5G mobile services launched — watching sports to get more interesting with real-time engagement

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 5G mobile services at the India Mobile Congress in New Delhi on Saturday, paving the way for a life-immersive sports experience. From real-time broadcasts to hosting Netflix watch parties, 5G technology will enable people to engage more in the game and enhance their experience while watching live streaming of any event.

Here, 4K technology plays an important role. Right now, sports are not streamed in 4k resolution — first, due to a lack of technology supporting it and second, because it involves transferring a huge amount of data. Currently, the satellite uplink is converted to 1080 (or HD) and streamed to Hotstar, et al.

Also, if you are in a stadium and far away from players, you may want a closer look at the game and know more about the player and their moves or the weather forecast in the game location.

Using binoculars is still an option, but now, with the launch of 5G, the service is expected to take this to the next level, allowing a real-time, personalised experience for people. It will improve the stadium experience as well. For this, you would just need to use your phones to view and analyse the specifics of the game.

Hence, 5G will definitely be an incentive for those watching games at home. This will also allow high-resolution broadcasts of any sporting event. But how?

Traditionally, during sports broadcasts, feed from multiple cameras covering a sports event comes into a producer’s room, who then switches between camera feeds. This is what we see on TV during a cricket match.

In theory, 5G is supposed to enable simultaneous multicam feed being beamed to the user directly, giving fans the freedom of switching between different angles. Again, this involves the movement of a tremendous amount of data, which only 5G can offer.

Similar is the case with 'Netflix Party' or 'Teleparty' — a way to watch TV with your friends online. "Teleparty synchronizes video playback and adds group chat to Netflix, Disney Plus, Hulu, HBO Max, and Amazon Prime."

Here, 5G is expected to offer sports fans in a remote location an evolved, unlimited, uninterrupted and high-quality experience.