Extended reality technologies have now reached a maturity where standards are being proven, applications (especially in sport) are being explored through sophisticated prototypes, and practical network performances are being assessed against the critical expectations of the human senses. We take an exciting look at three of these developments: We begin with an explanation of the architecture and performance of a real-time platform which demonstrates the MPEG-I Visual Volumetric Video-based Coding (V3C) standard. This processes point-cloud, multi-view + depth and multi-plane image representations, and permits interoperability with a range of 'ecosystems' which support applications from free-viewpoint sport to telepresence. Attention is then turned to the networks which must reliably stream up to 50Mb/s per immersive user. A proof-of -concept study will describe how network conditions such as jitter, lag and congestion are correlated with user experience data in order to guide the development of customised congestion control logic. The final presentation will thoroughly examine the use of virtual humans to reconstruct sporting events from any angle and with detail that would be impossible with traditional imaging. This 'gamification' offers enhanced flexibility for audience engagement and wide opportunities for production and game analytics.