
The IPL 2022 broadcast will include Dolby Atmos audio support, according to Disney Star, the official broadcaster for the event. Other new technological features announced by the company include a metaverse cricket show, a new online voting system, mixed reality analysis and a new ‘Behind the Scenes’ (BTS) tech venture among others. Cricket viewers will be able to watch the IPL in Dolby Atmos on Star Sports1 HD and Star Sports1 Hindi HD.
Dolby Atmos is a surround sound technology developed by Dolby that expanded on extant surround sound technologies by adding height channels that allow users to interpret sound in three dimensions.
According to Gupta, Disney Star is also working on building a cricket show in the metaverse. Disney Star is also introducing an online voting and polling platform for fans through Megaphone during this year’s IPL.
The new experience will “allow viewers to shape the editorial discourse during shows and build a connection between the opinions of Star Sports’ experts and audiences,” according to the company. Star Sports presenters will also be bringing mixed reality analysis to this year’s IPL with the data-driven ‘Hawkeye’graphics using a mixed reality headset, using technology developed by Star Lab, Disney Star’s R&D arm.
Further, Disney Star’s new BTS venture is experimenting with a distributed production model using cloud production that is aimed at eventually eliminating hardware and geographical location dependencies for live sports productions.
Other technological innovations in the broadcast of this year’s IPL announced by the company includes ball-by-ball fielding analysis based on on-ground player tracking, virtual multi-screen illustration, and a new virtual studio environment that can supposedly create the illusion that graphics are real three-dimensional physical objects.