away games. Kids traveled to Savanah GA for the Benedictine game last week and are headed up to Jacksonville today for the Bartram Trail game tomorrow. Then again they have a nationally competitive news broadcast program

AHP used to have their student news kids do it, but not sure what happened there. They were clearly not doing this year's IMG game.

I lied. Bartram Trail will be in charge of the broadcast and  play-by-play for tonight's game on NFHS. The kids missed too much school already. LOL

https://www.nfhsnetwork.com/events/bartram-trail-high-school-st-johns-fl/gam453292818d

 

[Longtime Observer]

Well, it's that time of the year again. Does anyone know if the auto-cameras are dramatically better for 2023? Because, if they are the same, all are advised to resist the temptation to spend (waste) however many dollars the monthly subscription costs. As discussed above, only the select few schools that have humans (even if they are high school kids) operating a camera can offer a product worth any amount of money.

[Nulli Secundus]

5 minutes ago, Longtime Observer said:

Well, it's that time of the year again. Does anyone know if the auto-cameras are dramatically better for 2023? Because, if they are the same, all are advised to resist the temptation to spend (waste) however many dollars the monthly subscription costs. As discussed above, only the select few schools that have humans (even if they are high school kids) operating a camera can offer a product worth any amount of money.

On another yet loosely related note.  Is it just me or did anyone else notice a DRASTIC reduction in schools that had dedicated football related resources (ie, schedules, streaming, historical data) around the time that maxpreps became more involved with the FSHAA?  I know we lived through the COVID era but some of those started disappearing before that time period.  I can't help but to wonder if that was part of the cost of doing business.  

[Longtime Observer]

1 hour ago, Nulli Secundus said:

On another yet loosely related note.  Is it just me or did anyone else notice a DRASTIC reduction in schools that had dedicated football related resources (ie, schedules, streaming, historical data) around the time that maxpreps became more involved with the FSHAA?  I know we lived through the COVID era but some of those started disappearing before that time period.  I can't help but to wonder if that was part of the cost of doing business.  

There's a certain school in Polk County that hasn't updated their roster on their own website since 2021. That same school used to offer (free) Youtube broadcasts that were generally quite good. It does seem like schools are just letting Maxpreps and NFHS do it all. It's a shame, given that those sites aren't all that great. Especially NFHS... 

[Nulli Secundus]

15 minutes ago, Longtime Observer said:

There's a certain school in Polk County that hasn't updated their roster on their own website since 2021. That same school used to offer (free) Youtube broadcasts that were generally quite good. It does seem like schools are just letting Maxpreps and NFHS do it all. It's a shame, given that those sites aren't all that great. Especially NFHS... 

We both know the school. 

[PinellasFB]

I subscribe to NFHS and I am willing to put up with their AI camera bot (I don't expect color commentary and working down/distance markers) but one thing that has always infuriated me is the audio for the VOD playback.  It is intentionally scrambled (I assume) due to bands playing copyrighted material.  I mean come on, is this really necessary?  It makes for a completely unwatchable video.