Hawk-Eye uses video feeds from the NFL’s broadcast partners to give NFL replay officials multiple time-synchronized angles of the same play.
The NFL uses Hawk-Eye Innovations’ Synchronized Multi-Angle Replay Technology — or SMART — system to combine all available live video feeds from the NFL’s broadcast partners in one place. The technology gives NFL replay officials quick access to multiple angles of a play to make faster, more accurate replay review decisions.
How Hawk-Eye Works on Gamedays
Ahead of the 2021-22 season, the NFL installed Hawk-Eye’s SMART system in Art McNally GameDay Central and stadium replay booths across the league. With this technology, replay officials at the stadium and AMGC staff in New York can now review multiple camera angles at the same time throughout the game and during replay reviews.
The system uses camera angles provided by the NFL’s broadcast partners, who set up and operate cameras throughout the stadium on gamedays. In addition to having each individual camera angle, NFL officiating regularly works with the league’s broadcast partners to establish “pre-sets” within Hawk-Eye. These “pre-sets” provide quick access to the best four camera angles for frequently used rulings and field locations.
Hawk-Eye collects and synchronizes every broadcast angle of every play in a game. Video from these camera angles is simultaneously sent using technology from Cisco to both the stadium replay review booth and AMGC in New York.
Replay officials at the stadium and AMGC staff can simultaneously review multiple camera angles and select the best option to rule on the play under review. Up to four selected synchronized camera angles can be sent to the tablet used by the referee during replay reviews.
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