Bell Media’s TSN app for iOS and Android has launched a new live interactive feature called 5G View.
The 5G View feature lets hockey fans take control of cameras to view various angles on any play, allowing a user to zoom in and out during a live game. The 5G View feature also is available for on-demand highlights of hockey games.
Bell says this the “single largest technology effort of its kind,” leveraging over 80 time-slice cameras installed at the Bell Centre in Montreal, using 1,500 metres of fibre, plus 96 dedicated servers and a new control center for 5G View, which leverages hardware and technology from San Francisco-based 4DReplay.
“Combining Canada’s fastest mobile network with our leading sports properties allows hockey fans to benefit from our world-leading 5G technology’s ability to deliver an all-new sports viewing experience,” said Nauby Jacob, Bell Media’s Senior Vice President, Product Platforms, in a statement to iPhone in Canada. “TSN 5G View / Vision 5G RDS is a great example of our commitment to leverage Bell’s technology leadership to offer our customers the best content on the most innovative platforms.”
The TSN 5G View feature is only available for home games of the Montreal Canadiens, with tonight’s matchup against the Vancouver Canucks kicking off its debut.
You will need the following to access 5G View from Bell:
While Bell says TSN 5G View is available “at no additional charge,” it says “data charges may apply depending on a customer’s service plan.”
TSN 5G view will use 75 MB per minute of data, versus 15 MB per minute for regular video streaming. The feature is only available to Bell Mobility customers with a TSN subscription. So that means Rogers and Telus customers, for example, cannot use TSN 5G View.
Bell says you can use TSN 5G View on Wi-Fi with a minimum 50 Mbps download and 5GHz channel frequency, but it “works best on the Bell 5G mobile network”, which uses hardware from partners Nokia and Ericsson.
New 5G mobile technology takes fans into the rink on their smartphones, rotating around the action supported by 80+ in-game cameras broadcast live within the TSN/RDS App. More on https://t.co/G9q3rtrWJB pic.twitter.com/IBJhkkZc8K
— TSN PR (@TSN_PR) March 19, 2021
It’ll be interesting to see how TSN 5G View plays out, considering it’s only limited to Bell customers with a 5G data plan and a TSN subscription.
Back in 2014, Rogers NHL GameCenter Live offered an interactive live feature for hockey games, also available only for mobile viewers. The feature allowed viewers to see aerial views and also from a referee’s point of view, by putting a camera on top of the helmet of the latter.
