>> "I wonder what GoPro's end game is here."

Marketing. GoPro is at the point now where people use the word to refer to a certain type/style of video. This will help push it further in that direction making GoPro synonymous with point of view/onboard camera. Think of the recent NFL issue with commentators referring to MS Surface as 'an iPad like device'. Or the classic example of tissues being referred to as Kleenex. This will push GoPro further in that direction. There are also probably a lot of hockey playing kids who will want one of the cameras so it could also boost sales more directly.

Yep...ever heard of Coutour? They've arguably got a better product because of their form factor that's less obnoxious to wear. But almost no one has heard of them whereas GoPro, as you point out, is synonymous with this type of video.

But there's another facet to this kind of marketing. Try contrasting videos like this that GoPro puts out for promotional purposes with the kinds of videos that the average person creates with a GoPro. These are fun to watch and full of unique views of cool stuff. The ones that average people create are, for the most part, boring. Yet their market is 99% people who make the boring kind of videos. If their marketing showed the kinds of videos that most people would be creating, no one would buy them. By showing videos like this, they get people inspired enough to think that they can shoot something cool.

Correction: It should read "Contour" above. I am in the camp that believes the form factor is superior over the GoPro's box shape. Link: http://contour.com/

Actually what happened to Kleenex (and Google, and iPad) is what many companies want to _avoid_, because it lowers the value of the trademark. When your trademark becomes the generic word for something, it's more difficult to protect it against infringement.

See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_trademark

Don't underestimate the completely different experience of watching sports from a first-person perspective instead of the God view we get today. As broadcast TV becomes more slanted towards live sports, since all other content can be consumed in other, more convenient ways, these kinds of deals are going to be very important to a space filled with a lot of money.

I agree completely. Rogers (or whoever the consortium that bought the Canadian broadcast rights) has added a number of new camera angles to their broadcast this year. Some are gimmicky. But others really let you experience the game in a new way. For instance, because they have a wire cam, they now have an angle that chases an offensive play down the ice. You appreciate a lot of the nuances more when you're not stuck in the nosebleeds at center. And you appreciate the pace a lot more.

To be fair, sports content is also already heading in the direction other content is taking. I have NHL Gamecenter Live, for instance, which lets me watch all games timeshifted, select the home or away announcers, watch only the highlights, do relays, etc. Adding features like first-person POV this will only serve to enhance the non-broadcast experience further.

> completely different experience of watching sports from a first-person perspective

This is from a crash in the Tour down Under earlier today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Py_7pYVF664&feature=youtu.be

Indeed, the first time someone hits a goalie-mounted one of these with a slapshot from the blue line it's going to make people jump out of their seats.

GoPro + Oculus Rift? We could see injuries.

I think maybe GoPro is angling to become somewhat of a de facto standard in this space. If for example through this partnership they solve a lot problems in the action camera application to pro sports, then when/if another league wants to implement something similar then they will see that hardware/solutions already exist... with GoPro cameras in mind.

Sure, it's marketing for the gear, but I also have an unsupported suspicion that GoPro is looking to move into the same space as Red Bull Media House.

I'm not sure, but I don't think GoPros have streaming functionality, so maybe showing off the technology (and advertising it)?

The one I've got can stream - It's a couple seconds lagged via the built in wifi but supposedly instant live-feed via HDMI (untested, yet)

Oh, that's great. Maybe they will have an 3G connection some day so we can stream directly from the device to the internet. :)

I dunno a local wifi connection eats battery like nobody's business! Obviously no good for wireless streaming but you could connect it up to a HDMI capture card and stream via a computer

Actually there's probably a way to do that via a phone or something. I need to play around with my GoPro a bit more

Hoover, elastoplast, sellotape, gopro, aspirin, dry ice, escalator, thermos

Kleenex, Xerox, Google... They hate it because it dilutes the trademark but it will happen anyway.

It's double-edged though; go to Google to google for something. Buy Kleenex (it's the original and best kleenex). Sure, long-term it dilutes the trademark, but effectively removing any future need to explain what your product is, what its benefits and uses are, to permenantly attach your name to a certain type of thing, is too good an opportunity to not take up, given the chance