[August 30, 2010]

Are You Ready for Some Football?

Autumn is in the air, which means football is soon to return to the hearts, minds and TVs of millions of fans nationwide. This year, a new generation of home technology promises to revolutionize the way fans enjoy college and NFL football with a mind-blowing assortment of new viewing devices, technologies and applications.

For all the latest and greatest, we went right to the source and surveyed 59 of the home technology experts, who comprise Home Technology Specialists of America (HTSA), an association of the top home technology specialists in the country who install and service some of the coolest lifestyle systems on the planet. Here's their takes as to why this year will be the season of home technology for college and professional football fans.

• 3D football is here, it's real and so lifelike you may get injured. Imagine Adrian Peterson running into your living room or a tight Brett Favre spiral coming right at you. It's that lifelike and coming to a TV near you. ESPN (News - Alert) 3D has just announced the first 3D college games to be broadcast on the new network. Boise State vs. Virginia Tech; Miami vs. Ohio State; and Clemson vs. Auburn have initial honors with more 3D college and pro games to be announced.
• Size matters and bigger is better. The race to build bigger and bigger flat screen TVs just got trumped by a new generation of HD TV projectors hat make football larger than life. "Many of the newer projections are as brilliant and bright as flat panels and come 3D ready, transforming football into a bigger-than-life spectacle for viewers," says Berman. "Once reserved for high-end home theaters, we are now installing HD projectors in family rooms and game rooms so football fans can now enjoy an oversized game day experience."
• The tailgate in your own backyard. One exciting new trend is outdoor television, where friends, neighbors and family can replicate the football tailgate experience close to home. A new wave of weather-proof outdoor TVs-from Pantel and SunBrite-are fully ruggedized to withstand temperature and humidity swings, while reducing sun glare. For that impressive outdoor experience, a new technology from StarGlas lets outdoor football fans project the game onto a specially-engineered glass as big as 126" by 204". At patio or pool, StarGlas is the closest thing possible to having your own Jumbotron, only the image is much clearer and you can watch any game you choose (not just those replays that don't call into question the refs' accuracy).
• Mobile football puts the plays in your pocket. Place shifting is perhaps the biggest craze in football. Using new mobile technologies, fans can shift their football watching to any event that takes them away from home (oh, those dreaded Sunday soccer games and recitals). For instance, Verizon (News - Alert) customers can download the NFL Mobile application and watch Thursday and Sunday night games in real time over their phones. College football fans can subscribe to CBS Sports' mobile application and stream live college games. Control systems and even a device made by Sling Media (News - Alert) offers an even cooler solution. By having an HTSA expert tap into your home cable box and send video over your home's high-speed internet connection, you can watch your home TV on any number of cell phone types, including the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android (News - Alert), Palm OS and Symbian OS. Sling Media also lets you watch locally broadcasted games when traveling.

PRESS RESOURCES:

• To view hi-res images visit: http://tinyurl.com/2969rrm.
• Subscribe to our YouTube channel and view our video on getting the ultimate football viewing experience this season: http://tinyurl.com/26ovh4z.
• Follow on Twitter at and on Facebook.

[ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]