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ESPN's bowl coverage swaps out the telestrator for augmented reality GameView
We dug into ESPN's use of the Xbox 360 and EA Sports games to power its Virtual Playbook segments last year, but in preparation for this round of BCS bowl games it's upgraded the system with a bit of augmented reality. The new GameView system uses a tabletop 70-inch touchscreen LCD, a copy of NCAA Football '12 and four dedicated workstations to blend everything together and create a simulation for viewers to see the analysts move virtual players around the field. It should at least be more interesting than CNN's previous election coverage implementation, although we're mostly wondering when a combo of Kinect, Surface and old school electronic football will bring the experience directly to our living rooms to play around with. Check out the gallery for a few more screens and expect to see this implemented more during the upcoming big time bowl games -- no, there's no secret code Desmond Howard can input to get a national championship game between two college football teams that haven't already played each other, we asked.
Oceanic TWC orders up 6000 HD DVRs for Hawaii vs. Georgia bowl game
Sure, the University of Hawaii has a legitimate gripe for not being in the BCS Championship game -- you know, considering its undefeated record and all -- but islanders are apparently just as stoked to have their Warriors in the Allstate Sugar Bowl. Oceanic Time Warner Cable (partly owned by Time Warner, parent company of AOL, which owns Engadget) announced that it ordered up (and received) some 6,000 HD DVRs in anticipation of a spike in demand stemming from the upcoming bowl game. Reportedly, over 3,000 subscribers have been on a waiting list since December 1st to get their box in time for the New Year's day matchup, and Oceanic also noted that it would be extending business hours for O'ahu residents to get their hands around a box in time for the tilt. Of course, users not on said waiting list will be helped on a "first come, first served" basis, so we'd get a move on if you're scouting one.
