NBA partners with Microsoft Teams to virtually fill the stands

If the sports competitions resume gradually, the players must evolve in enclosures emptied of their fans, health measures oblige. In the United States, the basketball federation has found a fun way to safely fill its bleachers. The resumption of the season, scheduled for July 30, will be accompanied by the installation of giant screens in front of the stands. The faces of 300 fans filmed live from their homes will be shown on the latter by videoconference. The heads and upper bodies of these supporters will be cut out to give the impression that they are sitting side by side in the stands. To offer this innovation, the NBA has teamed up with Microsoft. The 300 fans will have to connect from their computer, equipped with a webcam, to Microsoft Teams collaborative messaging. Each of them will be able to follow the match from Teams but also see the other 299 supporters live on another video stream. The NBA hopes for a natural look, which players on the field can also enjoy. Moderators will exclude any obscene or violent fan. The American Baseball Federation (MLB) prefers to believe that its stadiums are bursting at the seams by broadcasting ambient noise from video gamesMLB The Show 2020 . But the gap between the sight of empty stands and the screams of raging fans infuriated many viewers as the season resumed on July 23. The Fox channel is trying to counter this difficulty with augmented reality. A false public, totally virtual, was tackled on Saturday on the images broadcast on television.