Immersive Los Angeles Lakers Games Coming to Vision Pro on January 9

[MacRumors]

Apple Vision Pro owners will be able to watch live basketball games in the Apple Immersive format starting on Friday, January 9, Apple said today.

Apple is partnering with Spectrum to air Los Angeles Lakers games in 3D in the Spectrum SportsNet and NBA apps. The Apple Immersive basketball games will be available to Vision Pro users in the Lakers' regional broadcast territory, which includes Southern California, Hawaii, and parts of southern Nevada. Viewers will need Spectrum internet or a provider with a package that includes Spectrum SportsNet.

For Apple Vision Pro users in other areas, Apple Immersive replays and highlights will be available nationwide and in select international markets where the Vision Pro is available (Canada, China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan will not have access). The first game replay will be available on Sunday, January 11. Replays are watchable by any Apple Vision Pro user with a free NBA ID.

Apple says that the Spectrum Front Row Apple Immersive experience features a feed of up to 150Mb/s with seven unique viewing angles. Views include the scorer's table, the area beneath each basket, a high-and-wide view of the arena, the player tunnel, the broadcast booth, and a roaming courtside perspective for interviews and commentary from Mark Rogondino and former Lakers forward Danny Green.

Viewers will be able to watch each pass, shot, and block up close, with in-game graphics like player rosters, shot clocks, and scores in 3D as if they're floating right in front of the viewer. Spatial Audio will make viewers feel as if they're watching right from the court.

Apple Immersive Lakers games will air on January 9, February 5, February 20, March 5, March 10, and March 30, with times and a full schedule available on Apple's website.

Article Link: Immersive Los Angeles Lakers Games Coming to Vision Pro on January 9

 

[Onimusha370]

2 years late, but I'll take it 🙂

 

[turbineseaplane]

Sounds great!

I'm excited to hear what the AVP owners think after taking in a few of these.

 

[samlikesmac]

Seems like a lot of hoops (no pun intended) to jump through to access this. How many people will actually be able to take advantage of this aside from the highlights?

 

[vegetassj4]

And with the new Apple ScentPods™, you get a more immersive experience than ever before seen, or smelled. It will truly be a magical experience that is light years ahead of the competition. We think you will love it.

 

[thebarrkbyte]

A sport not everyone watches and just one team.

 

[erkanasu]

1 person will prob watch this, lol what a huge waste of resources

 

[jz0309]

Would be cool if they can incorporate some of this in the Apple Store demos

 

[tennisproha]

I wanna see immersive F1 and tennis.

 

[mozumder]

So will I be able to watch it without a Spectrum account? I'm not in LA area.

 

[dba415]

awesome for the 4 people that will watch this i guess

 

[kevinlaz]

So will I be able to watch it without a Spectrum account? I'm not in LA area.

you know you could just read the very short article instead of asking questions directly addressed in said article.

 

[CarAnalogy]

I wanna see immersive F1 and tennis.

I don't think immersive F1 is likely because no one is going to be willing to strap the extra weight onto their car in a competitive race.

 

[Oestreich Dieter]

Ive always wanted to see LeBron flop in VR.

 

[Urban Splash]

A lot of effort for very few people to benefit. Very strange.

 

[turbineseaplane]

A lot of effort for very few people to benefit. Very strange.

That’s basically a description of Vision Pro overall.

 

[YankeeSR23]

So will I be able to watch it without a Spectrum account? I'm not in LA area.

If you don’t live in the area you can watch the replay on January 11th and probably 2 days after each live game.

 

[Roller]

The article says that "game replays" will be available in other markets after a delay. I misinterpreted that to mean selected replays, but Apple's website says that it actually refers to the full game. It'll be a good way for me and other AVP users to see how well it works for sporting events like this at no additional cost.

 

[nickbatz]

Hopefully it won't stop recording close games one minute before the end the way DirecTV does. 🙁

Also, it would be great if they got their own announcers. The current Lakers ones are in severe need of direction. They have to be told to talk literally a quarter as much, stop the exquisitely annoying Jaaaaaaack etc. bit, and stop emphasizing every freaking number like it's the most important one ever.

 

[ikir]

Pretty interesting!

 

[csnwbd2251]

Seems like a lot of hoops (no pun intended) to jump through to access this. How many people will actually be able to take advantage of this aside from the highlights?

Jack Nicholson will luv it!

 

[HazeAndHahmahneez]

Still makes zero sense why apple didn’t pounce all over the NFL rights with everything that they had when they could….Vision Pro would’ve sold a lot better I presume had they done so…now, time to go pounce on some of my own opportunities I have hanging about in the wind…

 

[Agent007]

Spectrum? For the discerning Vision Pro user with only the finest cable modem lol!

 

[anakin44011]

Still makes zero sense why apple didn’t pounce all over the NFL rights with everything that they had when they could….Vision Pro would’ve sold a lot better I presume had they done so…now, time to go pounce on some of my own opportunities I have hanging about in the wind…

They did, but the NFL preferred the YouTube TV Premium offering/package.

I still think an immersive 3D SkyCam would be a spectacular way to watch or rewatch NFL games...and it should just be a retrofit of the existing camera.

 

[ryanmp]

I wanna see immersive F1 and tennis.

I've now had a full F1 year using Lapz on my AVP, which is probably the best sports viewing experience I've ever seen. My normal setup is the main F1 stream center, the 3D virtual track below and the data screen above. One of the best features is being able to tap on a car on the virtual track and get a moving onboard view for that car.

I assume by immersive you are talking about the onboards? This could be good for a while, but this isn't the best way to watch F1. Having the onboards + the main view makes gives the ability to see all the angles. Also we are never going to get the video resolution and quality needed for good immersive onboards.