Since March 29, Apple has been offering Vision Pro owners a five-minute mini-documentary in football stadiums, on the MLS playoffs (the American championship). A video that Numerama watched and which completely redefines the way to follow a match.
After missing qualification for the MLS final, Léo Messi is not the star of Apple’s space mini-documentary on the last matches of the American football championship. And, in a way, it’s not any worse. The Argentinian would have stolen the show, while there is a lot to say about this immersive experience of a new kind.
In a 5 minute and 8 second video, Apple shows what broadcasting a sporting event remotely could look like, in the more or less near future. Forget the camera that films a wide field, make way for teleportation to the edge of the field, even on the field or in the locker room. All with as much depth as in the real world, with life-size players and the feeling of being there. It’s impossible not to have a big smile when you love football. The most teasing would also say that this is the first time that an MLS match has been interesting.
Visually, it’s almost perfect.
First important reminder: the Apple Vision Pro is a mixed/virtual reality headset launched by Apple in February 2024, only in the United States (an international release should arrive soon).
When you wear it, you have Micro-OLED screens in front of your eyes, with an unprecedented resolution for consumer technology. It is almost impossible to distinguish any single pixel, while the colors and contrast are perfect. The only flaw: we have the impression of looking at the world through binoculars, since we see the contours of the mask.
With the Vision Pro, Apple allows two uses:
- There mixed reality, which allows you to see the real world through cameras. We then place virtual windows in reality.
- There virtual reality, with so-called “immersive” content. That’s what we’re talking about here.
In the app Apple TV, the brand offers several immersive videos, to provide a technical demo of its product. On March 29, she added the mini-film “2023 MLS Cup Highlights”, filmed in December 2023. This is free content, which blocks screenshots for rights reasons (sorry). This mini-documentary is filmed in 180 degrees 3D, which means that we can see depth like in the real world, with an image that covers the entire vision. On the other hand, you cannot look behind yourself. Apple thinks that 360 degrees is a pain, since we always miss something.
When we start the documentary, we find ourselves at the edge of the lawn. We see the players entering the field (in real size, they are really in front of us), we see the public preparing their tifo, we see the journalists on the pitch, we see the training sessions, we see the players entering … The first minute is a slap in the face, in terms of realism. It’s not just a virtual reality video, it’s the feeling of being teleported to a place. The visual quality is so spot on that you could swear it’s the real world.
Even crazier, the matches. Apple filmed several extracts from the MLS playoffs in 3D, with many goals. In particular, we can observe the goalkeeper from behind, as if we were in his place. It’s even more impressive than in a stadium, thanks to the proximity to the players. Every goal seems so real.
Finally, the last clip of the video shows the MLS Cup final between Columbus Crew and Los Angeles FC. The three goals are filmed, as are the public… After fireworks and the presentation of the trophy, we finish in the locker rooms of the Columbus Crew, who are dancing to Freed from Desire (small souvenir of the 2022 World Cup). The players party and drink beer in the Cup, with drops bouncing off us. Breathtaking.
Little funny detail: during a goal, a hand enters the camera’s field, on the right. It makes you jump a little, which also shows one of the limits of this ultra-realistic immersion.
Technically, can we really imagine matches like that?
Is immersive video the future of sports broadcasting? Maybe, but there are still plenty of questions.
First of all, what equipment is needed to make such a film? Some point out that Apple’s video comes out more than 100 days after the final, which is a long time for the sport. Apple’s binocular cameras seem relatively small (seen in the image below), but how much storage is needed for a minute of footage? Similarly, what bandwidth would it take to stream a live match in 4K 3D at 180 degrees?
There is also the question of rights. Apple is the exclusive broadcaster of MLS worldwide, which allows it to do whatever it wants. But when will other competitions create conditions for immersive videos, and with what means? As it stands, imagining a Champions League or a World Cup in 180 degrees 3D seems utopian. Even more with just one compatible headset, at such a high price.
Regardless, Apple’s demonstration leaves no doubt: a high-end virtual reality headset is an excellent way to consume sports at home. While waiting to generalize 180 degree 3D, Apple can hope that broadcasters create visionOS applications, with several superimposed screens in mixed reality (several matches, stats, a view of the field, augmented data, etc.).
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