[lightedman]

"The original NFL broadcasts with that magic yellow first down line were synthesized with similar hardware"

That was originally an XFL innovation.

[strictnein]

I'm pretty sure it was ESPN and the NFL? The creator of the tech seems to indicate that and 1998 predates the first go around with the XFL.

https://www.sri.com/press/story/the-first-down-marker-how-te...

[dataflow360]

The company with the original tech was called Princeton Video Imaging, in NJ.

I interned for them one summer in... 1996?

They had sold their tech to Padres and Giants broadcasts initially to put ads on the outfield.

The first down line came a bit later and was a much better use of their tech.

Princeton Video Imaging even got a shout out (1-line) at the end of every NFL game for a while.

[emchammer]

This sounds a lot like the system which drew the halo and trails on the hockey puck for NHL games, FoxTrax.

[dunham]

Yeah, it's been a while, but I recall hockey getting it first, people not liking it, and then it working out for the football version.