Expect some incredibly detailed replays from the Beijing Olympics, thanks to I-Movix and its SprintCam Live 2 HDTV camera, capable of capturing the action at 8,000 frames per second, and making them immediately ready for instant replay. You've seen their work before in Planet Earth, Future Weapons and PGA Tour coverage on CBS. This promises to be the best Olympics so far in terms of HDTV coverage and its good to know even the replay cameras are up to the task, when we want to see every detail of the first runner to break the tape. Usually photo finishes are determined using high speed cameras with still shots, but we don't know, the Olympic judges may want to join NFL refs with an HD booth all their own.

[Via HDTV Professor]

Here's an interesting one. In a wild art installation destined to debut at the Lincoln Center Festival, David Michalek will be utilizing high-definition video and slow-motion effects "to show 43 dancers moving at less than one one-hundredth of their original speed." The dancers were captured at 1,000 frames-per-second, and thanks to the additional slow down, an average five-second clip has been stretched into shorts that run between eight and twelve minutes. The project is slated to be projected on a trio of screens in uncompressed HD in the New York State Theater through July 29th, but if you're a good ways from the Big Apple, feel free to sneak a peek at the (less momentous) video in the read link.

CBS isn't resting on its reputation for quality HDTV broadcasts during the regular NFL season, as this Broadcasting & Cable article reveals its plans for Super Bowl XLI. Hopefully the person who counted all 47 HD cameras they plan to use during the game isn't the same person who thinks the matchup is between the Indianapolis Colts and the New Orleans Saints (as mentioned in the article), but no matter who is playing one thing you won't be seeing during the game is CBS' old Eye Vision 360 degree replay technology. With a cost over $2 million for an SD system, it's been shelved in favor of three ultra-high-frame-rate cameras for slow motion replays of big plays, or just for big Prince fans tuning into the halftime show. Surprisingly, all of this is still a smaller undertaking than the channel's coverage of the NCAA tournament, but here's hoping everything works out to provide a crisp 1080i picture (and 5.1 surround sound) for all.


[Via AVS Forum]