Aryan Singh

Next Level: Xavi Drops In For A Hologram Interview On LaLigaTV

Barcelona, La Liga, LaLigaTV, Xavi

Despite being regularly dwarfed by the Premier League in terms of viewership, La Liga remains a class apart as far as match coverage is concerned.

Ever since the 2016-17 season, the Spanish Top-flight has been stepping up its game in providing a premium match-viewing experience for fans.

It all started through a neat partnership with Intel, allowing the company to leverage their technology and set up 32 cameras around select La Liga venues.

Through this arrangement, Intel have been able to provide 360° Replays for virtually every moment of a match, and they really are cutting-edge as they sound.

Even the team sheet and scoreboard graphics La Liga present during their live broadcasts look sharper and more polished than any of their European counterparts, cementing their Football broadcasts as the most technologically advanced.

And as it turns out, they aren’t done raising the bar just yet.

In fact, the latest bit of technology incorporated by La Liga TV is something ripped straight out of science fiction, and it really goes on to show just how far ahead of the pack the league is.

Going full on ‘Star Wars’, La Liga TV’s post-match coverage now features holograms, as shown off after Barcelona‘s league tie against Atletico Madrid.

Instead of conducting a conventional post-match interview with Barcelona manager Xavi, the league decided to go the high-tech route.

Stripping away the sponsor boards, and even the interviewer, the Spanish Gaffer was streamed as a hologram directly into La Liga TV’s studio.

Probably achieved by training numerous cameras on the ex-Barca player, he was projected into the studio in real-time, and he went on to deliver a tactical breakdown of his side’s display.

Xavi also interacted with the panel of pundits present for the coverage, and it was all televised seamlessly to millions worldwide.

Despite streaming a live hologram interacting with pundits situated in a studio miles away and even replays playing in the foreground, the latency was surprisingly minimal.

The tech behind it all is evidently sublime, and it was all just very very cool to see.

Fans on Twitter were similarly amazed by the sight, and they were calls for this treatment to be extended to clubs outside of the
‘Top 2’.

The future is really here folks, and it’s about time the other European leagues catch on.