Editorial: ESPN bypasses corporate red tape with iPad and Xbox 360, wannabe innovators should take note
By Darren Murph 
posted June 12th 2010 11:12AM
posted June 12th 2010 11:12AM
As part of our ESPN walkthrough in the shooting of a forthcoming Engadget Show segment, we stumbled upon a telestrator demo that involved the use of Apple's newly released iPad to control on-screen graphics, overlays, doodle input, shading, etc. If you've ever witnessed a sportscaster break down a play on ESPN by freezing the frame, marking up the screen and pointing out details in the shot using a variety of red lines and highlights, then you know what we're getting at. The tool used to decorate the display is dubbed a telestrator, and needless to say, the multitouch iPad has enabled ESPN to place a bevy of new options into the hands of its hard working analysts. There was also an iPod touch alongside of it for times when an iPad would be too bulky, but the solution generally ran as such: a VNC client was loaded on the iPad (and iPod touch, for what it's worth), and the outfit's Windows XP-based control interface was beamed over WiFi for use on the set. That's it. Staggeringly simple, yet incredibly effective. The in-house network enabled the WinXP boxes and the iDevices to interact seamlessly, with absolutely no perceived lag. We were able to toss an Engadget logo onto a Nebraska freeze frame with ease, and we're crossing our fingers that it makes the cut once college football season kicks off later in the summer.
The wildest part is that ESPN is actively using the iPad and iPod touch to dictate screens on live telecasts right now. As in, today (Junior). The iPad has been out for just over two months, yet somehow ESPN -- a massive corporation that should technically have all sorts of red tape bogging down this type of forward thinking -- has managed to not only get a setup working in its labs, but actually get the new setup working and onto shows that we're enjoying each and every day. Let's try reiterating this another way: a broadcasting company that is oft hailed for having some of the best graphics and on-screen technology in the universe is using the same tablet that you gave your mom for Mother's Day to do it. No proprietary hoopla, no overpriced / underpowered PDA from yesteryear -- just an average iPad that any Joe or Jane can pick up today and shoehorn into their life. Going from purchase to live-on-the-tele in two months is no small feat, and ESPN deserves a massive amount of credit for being both quick on its feet and ambivalent to the usual pressures of corporate acceptance.
As for the Xbox 360? It's being used for similar reasons. Put simply, ESPN's techies have no interest in wasting months and years creating proprietary IP that they could theoretically sell to others in the future. Instead, they're interested in serving the fan, and serving the fan involves using whatever tools are readily available in order to push the envelope faster than the competition. Each of the Virtual Playbook segments that you see on ESPN relies on just a couple of things: a developer Xbox 360 (slightly modded for integration into a broadcasting company) and a copy of an EA Sports title. Oh, and that same iPad to highlight players as the virtual play unfolds to viewers around the world. Just think about that: instead of waiting eight years for Pixar to create some sort of crazy new graphics scheme to let ESPN build their own plays and discuss them on-air, these folks picked up a $200 game console and started banging away on the code to make it happen.
We were also briefed on a forthcoming motion capture system that'll allow the network to show how high a skateboarder (and eventually, a snowboarder) is rising in a big air competition... in real time. And we're not talking about some guesstimating solution; we're talking about embedding tracking tags onto the bottom of decks and using an array of simple, off-the-shelf object tracking sensors to show how high a skater is going as the trick unfolds. The real kicker? These tags are the same ones used by logistics companies to manage inventory in warehouses, and ESPN's primary test subject is an unused office chair with tags strapped to the arms. You may laugh, but what this proves is that ESPN is still thinking like a startup and using whatever is at their disposal at the moment to beat the competition to the punch. Can you imagine the progress we'd see if major software vendors, standards makers and hardware manufacturers took a similar approach? Folks, it took seven years for the 802.11n draft to be "certified." It'll take ESPN fewer than a dozen months to change the way the world views new heights set by X-Gamers.
Upon talking to those involved with the projects discussed here, we got the impression that the bigwigs basically let the technologists run their own show (within reason, of course). They understand that ESPN wouldn't be anywhere near where it is without its innovating approach, and by letting the kids in the sandbox play with whatever toys they can get their hands on, the entire network is able to reap the benefits. Somehow, ESPN is able to be nimble in a world that's too often bogged down by authorization meetings and endless approvals by executives who have no idea what's truly going on. We can't count the times we've questioned a company on what's obviously a boneheaded decision, only to be told that focus groups and fancy algorithms assured them that the public would love it. If more companies would stop overthinking things and start having fun, we're pretty confident that we'd see more innovation, more discovery and less waiting for the next big thing.
Awesome article...
lol... When I saw "obviously a boneheaded decision" I was sure you would link to the cancellation of the courier... Guess not.
"Put simply, ESPN's techies have no interest in wasting months and years creating proprietary IP that they could theoretically sell to others in the future. Instead, they're interested in serving the fan..."
I don't know about all THAT. I mean ESPN is first and foremost a broadcast network, and they exist to make money for the parent company. This fast pace of innovation is just what is necessary to stay ahead of competitors. It just happens to be the easiest, quickest and most efficient way to make the most revenue. I don't see how using an iPad instead of a proprietary system "serves the fan" any more or less, but it is cheaper and more efficient, so it serves the interests of ESPN and Disney.
@scoot I would say possibly free since disney owns espn and Steve jobs is on the baord and holds a huge amount of disney stock since the pixar aquisition.
The time between idea and implementation is impressive but that is about it. Since this is simply using the iPad to control a more powerful PC I suppose they could have been running VNC on a netbook/laptop/iPod Touch long before the iPad came out and then just decided to switch to the iPad when the tech became available. On the other hand, some would say it's risky to use an unproven technology in a live broadcast scenario without more thorough testing.
I do object to Engadget implying that any Joe Schmo can do ESPN graphics on an iPad. The rendering systems alone can cost north of $100,000 and usually not less than $50,000. That price is not considering all the storage systems and intermediary computers which further increase the cost. I'm fairly sure that ESPN uses VizRT for their on-air graphics and the systems can be extremely complex.
On a side note, as a broadcast professional I find Engadget pieces like this extremely informative and entertaining and unlike other coverage of the broadcast industry which seems like it is always sponsored by some company trying to promote their wares. Maybe it's time for an "Engadget Production"?
@invisible21 Thanks!
And no, I don't imply that anyone can do ESPN graphics. I imply that ESPN chooses to use off-the-shelf parts that any Joe can buy, in at least some areas. That says a lot to me about their open-mind and ability to try things for the sake of trying them.
You forgot to mention that steve jobs is on Disneys board so OF COURSE disney will start using apple products.
@hated one What does that mean ? When disney bought apple steve jobs got a ton of stock out of the deal.
He is the single LARGEST stock holder of Disney. The new Disney stores are being modeled after the apple stores also.
So why call me a DEE DEEE?
Of course Steve Jobs wants disney to use apple products . HE essentially has a controlling interest of disney.
PS ESPN is owned by disney.
@majortom1981
Disney didn't buy Apple, they bought Pixar, another rather successful company Jobs played an important role in building.
Sooo....they're simply using an iPad as a remote terminal to a Windows box. That's interesing, but I'm not sure it's "innovative". In any event, the same thing could be done with just about any tablet that has WiFi and VNC (or other similar software) ported to it. One running Windows XP or 7 could actually use the native RDP client, possibly with better performance in terms of "perceived lag" (in my own experience comparing VNC to RDP, RDP wins).
@JackInLA The point is not that running a VNC app is "simple." The point is that a multi-billion dollar corporation choose to use an off-the-shelf solution in order to get new technology on the air faster versus waiting on some suit to sign off on some lousy proprietary solution a year late.
If you've never been saddled by corporate overhead before, you wouldn't really understand.
@DarrenMurph I have been and currently am "saddled by corporate overhead", so what I understand is that this sort of thing happens all the time, although I suppose not with Engadget's favorite "pet" gadget.
@DarrenMurph
No. The point is that this is a dog and pony show for Apple technology in particular when it's only being used as a dumb terminal. That means that it is really nothing special. Any other production tablet would have done. It's just that the iPad happens to be the flavor of the month.
Some details about their VNC implementation would be cool. My own experiments with it have been less than satisfying.
@jedi Well try Citrix I've found it works quite well on my iPhone been watching Flash content in Internet explorer for quite a while now.
interesting; just shows what's going to happen over the next few years when tablets become common and even more powerful, everyone will be using them for whatever strikes their fancy. too bad the courier got cancelled, that was an amazing machine.
@hated one
English!
I don't think its that amazing at all that the iPad was used so quickly. If they have been using the ipod touch for sometime then all security concerns have already been addressed since they are essentially the same OS . If makes sense that no red tape was needed on this.
Allthat wonderful technology, and they still can't figure out how to get rid of Joe Morgon? Sad times. :(
So what happens to the telestrator when the iPad loses its WiFi connection every 15 minutes?
Would be nice if ESPN would bypass some other corporate red tape and get ESPN3.com onto the iPhone/iPod/iPad already.
Awesome Billy Madison reference. Shampoo is better.
Senior IT guy "Eric" says: Gene, wait! Why don't you lay down that ipad right now. With us. Together.
[ long pause while Gene looks around at the ESPN CT headquarters]
Gene: Do you mean that, Eric?
Eric: Oh, yeah.
Buck: He speaks for all of us.
Gene: Thank you.
Bruce (producer): Babies.. before we're done here.. y'all be wearing gold-plated diapers.
but... but... but...
The iPad is only a consumption device, not a creation device, it's a toy according to thousands of geekish bloggers...
/head explodes
/sarcasm
A THIN CLIENT can do almost ANYTHING.
Its very cool to see a large corporation like this that has made the decision to be nimble and wrap their head around innovative ways to utilize new technology.
Daryl Welch
www.affordablewebtechnology.com
did you realize that Apple.com/ipad is linking here?