Posted Fri May 6, 2016 at 04:30 PM PDT by Steven Cohen
Virtual reality coverage of the race will kick off on May 7.
NBC Sports Group and NextVR have announced plans to offer a live virtual reality stream of the upcoming 2016 Kentucky Derby. This will be the first time that horse-racing has been covered in VR.
"We are excited to bring the pageantry and passion experienced annually by those at the Kentucky Derby even closer to viewers at home with the new medium of live virtual reality," said Rob Hyland, coordinating producer of NBC Sports Group's Triple Crown horse racing coverage.
Virtual Reality coverage of the Kentucky Derby will begin at 4 p.m. Eastern on Saturday, May 7. In addition, two races prior to the Kentucky Derby, including the Woodford Reserve Turf Classic, will also be streamed in VR. Seven virtual reality cameras will be used to capture the race from Churchill Downs with five cameras placed trackside for an uninterrupted view of the race, and two cameras in the paddock area. The audio will include race call from NBC's Larry Collmus, along with commentary from NBC announcers Tom Hammond, Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss. Extra content like feature stories, statistics, race data, and updated betting odds will also be presented in the feed.
Virtual Reality coverage of the Kentucky Derby will be available for free through the NBC channel on the NextVR portal for Samsung Gear VR headsets.
The Samsung Gear VR is a virtual reality headset that weighs just 318g and offers an FOV of 96 degrees. Gear VR currently works in conjunction with Samsung Galaxy S7, S7 edge, Galaxy Note5, Galaxy S6 edge+, Galaxy S6, and Galaxy S6 edge smartphones, using each device's super AMOLED display to help create an immersive VR experience. Suggested retail price for the Gear VR is $99.
Source: NextVR via PR Newswire
See what people are saying about this story in our forums area, or check out other recent discussions.
The latest news on all things 4K Ultra HD, blu-ray and Gear.