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maltatoday, SUNDAY, 11 MAY 2014 47 WORLD CUP SPECIAL Sport From 4G to 4K: Technological aspects of Brazil 2014 Technology is set to be one of the stars at the Brazil 2014 World Cup: it vows to settle ghost goal controversies, connect Brazil to the world, link fans and footballers to each other, offer footage with the greatest quality ever seen at a similar event, and send signals to satellites who can then distribute it around the world IGNACIO ENCABO WHEN the "land of football" host the 1950 World Cup, more than 200,000 people watched the final on site at Maracana. Away from the Rio de Janeiro stadium, how- ever, no one got live TV coverage. The match got to people's homes later, and in black and white. Now, 64 years later, everything is set to be different. The new Maracana fits only 73,531 specta- tors. However, the final is expect- ed to be watched live by close to 1 billion people - on colour TV, and in many cases in high definition. The World Cup has grown in international significance with every new edition of the event, thanks to the intrinsic power of football and also to the power of technology. Brazil 2014 is set to reach every country, be it through television, the radio or the Inter- net, in three dimensions (3D), high definition (HD), or "super high" definition. And there is set to be more: FIFA intends to offer groundbreak- ing audiovisual coverage of the event, and it is set to record three matches – one in the round of 16, one in the quarter-finals, and the final – in the new 4K format. The governing body of world football speaks of "a unique, fas- cinating experience." "4K will propel fans around the globe into a whole new viewing di- mension, and it marks the dawn- ing of a new era in the broadcast- ing of sport," said FIFA's director of TV Niclas Ericson. However, the truth is that only very few people in the world have TV sets which can process a 4K signal. In fact, only very few TV networks would be willing to broadcast in that format at all, since it takes up four times more bandwidth than an HD broadcast and its target audience is tiny: it is perceived as an unviable busi- ness. "It is wonderful. It looks like 3D. They showed it in London 2012, and you saw the sand jump onto your face," said Malco Falco, a TV director with the Spanish net- work TVE who already worked in South Africa 2010. "It is very beautiful, but not very realistic at this point." A more realistic feature is the use of much-anticipated goal-line technology, through a 14-camera system called upon to end a de- bate that is almost as old as foot- ball itself. This technology, which was tested during last year's Con- federations Cup, is set to make its World Cup debut in Brazil 2014. World Cup history is full of goals that were wrongly disallowed and goals that were allowed but should not have been. The most famous among the latter was the one that gave England the title at the 1966 World Cup. "There was not one single mis- take. It is 100 per cent safe," Goal- Control director Dirk Broich- hausen enthusiastically said during the Confederations Cup of the technology his company supply. Brazil 2014 stadiums are set to feature more cameras than play- ers: the 14 goal-line technology cameras are to be joined by those used in FIFA broadcasts, those belonging to each TV network, and one that is more agile than all the rest, the so-called "Spider- cam." The Spidercam – which hangs from 16 wires and moves at very high speed in search for its preys, the players – is set to watch foot- ballers' movements from above, with impossible angles given that it can rotate 360 degrees around its own axis. Those who do not get to watch the World Cup live through the Spidercam and company will be able to follow events in Brazil on the interactive platform that FIFA is set to build on its website. FIFA is to offer interviews, live com- mentary, match videos, immedi- ate 3D images and lots of details about the 32 participants, though it will probably not echo scandals or critical information. The 12 stadiums that are set to host World Cup matches are to have a 4G connection which al- lows users to surf the web at high speed. This is a must in the age of smartphones and social net- works, although Brazil's infra- structure problems emerge as a threat for such processes. Some national team coaches banned their players from using their Facebook and Twitter pro- files in South Africa 2010. Four years later, there is a real social network hype around the world, as a consequence of technological evolution, and the world of foot- ball is well aware of that. DPA Brazil 2014 stadiums are set to feature more cameras than players. Photo by Sven Simon - dpa