Everywhere you look, riders are festooned with gadgets. Between GPS, heart rate monitors, and video cameras, it’s sometimes hard to tell a mountain biker from a Borg. But whether you approve of the increasing gadgetization of outdoor sports or not, it’s hard to deny that watching pros do top-level stuff in HD is pretty dang amazing.
Sure, we’ve seen some crazy POV videos of downhill runs, but how much better would it be to be able to watch a televised event where they had the POV video in HD and realtime?
Well, that’s coming this year thanks to a partnership between GoPro and Vislink. They’ve developed a transmitter capable of moving HD GoPro video, so we can watch the madness in realtime.
Here’s what they have to say:
The two companies have been working together on a transmitter that is small enough to be worn or mounted in unique areas to provide all new perspectives for people watching their favorite live sports and events. The solution will be showcased during popular live events this winter, including Winter X Games 2015 Aspen, select AMA Monster Energy Supercross events and other live sporting events.
No, they didn’t mention any MTB events by name, but what is downhill MTB but unpowered motocross? The website does say that this technology is is for the broadcast market only, which is manufacturer speak for “extremely expensive,” but you can bet that if they get the bugs worked out for the big boys, sooner or later the price will come down.
It would be pretty neat to go to a race and be able to see what the leaders see as they are seeing it, kind of like the in-car cameras you get in a NASCAR or Formula 1 event. That’ll be the day!
