Skycam

Skycam was first publicly used in fall 1984, at a preseason National Football League (NFL) game in San Diego between the Chargers and 49ers, televised by CBS.

[11] The XFL was one of the first leagues to make extensive use of the Skycam as a primary camera angle for broadcasts when it debuted in spring 2001.

[12] Traditional camera angles were used more prominently after the first week of play; the "Xcam" (as it was known in that league's broadcasts) remained in regular use throughout the rest of the season.

[19][20][21] Prior to the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, it was proposed that Skycam be used at the Opening Ceremonies and Track & Field events at the LA Coliseum.

[1] Systems from Skycam and CableCam have also been used for the NBA and NHL final series and the beginning of the 2005 and 2006 NASCAR season broadcast on Fox.

[22] However, the use of Skycam proved to be controversial three weeks later on April 23, 2005 when the camera crashed to the field of the Home Depot Center during a match between the LA Galaxy and Chivas USA.

On April 2, 2016, Sporting Kansas City debuted the league's first semi-permanent Skycam installation at Children's Mercy Park, in a match against Real Salt Lake.

Each reel is a cable spool with 4.5 horsepower (3.4 kW) motor and disc brakes with its own computer capable of a .01 inches (0.25 mm) positioning resolution.

[1] The 36-inch (91 cm) tall spar contains the Sony HD camera, the pan and tilt motor, and stabilization sensors.

Weighing 45 pounds (20 kg), the package also includes a power distribution module and electronics for fiber optic signaling.