Dorna Sports has announced that this year’s MotoGP season will be shot in HD and broadcasted in high definition where available. After suffering through years of regular definition coverage that was often grainy and poorly saturated (there’s a reason MotoGP bikes have bright colors), race fans will hopefully be able to see their favorite riders lap the track in more clarity. Bonus for us American viewers, SPEED Channel has agreed to carry the races on its HD channel.
The biggest hurdle to bringing HD coverage to motorcycle fans has seemingly been the on-board footage, not to mention the logistics in bringing HD equipment to each race venue, including cameras for the aerial shots that have to be mounted to helicopters. This has meant a considerable amount of planning has been undertaken by Dorna to bring HD coverage and keep up with the rest of the sports world. Excuses aside, HD is finally here for MotoGP and for many viewers readily available with their local station that covers the races.
Taking things a step further, Dorna has teamed up with the people behind the 3D footage found in the movie Avatar, and hopes to make this coverage available as 3D televisions sets become more popular. The team has already experimented with the technology at Laguna Seca where they shot the race as a part of a 3D documentary that’s covering various sporting events (ESPN is rumored to be interested in the documentary). It’s unclear when we could see 3D shots making an appearance, but a test of it with attendees at the Indianapolis GP reportedly found the footage to be favorable. Randy de Puniet was not quoted as saying, “finally I can captivate the audience in the pit lane with my always exposed man-pecs in hi-def, and also astound them with my spectacular high-side crashed shot in three dimensions.”
Source: MotoGP
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