NEW YORK—XR (Extreme Reach) has launched XR One, which it is billing as a first-of-its-kind AI-powered advertising operations platform.

The offering provides brands and agencies with a single place to manage every stage of the advertising lifecycle in ways that the company says will give marketers greater oversight into the ads they make, the money they spend, and the performance of their creative investments on various platforms.

In announcing the platform, XR also released a new study of some of the challenges faced by advertisers that the platform is designed to address:

• Advertising teams are being asked to do more with less: More than 80% of marketers are producing more ad content than a year ago, while 70% of them are doing so with the same or fewer resources.
• Campaigns routinely launch late: 98% of marketers attribute late campaigns launches to internal bottlenecks and approvals.
• Budget overruns are the norm, not the exception: 70% of marketers on both the brand and agency side regularly exceed their production budgets.
• Creative asset waste is a significant and underacknowledged challenge: Nearly half of marketers say 30 to 40% of the creative they produce never gets used.

“With XR One, advertising operations is no longer a series of back-office tasks, it's the backbone of modern advertising,” said John Batter, CEO of XR. “We’ve connected every stage of the advertising creative process into a single platform, giving marketers a clearer view of what they’re making, what they’re spending and how their campaigns are performing. That’s a level of visibility brands and agencies have never had before.”

AI is built into every corner of the platform, helping marketers make better decisions from production planning to launch. XR AI insights can recommend the right ad formats for every channel, uncover production savings for specific vendors and predict how creative choices, from locations to casting, will impact budgets and audience performance. The result is greater confidence and more effective campaigns from the very start.

The XR ONE Platform will benefit brands and agencies with:

• End-to-end production project tracking, from creative briefs, bids and budget approvals to payments and cross-platform delivery.
• Centralized cost management across all marketing teams and agencies, removing team silos and organizational chaos.
• Audit-ready financial trails and ERP integrations that keep finance and compliance aligned.
• Advertising delivery and ROI visibility that connects what is spent on a creative asset and campaign to how they are used in-market.

XR One features four connected applications, giving marketers one place to manage how ads are planned, produced, paid for and delivered. XR Costs helps teams’ onboard partners, manage approvals and track budgets. Once creative is produced, XR Assets becomes the central place to securely store and manage every version. XR Rights helps marketers stay on top of celebrity and artistic usage rights, while XR Delivery ensures ads reach every destination, from linear TV and CTV to digital and social channels.

The full XR State of Ad Ops Report here.

Learn more about the XR ONE platform here

JERSEY CITY, N.J.—Fox Television Stations, XR (Extreme Reach) and LTN completed a successful four-week live syndication initiative in May for game show “25 Words or Less LIVE,” using IP-based distribution to deliver the program to stations and let viewers play along.

“Live programming creates unique opportunities for stations to engage viewers in real time,” said Stephen Brown, EVP Programming and Development, Fox Television Stations, Fox First Run. “This initiative demonstrated how innovative distribution strategies can support new programming models while maintaining the reliability broadcasters require.”

Produced for Fox First Run and hosted by Meredith Vieira, “25 Words or Less LIVE” aired weekdays from May 4–28, originating from Parlay Studios in Jersey City, N.J. More than 38 live episodes were delivered twice a day to 18 stations, many of which were Fox-owned-and- operated stations in key U.S. markets.

The workflow was powered by Extreme Reach’s syndication services and LTN’s managed IP video transport network.

The milestone project proved the viability of live syndicated television workflows that let broadcasters create more immediate and interactive viewing experiences, the companies said. Live delivery created new opportunities for stations to engage with viewers through social media, local promotions and real-time audience participation, allowing fans to play along with contestants.

XR and LTN delivered a live syndication workflow that allowed Fox to distribute the programming to participating stations nationwide. XR managed the show’s distribution through its syndication platform, while LTN provided fully managed IP transport and master control services connecting Fox’s production facility to local stations.

Together, the companies leveraged XR’s content-delivery expertise and LTN’s proven broadcast infrastructure to bring the excitement of live television to viewers nationwide, allowing fans to watch, interact and play along with the show as it happened.

“Delivering live syndicated programming requires coordination, precision and dependable technology partners,” Matt Pagen, general manager of XR Media, said. “Together with Fox and LTN, we created a workflow that helps broadcasters and syndicators engage audiences in new ways while maximizing their content investments. This combined offering delivered the performance we needed, while providing a more cost-efficient alternative to traditional satellite distribution.”

The initiative received positive feedback from participating stations. It showed how cloud-based and IP-enabled distribution models can support live television workflows that typically depend on legacy infrastructure. It also highlighted the potential for significant cost savings compared to traditional satellite distribution, without sacrificing the reliability, scale or viewer experience required for live television.

“This project represents the kind of innovation content creators and broadcasters are actively exploring as they modernize their distribution strategies,” LTN Senior Vice President of Global Products Rick Young said. “By combining Extreme Reach’s syndication expertise with LTN’s managed IP network and operational services, we enabled a reliable live television experience to stations across the country.”

More information is available on the XR Extreme Reach and LTN websites.

LONDON—Vizrt will showcase its newly launched AI Keyer, which expands the possibilities and accessibility of virtual and extended reality (XR) scenarios, during the 2026 NAB Show, April 18-22, at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Vizrt AI Keyer enables background switching and augmented reality (AR) graphics insertion in every space, whether indoors or outdoors. The secure, proprietary solution is trained extensively on real-world footage across environments and lighting conditions to recognize human shapes as foregrounds and to separate backgrounds seamlessly so talent can move around while being locked into the virtual scene.

“Creating XR environments typically demands large infrastructure investments and requires specialized skills for daily operations. The Vizrt AI Keyer removes all these constraints so high-quality virtual scenes and AR graphics become a reality for live productions of every size,” said Edouard Griveaud, Senior Product Manager at Vizrt.

The Vizrt AI Keyer brings AR into any environment, whether it’s inserting remote speakers into a global town hall environment, switching the visual location of a presenter in a news segment or creating a completely virtual ad wall behind a player in a post-match interview.

Without needing green screens, complex lighting setups and time-consuming chromakeying, production teams can find new ways of engaging audiences and maximizing sponsorship value from anywhere.

“AI is transforming the world, and the creative industries are no exception. At Vizrt, we have been on this journey for years, embedding intelligence into our solutions, empowering storytellers, and delivering real, measurable impact for our customers,” said Rohit Nagarajan, CEO of Vizrt. “That is not a vision for tomorrow. That is happening today. The Vizrt AI Keyer is the latest proof point of our relentless commitment to innovation. Putting breakthrough technology in the hands of every creative, at every level, everywhere in the world.”

See Vizrt at 2026 NAB Show booth N2161.

More information is available on the company’s website.

VIENNA and MADRID—Big Blue Marble has announced a strategic partnership with HISPlayer, a video player for Unity, Unreal Engine, and Meta Spatial SDK. Together, they will deliver DRM-protected, end-to-end video streaming solutions for interactive and immersive XR (Extended Reality) use cases on mobile, PC, laptop, and VR/AR headsets.

The joint offering combines Big Blue Marble’s Cloud Video Kit, a modular tool for managing and processing live and on-demand video, and Cloud DRM, its multi-DRM content protection service, with HISPlayer’s advanced XR playback technology. As a result, broadcasters, content owners, telecom operators, and sports platforms can now bring their existing premium video content into XR environments with full DRM protection across all supported devices worldwide, the companies said.

Together, these technologies unlock next-generation XR experiences, including:

• Secure playback of protected content with Widevine DRM Level 1 on the Meta Quest
• Ultra-high-resolution 8K video
• Seamless multi-camera or multi-angle playback
• Interactive ad formats native to 3D environments
• Enhanced video with dynamic lighting and VFX
• Rich spatial audio for full immersion.

Most XR experiences today rely on placeholder or demo footage because rights-protected content cannot be used safely. With DRM-secured video now available in XR environments through the partnership between Big Blue Marble and HISPlayer, broadcasters and sports platforms can begin experimenting with immersive formats using the premium content their audiences value, according to the companies.

“Immersive technologies are finally moving from hype to real use cases, but these experiences cannot be deployed at scale unless premium content is protected at the same level as established streaming services,” said Dawid Gorniak, Product Owner for Cloud Video Kit and Cloud DRM at Big Blue Marble. “Our partnership with HISPlayer gives organizations the confidence to bring their highest-value assets into the XR space without compromising on security or user experience, and without the costly process of changing the headend.”

HISPlayer's CEO, Carlos Lucas, said: “HISPlayer's goal is to lead the market in high-quality XR/VR video streaming across all devices, and that requires the ability to deliver premium video content with the strongest level of DRM protection. This strategic partnership enables us to offer customers a turnkey, end-to-end solution that brings together DRM content protection, the most advanced VR/XR video player available, and the broadcasting delivery expertise of Big Blue Marble."

The XR Sports Alliance (XRSA) has announced the third cohort of members. The new members include Maple Leafs Sports & Entertainment (MLSE), the Vegas Golden Knights, the Pro Climbing League, FansXR, Focal Point VR, and Nexus Studios, bringing the total member count up to 22.

Founded by Accedo, Qualcomm Technologies and Host Broadcast Services (HBS) in 2024, the XRSA is a strategic initiative designed to accelerate time-to-market and commercialization of XR sports services through collaboration among its members.

The latest XRSA cohort brings together leaders from across the sports, technology and XR ecosystems. It includes sports intellectual property (IP) owners MLSE, one of the world's premier sports and entertainment companies, the NHL’s Vegas Golden Knights; and Pro Climbing League, a professional competition series for the world’s strongest climbers; FansXR, a computer vision sports and entertainment company that provides live multicast fan controlled broadcast views for gamification; Focal Point VR, specialists in live ultra-high-resolution stereo and immersive video technology; and Nexus Studios, a Creative and Technology Studio.

Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo Group, commented: “With this latest cohort of members, the XR Sports Alliance adds new testbed opportunities and capabilities—from immersive video capture to interactive fan engagement and gamified experiences. As the XRSA grows from strength to strength, these new members will further advance our mission to build frameworks for XR sports services through deep collaboration across technology, media, and sports organizations.”

The XRSA’s experimentation framework has now been deployed for the first time with E1, the world’s first all-electric raceboat Championship.

The deployment served as a testbed to explore how immersive XR content can enhance fan engagement and create new monetization opportunities across live sports—testing over 20 different immersive camera angles to capture the action in entirely new ways, according to XRSA. XRSA says it will share key learnings from this collaboration at Sportel Monaco, Oct. 20-23, including insights on production workflows, cross-partner collaboration, and how to scale XR sports experiences from pilot to large-scale service.

Laurence Boyd, chief content and product officer, E1, added: “At E1, we wanted to be part of the XR Sports Alliance to share our experience to date, as well as being a test-bed for cutting-edge tech that can engage the next generation of fans. The test deployment has demonstrated some of what is possible and we’re excited to continue to push the boundaries of technology to develop engaging fan experiences that help to grow our audience and develop the next generation of Champions of the Water.”

Accedo’s Lucy Trang Nguyen will speak about the XRSA’s first experimentation deployment with E1 Series at a panel session at Sportel Monaco, Tuesday, Oct. 21, at 10:50. In this session, Trang Nguyen and Laurence Boyd, chief content and product officer of E1 Series, will share valuable learnings from XRSA’s work with this experimentation deployment.

Many of us in the industry have closely followed the progress of XR (Extended Reality) over the years, and while there are times when it has hovered on the edge of a breakthrough, it’s never quite hit the mainstream.

There’s a sense right now that this is about to change. One industry analyst predicts that global XR revenue is expected to increase from $21.41 billion in 2023 to reach $41.78 billion by 2028, an impressive CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 14.4%. The key drivers needed to turn XR into a mainstream media force seem to be aligning.

Apple’s Vision Pro is proving the potential of spatial computing with a premium price, while devices like XREAL One AR glasses and Quest 3 are making XR more accessible to the masses. Additionally, Google and Samsung’s entry into the fray is accelerating innovation and will also help to narrow the affordability gap. Yet challenges remain, the industry needs that killer feature that pushes consumers to buy their first XR device, along with compelling content to match that goes beyond gaming.

Apple has Catalyzed the Market
Now in its second year, the Apple Vision Pro has become something of a benchmark for the XR industry. The device has shown what spatial computing can do, and that it can be intuitive and seamless.

Although it carries a hefty price tag and the headset remains bulky, this has not put off the estimated half a million users who have purchased the device. It’s almost certainly not been as popular as Apple had hoped, yet, as Tim Cook himself said, the device was never intended for mass adoption, instead it’s an early adopter product for people who “want to have tomorrow’s technology today”.

The device’s capabilities are unquestionably astonishing with eye tracking, gesture navigation and seamless syncing with other Apple devices to make it a natural extension of the Apple ecosystem. But for many, at $3,500, the cost of the unit is just too high to justify.

Despite this, what it has done, is show consumers and indeed sports, media and technology companies what spatial computing is capable of. At the same time, rumors would suggest that Apple is preparing a second version that could be way lighter and cheaper, while still keeping the premium features that make this device an object of desire. We are also seeing other large technology companies investing in XR technology.

Improved Accessibility
Increased competition in the market is helping to drive innovation and improve device affordability. With more and more affordable XR devices on the market such as Meta’s Quest series and XREAL’s AR glasses, XR has become much more accessible to the masses.

AR glasses in particular are attracting a lot of interest because rather than being burdened with having to wear a bulky headset, users can instead wear a pair of reasonable lightweight and stylish glasses that support a range of spatial use cases such as watching sport, gaming, viewing media or entertainment content, or accessing a virtual workspace.

Unsurprisingly, Meta is also developing its first AR glasses, the Orion AR glasses, which are expected to launch in late 2027. Years in the making and building on the success of its Ray-Ban Meta smart glasses, the Orion AR glasses are intended to deliver AR experiences in a compact form factor, using a fraction of the power and weight of a standard mixed reality headset.

Another huge development is the launch last year of Google’s Android XR platform, developed in collaboration with Qualcomm and Samsung. Android XR is an extension to the Android ecosystem so all of the content that Android users are familiar with can be consumed on XR devices.

And off the back of this, Samsung is also preparing to launch its XR headset, Project Moohan, later this year, which is set to rival the Apple Vision Pro. XREAL has also announced that its AR glasses will be ported to Android XR. Increased competition in the sector is helping to drive innovation and at the same time is also narrowing the affordability gap.

Sports May be the Breakthrough Use Case
While XR technology has a huge range of diverse use cases, it is undoubtedly the perfect partner for sports. XR enables fans to engage and interact with live sports in an entirely new way, whether at home or in a sports venue. Fans benefit from overlayed real-time data such as player bios and game and player statistics, as well as multi-angle viewing and instant replays. This makes the viewing experience much more engaging, interactive and personalized and may be just the thing that makes people go out and buy an XR device for the first time.

The newly formed XR Sports Alliance is aiming to accelerate this shift by connecting market-leading stakeholders to bridge the sports and technology industries. The Alliance drives working groups and end-to-end XR Sports experimentations to establish standards in key areas and lay the foundation for the ecosystem to help stakeholders in sports deploy state-of-the art XR services efficiently and at scale.

The framework encompasses immersive video production and distribution, system architecture definition, data and monetization frameworks, user testing and technology and business model advisory elements. At its core, the initiative aims to connect leading companies from the sports, video, telco, and hardware industries to accelerate the commercialization of XR sports experiences.

The Time is Now
We’re entering a pivotal moment for XR. High-quality devices are now powerful and affordable enough to enable truly compelling experiences. The cost of enabling technologies is falling. Investment in immersive content is rising. And industry leaders across tech and media are aligning around the opportunity.

The momentum is real. For those ready to build, the conditions have never been better to create impactful user experiences and scale commercially.

NEW YORK—Even though a majority of people now watch TV with the captions turned on, a new study found that just 10% of global TV ads include accessibility features such as closed captions or audio descriptions.

As a result, most TV ads remain inaccessible, indicating that brands are losing reach and excluding audiences with disabilities, who represent $8 trillion in spending power, according to the new “2025 Global Accessibility Maturity Index & Trends Report” from XR.

The study also stressed that the problem extends beyond audiences with disabilities because watching TV with captions is becoming a mainstream trend. Recent studies show that over 50% of adults, and more than 75% of millennials and Gen Z, regularly have closed captioning enabled, even when content is in their native language, XR reported. Research indicates that adding captions improves ad performance, contributing to an 8% lift in recall and an 18% increase in brand linkage, XR said.

“Our report reveals a significant gap between viewer preferences and execution—but the brands, broadcasters and publishers that close it will gain an edge in reach, loyalty and performance across every channel, from linear to CTV,” John Batter, CEO at XR, said. “Millions of impressions are lost when people can’t understand video content. Accessible advertising ensures every impression can connect, whether audiences have disabilities, are watching in public or simply prefer to keep captioning turned on."

Commending on the findings, Paul Gallagher, global brand accessibility leader at Procter & Gamble, added that “at P&G, we know that superior reach and communication lead to a superior shopping and product usage experience. That is why, together with the industry, we work with partners like XR who champion accessibility standards and help expand reach. We’re working to make sure everyone can access our ads, so we can better reach all our consumers.”

Now in its second year, the global report evaluates market maturity of accessible TV advertising across three core dimensions—brand adoption, broadcaster enablement and market-level enablers such as regulation and policy guidance. Key findings included:

• Accessible advertising can expand reach: Only 9% of TV ads in 2024 included closed captions, and just 1% included audio description — despite over 1.3 billion people globally living with a disability and a significant portion of viewers often watching with captions.
• Brand adoption lags behind broadcaster readiness: While broadcaster readiness ranges from 30–100%, brand adoption of accessibility features still lags below 30% in most markets—revealing a clear gap between platform capability and brand usage.
• CTV ads are still far behind: Adoption of accessibility features on connected TV remains negligible, with less than 1% of streaming ads including captions or audio description.
• Audio description is still in its infancy: Only 4 markets featured in the report saw audio description adoption rise above 1% in 2024.
• Accessibility maturity remains low in most markets: The global average Accessibility Maturity Index across 15 markets featured in the report is 2.3, placing most countries in the “Emerging” or “Developing” stage.
• XR's analysis includes 650,000 creative video assets and nearly 12 million ad deliveries across over 100 countries, providing a comprehensive assessment of the state of accessibility in TV advertising.

XR has enabled closed captioning and audio description for hundreds of thousands of creative video assets, helping advertisers embed accessibility features across campaigns running on linear and streaming platforms.

The full 2025 Global Accessibility Maturity Index & Trends Report is available here.

LAS VEGAS—In advance of CES 2025, the HDMI Forum has announced the upcoming release of Version 2.2 of the HDMI Specification, which delivers enhanced options for the vast HDMI ecosystem, with more advanced solutions to create, distribute and experience the best end-user outcome.

New technology enables higher quality options now and in the future for content producers such as TV, movie and game studios, while enabling multiple distribution platforms. Higher 96 Gbps bandwidth and next-gen HDMI fixed-rate link technology provide optimal audio and video for a wide range of device applications. An end user can be assured their displays will support a native video format in the best way possible and can deliver a seamless and reliable experience, the Forum said.

“The HDMI Forum’s continuing mission is to develop specifications to meet the HDMI ecosystem's growing demand for high-performance capabilities and features,” Chandlee Harrell, president of the HDMI Forum, said. “This new specification supports the fast-evolving landscape for amazing new technologies and products entering the markets now and in the future.”

Higher resolutions and refresh rates will be supported and more high-quality options will be provided. Faster 96Gbps bandwidth improves demanding data-intensive, immersive and virtual applications such as AR/VR/MR, spatial reality and light field displays as well as various commercial applications such as large scale digital signage, medical imaging and machine vision.

Also included is Latency Indication Protocol (LIP) for improving audio and video synchronization, especially for multiple-hop system configurations such as those with an audio video receiver or soundbar.

The specification includes a new Ultra96 HDMI Cable supporting 96Gbps bandwidth and enabling all the HDMI 2.2 Specification features. It is part of the HDMI Cable Certification Program requiring each model length to be tested and certified and display a Certification Label.

The new specification will be available to all HDMI 2.x adopters and they will be notified when it is released in H1 2025.

This year, for the first time in history, linear tv viewing numbers dropped dramatically while streaming numbers soared. Dwindling viewership numbers, the shift to streaming, and changing consumption habits of the younger generations all present a series of challenges for broadcasters.

However, it’s not all doom and gloom, there are ways to change your content to better increase eyeball count, and incorporating more advanced game-like visuals is a winner. 

What is gamification in broadcast?
Gamification is defined as the process of adding games, or game-like elements to something (such as a task) so as to encourage participation. If we think about this concept in terms of broadcast, it is realistically the use of game-design elements and game principles in non-game contexts to drive audience engagement. 

This can include features like incorporating advanced graphics that track players, display real-time analytics as on-screen graphics and player stats, live chat interactions, viewer polls, and other engaging elements to enhance the viewer experience. 

It’s all about making the broadcast more interactive and entertaining for the audience, drawing inspiration from the captivating and immersive world of video games. 

But does gamification in broadcast work? 

I read an article the other day, about the Bachelorette. For Season 20, which had significantly lower audience numbers during its premiere than Season 19, introduced a series of interactive games in the hopes to drive viewer engagement. 

The aim was to encourage the audience to predict outcomes, analyze cast members’ choices, voice opinions, and engage deeper with the content to add excitement and immersivity for those tuning in. 

Interestingly, it achieved a 94.5% first-click engagement rate, showing the appeal and fascination behind these types of interactive ‘gamified’ experiences. Over 45% of the viewers who saw the games participated.  

The results speak for themselves, but the concept of adding game design, game like elements and advanced visuals to broadcasts isn’t new. Which begs the question, why is it reemerging now? 

History of game-design elements in broadcast
Introducing game-design elements in broadcast started years ago. The digital first down line, or the ‘yellow line’ in football was introduced in 1998. This simple, software-driven graphic helped viewer accessibility and supported an enhanced visual experience. The graphic showed viewers clearly that this team needs to get to this line, or they lose possession. 

In 2001, ESPN enhanced the viewer experience for Major League Baseball with the introduction of the ‘K Zone’ box. It was a simple graphic that calculated each batter’s speed, and displayed where the ball crossed the hitter’s strike zone. Other sports like NASCAR followed suit shortly after adding real-time object tracking to moving cars providing information like gear position, rotations per minute, and fuel consumption. 

The 2010s saw the creation of more cutting-edge game-like technology that could achieve advanced real-time analysis, telestration, 3D augmented reality (AR) flights and graphics, and replay.

And in 2014, came RFID (radio frequency identification) tracking, used by the NFL and NBA, to collect more data from players, and officials like speed, location, distance traveled, acceleration, and it’s all being updated in real-time, about 10x per second. 

The use of real-time data driven graphics in broadcast in a gamified style has grown since the early days. Advanced visuals that resemble video game graphics in broadcast, especially within sports, are everywhere. See how many you notice when you’re next watching television. 

One of the reasons for the resurgence is because technology has caught up to the demand and direction that broadcasters have envisioned, a secondary reason is the need to appeal to a new generation of fans. 

Changing viewer habits: Gen Z and millennials
Linear broadcast and viewer numbers are dropping because they are in competition with digital devices and social media consumption. A recent survey about sports viewer habits revealed that 80% of fans between the ages of 18 and 26 typically watch sports from their mobile phones—with 74% getting most of their sports content from social media.

And over half of Gen Z (67%), those born in the late 1990s to early 2000s, soon to be the dominant demographic, prefer consuming sports content on their phones while on the go. Gen Z also stated they are opting for mobile phone viewing as a whopping 37% access all their content via mobile devices due to accessibility (54%), convenience (46%), and the ability to multitask (43%). 

The same survey found that 77% of younger viewers (Gen Z and millennials) consider analysis created with AR graphics, virtual studios, and data as essential to their viewing experience. And approximately 79% of sports fans felt more interested in the content, and more likely to watch a broadcast if graphics and virtual elements like augmented reality graphics, virtual studios, data analysis and replay were used.

More than that, 57% of viewers were more likely to watch content for longer if virtual elements were used, and this increased to 63% for Gen Z respondents. 29% of those surveyed also agree that graphics and virtual elements added to a sports broadcast make them more likely to watch that broadcaster’s coverage in the future.

Broadcasters must adapt to serve and connect with these digital native audiences to not only capture their eyeballs but convert them into loyal viewers and lifelong fans. This is where advanced AI, analysis, data integration, virtual studios, AR, and 3D graphics, and telestration tools come in as game-like elements to engage.

Video game style visuals, what’s next?
For the past few years now, video game style graphics have become incredibly advanced. Just look at the viral video of Carolina Panthers’ giant augmented reality panther which paced the stadium and tore up a New York Jets flag from 2021, or the 49ers opening the Nickelodeon Super Wild Weekend with a giant AR slime monster. 

In 2022, the Brooklyn Nets introduced the "netaverse" with 110 high resolution cameras to generate realistic renderings in seconds so viewers could direct the camera themselves in the virtualized CG court, with the ability to see angles that were never possible before. 

This was real-life 2K playing out for fans that could take the game into their control and connect in a completely new way. Whereas video games used to be dramatically different than the quality of broadcast, the quality of both has risen. The worlds of virtual reality and reality have become increasingly intertwined and nearly indistinguishable from each other. 

I suspect that we will see more experimentation in this space across other broadcasts, and as the technology becomes more democratized, even tier two and three broadcasters and more niche sports will begin trialing these technologies. It may also be that we take the interactivity side of audience engagement one step further with graphics, and viewers watching from home will be able to create and personalize their experiences by controlling the graphics on their phones, or via a second screen. 

AI driven analysis being mapped to graphics is also likely to increase even in the next year or so, with AI functionality increasing rapidly. For example, the NBA is already using a predictive graphic that calculates the percentage of a player’s probability of making the shot at that specific part of the floor, in real-time leveraging AI for its analysis. 

We could see entire alternative feeds driven by AI or predictive plays that determine what will happen next based on retrospective data and footage, taking commentary and analysis, and thus the audience experience to an entirely new level. The use of AI could be used to create more accurate betting predictions and help give advice and deeper insight into betting placement. 

Really, the possibilities of including more "gamified" elements into broadcast are endless—but the limitations aren’t on the imaginations of the creatives, it’s the technology that must catch up. Whereas incorporating game-like graphics started simple, it’s extended beyond a line, or a box graphic. Creative visual storytelling via game-like graphics is about providing additional intimate insights, statistics, visuals, and interactive platforms to deliver and truly connect with viewers. 

The viewers of today, and tomorrow want unique and engaging experiences that capture their attention so completely that the passive act of watching television is transformed into something more interactive, entertaining, and immersive. The game for broadcasters is to capture the eyeballs, and it’s constantly changing and innovating—are you sure you’re performing at the top of yours? 

With recent advancements in extended reality (XR), newsrooms around the world are undergoing a revolutionary transformation. From immersive reporting experiences to cutting-edge visualizations, these technologies are reshaping how stories are told in the broadcast news industry.

This technology isn’t coming up in five or 10 years, it’s available now. Before long, it will be the expectation. And, with broadcast viewership at all-time lows, newsroom studios must adapt to maintain their competitive edge and keep viewers tuned in and engaged.

The public’s hunger for immersive technology is evident across sectors, whether it be entertainment, sports, or the corporate workplace. We’ve seen what that means when U2 recently debuted the new Sphere in Las Vegas, a highly immersive concert hall that has been widely referred to as the future of entertainment. 

Interactive Storytelling
Similar technology is breaking into smaller-scale spaces like newsrooms and corporate broadcast studios. Through LED volumes and strategic flexible design, traditional media spaces are evolving to offer a whole new breadth of user experience through XR integration. XR technologies enable interactive storytelling, where viewers can explore news stories in a nonlinear fashion. They often involve real-time graphics and overlays that allow users to visualize complex data and provide context that enhances the viewer’s understanding of the news story.

Hunan TV, China’s largest television broadcaster, launched its first ever news channel, Hunan News, which  features numerous large LED displays, allowing formatting flexibility when presenting XR content in a layered, on-air look. The broadcast facility, designed by Provost Studio back in 2020, was the country’s first 4k ultra-high definition news studio, complete with 360 degree capabilities. The 5,000-square-foot studio features three main areas for content presentation, including a main anchor area, social media zone and informal discussion area with dramatic entry stairs.

With XR technology, reporters can share breaking news as though they have boots on the ground, which can be particularly useful for covering events in challenging or dangerous environments. The enhanced immersion allows viewers to feel like they are present at the scene of a news event and enables more interactive and creative storytelling.

Beyond allowing reporters access to remote production capabilities at home, XR stages can be optimized with virtual setups for interviewees. They also enable more robust hybrid strategies to accommodate a variety of pre-taped and live segments.

Maximizing Potential
When adopting XR stages into the newsroom, there are many ways to maximise their potential. It’s crucial to update technology to create a physical AND virtual environment, allowing a seamless merging of the two.

News organizations can also opt for a variety of content zones for different types of media and platforms. This will ensure the space accommodates anything from Instagram moments to standing news presentations. An adaptable “tool box” design is also key, as flexible studios that feature multiple configurations, movable scenic elements and backdrops will enable the space to be retrofitted and retooled as content priorities and industry technology change.

In today’s rapidly evolving media landscape, newsrooms globally are experiencing a profound shift driven by XR technology advancements and consumer thirst for immersive content. As these innovations revolutionize the way stories are presented in the broadcast news industry, news organizations seeking to be on the cutting edge of innovation must embrace these changes to ensure viewers stay connected and engaged.

This article originally appeared on TV Tech sister brand Installation. 

AMSTERDAM—Ross Video has announced that it will be exhibiting in a new location at IBC2023 (booth 9.A05 in Hall 9) and that it will offer show attendees immersive product showcases for solutions providing extended reality (XR), intelligent integrations of AI, robotic camera systems, enhanced cloud production, and hyperconverged infrastructure. 

Other highlights include the award-winning Carbonite Ultra 60 production switcher, and the next generations of spidercam, automated camera tech, and LED displays.

“We are thrilled to be back at IBC and have significantly increased the size of our stand to allow clients to see what they can achieve with our technology and solutions,” said Jeff Moore, executive vice president & chief marketing officer at Ross Video. “It’s not just about technology but about “Making it Real” by showing full workflow solutions that combine amazing production values and operational efficiency. We will showcase XR, LED, hygerconverged infrastructure, and much more. Attendees can get hands-on with the Carbonite Ultra 60, learn more about Ross Production Cloud, and get better acquainted with spidercam, one of our most talked about products.”

Key areas of focus include: 

XR & Integrated LED Experience

Attendees can explore Ross Video’s comprehensive XR solution featuring LED displays, robotic cameras, camera tracking, and the latest rendering software. Live demos will highlight XR advantages such as versatile studio setups, real-time data integration, cost savings, quick pre-production workflows, and superior quality. Additionally, they can get a sneak peek of Voyager 5.2, powered by Unreal Game Engine, which includes Nanite dynamic polygons and Lumen dynamic lighting for breathtaking virtual environments.

XPression is also unveiling version 11.5 and launching XPression Maps 3.4, offering enhanced data integration and improved user control.

AI-Powered Newsroom Workflow Solutions

Ross Video will explore how AI can be used to better plan and fulfill newsroom content and solve the complexities of automated content playout, with demos of how ChatGPT integrates with their newsroom ideation software, Inception, and Ross’ new Media Asset Management platform, Streamline Pro.

Streamline Pro provides a shared space for both the newsroom and creative departments to understand what content is required, so it’s faster and simpler for teams to stay on the same page. When the content is finalized, Streamline Pro automates the entire process of preparing it for air, making those challenges a thing of the past.

Carbonite Ultra 60 UHD with new TouchDrive Controls

IBC attendees can get their hands on the celebrated Carbonite Ultra 60, a new class of production switcher from Ross that delivers big performance in a single cost-effective hardware platform.

Designed to tackle the most demanding productions, Ultra 60 supports an impressive I/O of up to 60x25 in HD or UHD. Its 3RU modular design offers the flexibility to start with fewer inputs and outputs, allowing facilities to prepare for present and future needs. As production requirements grow, easy upgrades become a seamless option.

Accompanying Carbonite Ultra 60 are the latest TouchDrive control surfaces – the TD3 and TD4 panels. These remarkable panels are the largest in the TouchDrive series, boasting extended control capabilities that empower production facilities to deliver larger and more intricate live productions at a fraction of the cost.

Hyperconverged Infrastructure

As sustainability and operational efficiency become paramount in the industry, the transformative benefits of hyperconverged technology are set to be a big talking point at IBC2023.

The Ultrix Hyperconverged platform dramatically shrinks the production infrastructure footprint with massive savings in space, cabling, and power consumption.

New additions include: ULTRIX-MODX-IO - a modular I/O card for Ultrix, increasing I/O support, granularity and maximizing port utilization; ULTRIX-IPX-IO - an IP card for Ultrix that enhances ST 2110 IP workflows with greater bandwidth capabilities and new efficiencies in distributed architectures; the Ultristream license, which facilitates streaming multiviewer outputs directly from Ultrix via NDI, provides unparalleled multiviewer accessibility, including on the Ultrix FR12’s Smart Door; the Ultriproc license, bringing procamp, color correction, and SDR/HDR processing capabilities into Ultrix; SmartCORE functionality, which cohesively merges control over Ultrix internal processing and connected openGear resources on a unified interface for superior control system efficiency and seamless workflows; a highlight in the openGear range, the SFC-6901 is a multifunctional, high-density, and fiber-conserving quad-channel 12G SDI fiber converter configurable to handle fiber transmission and regeneration.

UltraHD Forum Collaboration

Ross Video is collaborating with UltraHD Forum to focus on efficient HDR and SDR delivery for live events. An immersive demo at UltraHD Forum’s stand (10.C09) showcases an innovative HDR/SDR workflow that preserves intent across HDR, SDR, UHD, or HD delivery.

Camera Robotics Systems

IBC attendees will have the chance to see the latest evolution from our Robotics portfolio in booth 9.A04 with developments including:

Spidercam – a new X Dolly supporting higher payloads with an increased top speed and more battery options. The next generation of cable lifetime tracking technology: the “cable heatmap,” which logs the usage and strain on every centimeter of a catenary cable, allowing cable changes to be scheduled cost-effectively while improving our already high safety standards.

Furio+ StableTrac – unique StableTrac technology provides the stability of a four-wheeled dolly but with the consistent traction of a three-wheeled system. This ensures the drive wheel never loses traction, providing smoother, more accurate movement, especially on uneven track surfaces.

Vision[Ai]ry Ft v1.3 – this new release is designed to provide users with improved workflows, high-quality tracking, and better framing. Key features include a unique multi-channel interface, enhanced tracking capabilities, multi-engine support, and an auto-reselect feature.

Quorum

Quorum is Ross’ new meeting control solution, designed to provide governments, legislators, and corporations with the ability to produce broadcast-quality content from meetings. This powerful system requires little to no training and can be up and running in hours, making it a must-see for live video producers working in government and the corporate world.

Ross Production Cloud  

Ross Production Cloud features a full suite of Ross software-based live production technologies deployed on Amazon Web Services Cloud. The latest version will be shown at IBC, which adds a range of new capabilities and user-driven feedback. Attendees can see how to operate a full production control room in the cloud, taking advantage of the flexibility and scalability of cloud technology.  

For more information or to book a meeting with Ross Video at IBC2023, visit https://www.rossvideo.com/ibc-2023/.

Numerous technologies that help achieve sustainability goals and emissions reduction have been sought after by industry 4.0 enterprises and manufacturers. These include automation, sensor technology, IoT, and wireless connectivity. As a result, entire industries and manufacturers can now generate, collect, track, and analyze the massive amounts of data that serve as the foundation for AI initiatives thanks to these technological tools. Today's businesses and leaders are now effectively using this data and technologies to advance their digital transformation while also supporting their corporate and sustainability initiatives.

AI, IoT, Machine Learning Are Important for Sustainability
As a result of this use, manufacturers are implementing technologies like AI and AR/VR to create enhanced product designs, optimized production planning and logistics, predictive maintenance, improved quality and process control, agile robots, energy efficiency, and minimal waste in their operations. These technologies have proven to help further an organization’s digital transformation strategies through greater efficiency and reduction of costs.

AI can receive and process a wide range of information thanks to a combination of sophisticated sensory devices and computer vision. In comparison to the time required for human analysis, the enormous amount of data can be analyzed quickly. An improved outcome is produced by enhancing the data with machine learning (ML) and natural language processing (NLP). Therefore, AI is playing a more significant role in sustainable manufacturing.

How AR/VR Plays An Important Role
For it’s part, AR/VR is also adding even more power to the sustainable business practices mission. Let’s first explain the difference between AR/VR.

Augmented reality (AR) refers to a technology used by manufacturers or enterprise businesses that adds virtual elements to the real world. These virtual elements can appear in the form of text, images, 3D models or animations, for example. They are usually displayed via a smartphone or special AR glasses. AR can be used for various purposes, such as marketing, design/engineering, education, navigation or training.

Virtual reality (VR), on the other hand, refers to a technology that creates a virtual world that enterprise users can enter with the help of VR glasses. In a VR environment, the user can interact, manipulate objects and even perform physical movements. This allows users to interact with the virtual world. VR can be used for various purposes, such as design, simulations, training, or customer site visits.

Manufacturers that leverage AR/VR quickly realize they are helping the planet by meeting consumer demand for sustainable practices, practicing responsible consumption and production, reducing waste in early product design and redesign stages, promoting and teaching recycling practices, and supporting brand transparency. 

As a specific set of examples, aerospace and military organizations that utilize AR/VR training in replace of real-world training save jet emissions in the air. Virtual design and engineering reduces waste on the production floor of physical products. And virtualized customer site visits also reduces emissions from transportation of physical in-person meetings.

Sustainable practices in the creation, distribution, and sale of brands' products are becoming more and more in demand. By purchasing particular products, consumers are voicing their opinions. Even if it costs more, they are choosing to support environmentally conscious, sustainable brands over less environmentally friendly ones.

Multiple sustainable solutions are further provided by virtualized technologies. Live AR events are one such remedy, as they eliminate the need for extraneous travel, excessive printing, and other waste associated with real-world live events. However, connected enterprise experiences are a new trend that many manufacturers are also excited about. 

Here, builders and contractors may scan a special QR code, which triggers blueprints or a digital design of a house or commercial facility where they can see a close rendition of the finished product in a virtual environment, reducing waste and emissions that would have otherwise been produced in a physical environment.

3D & AI Drive Higher Levels of Sustainability
One of the key requirements for AR/VR applications is to precisely overlay on an object its model or the digital twin. This helps in providing work instructions for assembly and training, and to catch any errors or defects in manufacturing. The user can also track the object(s) and adjust the rendering as the work progresses, solidifying the sustainable business practice. 

Most on-device object tracking systems use 2D image and/or marker-based tracking. This severely limits overlay accuracy in 3D because 2D tracking cannot estimate depth with high accuracy, and consequently the scale, and the pose. This means even though users can get what looks like a good match when looking from one angle and/or position, the overlay loses alignment as the user moves around in 6DOF. 

Also, the object detection, identification and its scale and orientation estimation — called object registration — is achieved, in most cases, computationally or using simple computer vision methods with standard training libraries (examples: Google MediaPipe, VisionLib). 

This works well for regular and/or smaller and simpler objects such as hands, faces, cups, tables, chairs, wheels, regular geometry structures, etc. However, for large, complex objects in enterprise use cases, labeled training data (more so in 3D) is not readily available. 

This makes it difficult, if not impossible, to use the 2D image-based tracking to align, overlay, and persistently track the object and fuse the rendered model with it in 3D. By utilizing AR/VR in 3D and in conjunction with AI, users can realize a proper outcome and ensure that their virtualized process has led to a more sustainable business practice.

With these technologies in use, manufacturers and businesses can know that their investments in AI, mixed reality solutions, and IoT, among others, will help them arrive closer to their corporate sustainability goals in the years to come.

LAS VEGAS—Named by the National Association of Broadcasters as the “Official Commercial Display Partner of the 2023 NAB Show,” LG Business Solutions USA will be on the exhibit show floor focusing  on its advanced displays for broadcasters, studios and content creators. 

A focal point of LG’s booth in Central Hall of the LVCC will be its Virtual Production (VP) and Extended Reality (XR) stages anchored by large DVLED (direct-view light emitting diode) displays. Visitors also will learn about the advantages of OLED technology, especially OLED Pro displays built on LG’s OLED reference monitor technology.

“At NAB 2023, for the first time, we’re demonstrating LG DVLED technology’s versatility and advanced virtual production capabilities, providing a next-generation blueprint for media companies and systems designers,” said Tom Carroll, Senior Director, Commercial Displays, LG Business Solutions USA. “We’re pairing that with our 65-, 32- and 27-inch OLED Pro reference monitors and the latest, massive 97-inch OLED display to show industry professionals how our cutting-edge display technologies can be used to develop modern production spaces and workstations with benefits for on-screen and behind-the-scenes needs. 

The XR DVLED Stage will demonstrate 1.5mm DVLED technology with the strength and design resiliency of a rental-style product, which attendees can experience through a 20-foot-wide, 11-foot-tall 4K Ultra HD display. It is built with the new “LG MAGNIT” DVLED tiles (model LBAG015) which are specifically designed for on-camera use in virtual production, extended reality and broadcast environments. 

LG’s chip-on-board (COB) LED technology provides a robust and physically resilient background display, and its rental style frame offers flexible, non-permanent installation options. With the added strength and simplified installation, this DVLED offering is specifically designed to live up to the demanding needs of production studios, according to Jeff Cohen, Director of Broadcast & Virtual Production, LG Business Solutions USA. 

“Our new XR DVLED Stage concept will combine LG’s microLED COB technology with the advanced Helios LED Controller from Megapixel VR, enabling producers to leverage the power and advanced features of the leading LED controller for virtual production,” said Cohen. “This solution provides on-screen talent with the aesthetic and feel of a physical backdrop while affording powerful post-production options that can broaden opportunities and eliminate the need for an enormous, full-set DVLED wall.”

The second stage is the VP DVLED Stage, launching LG’s foray into Virtual Production solutions. This space will demonstrate the unique effects of a curved DVLED display using LG’s new LBAE026 tiles, which have a 2.6mm pixel pitch. The VP DVLED Stage shows how different levels of DVLED sophistication can be optimal for different on-screen uses, with lower resolution but equal size as the XR stage. At both stages, LG will showcase comprehensive solutions for virtual production through its collaborations with its professional partners, including Mo-Sys, ARRI, Megapixel VR, QSC, and VIVE STUDIOS, presenting a fully functional design for production houses to consider

Both LG DVLED technologies enable construction of displays in virtually any size or orientation. These solutions can be used for a variety of business settings including entertainment applications, such as film and TV, corporate in-house broadcasting and houses of worship, the company said. 

Attendees will also have the first look at LG’s 97-inch OLED commercial display, demonstrated publicly for the first time in the western hemisphere. Such a large display that provides superior color, black levels and contrast represents an ideal solution for screening rooms and review monitors and can even be used in fully lit environments.

Three of LG’s OLED Pro monitors will also be featured in the booth, with a 65-inch wall-mounted display and two desktop monitors showing how different production processes can benefit from the technology’s exceptional picture quality and color accuracy compared to LCD displays. The 27-inch 27BP950 and 32-inch 32BP950 desktop monitors are ideal for hands-on tasks and individual work, while the 65-inch 65EP5G display can provide a stunning review monitor for groups.

Carroll said LG OLED Pro displays offer versatile options for a variety of visual tech applications. “Each model is optimized for numerous creative workflows while faithfully reproducing the content creator's color and visual intent,” he said. 

Another attraction will be the LG 136-inch All-In-One display (model LAEC015), which is a pre-built unit that combines an oversized HD DVLED display with speakers and multiple mounting or mobile cart options.

LG will be in Booth C6025 during the show, April 16-19 in Las Vegas. 

STOCKHOLM & MUNICH—Accedo, a global provider of interactive video applications, is expanding its XR capabilities with the acquisition of eyecandylab, an Emmy-nominated provider of extended reality (XR) solutions.  

Michael Lantz, CEO, Accedo, commented: “We are thrilled to be joining forces with eyecandylab. Our strategic roadmap and vision of the future of XR solutions in the wider media industry are aligned and we believe that together we will be able to deliver even more value to customers and partners.”

eyecandylab’s flagship patented augmen.tv platform for XR applications as well as its Web3-based loyalty solution “Watch&Earn” will be integrated into Accedo’s software stack and will be offered both to customers doing their own XR development and to those who would like support from Accedo’s global team. 

Robin Sho Moser, CEO and co-founder, eyecandylab, added: “Accedo’s global presence and proven ability to innovate will enable us to accelerate adoption. I’m thrilled that our patented software solutions will form part of a bigger software stack for customers on a global scale. We are seeing that interactivity and immersion is becoming increasingly important for a delightful and engaging viewing experience. With Accedo’s footprint in the media industry, we are in a great position to deliver innovative business cases in a scalable way.”

Joint solutions are immediately available.

WASHINGTON, D.C.—NAB Show has announced a Main Stage session that will explore how the increasing adoption of advanced technology is revolutionizing immersive storytelling experiences. 

The Main Stage session "Immersive Storytelling: Expanding Audiences with XR in Games, Education, and Location-Based Entertainment" will be open to all attendees on Tuesday, April 18 at 1 p.m. at the Las Vegas Convention Center. 

It will examine the growing convergence between traditional entertainment and advanced technology, how nostalgia is fueling this new technology adoption, and what is next on the horizon for virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and extended reality (XR), the show organizers reported. 

The session will feature panelists working at the leading-edge of advanced technology: Aaron Grosky, president and COO of Dreamscape Immersive and COO of Dreamscape Learn; Ted Schilowitz, futurist, Paramount Global; and Jake Zim, senior vice president, Virtual Reality, Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Grosky leads Dreamscape Immersive and Dreamscape Learn's creation of VR adventures, designed to give users a shared experience of watching a story unfold around them as they explore cinematic worlds, characters and creatures. He previously served in strategic leadership and creative development roles for entertainment ventures focused on television, radio, music, online and mobile productions.

Schilowitz is first-ever futurist-in-residence for Paramount Global. He works with the company's technology teams to explore all forms of new and emerging technologies, including VR and AR. He previously served as consulting futurist at 20th Century Fox and worked on product development teams that have produced ultra-high resolution digital movie cameras, advanced hard-drive storage products and desktop video software.

Jake Zim is the senior vice president of Virtual Reality for Sony Pictures Entertainment where he oversees global virtual reality production and strategy for the motion picture group. He has produced a variety of interactive projects released across a spectrum of distribution channels. In addition, he works across business units to develop partnerships with technology and production companies in the emerging immersive entertainment space.

NAB Show will be held April 15 - 19, 2023. For complete details, visit www.nabshow.com.

LOS ANGELES—The idea of “a new look” for football offense and defense is nothing new, and while the same could be said of television production of NFL games and their pre-game, post and half-time shows, what Fox Sports has planned for this NFL season is unlike anything the broadcaster has ever done for football coverage.

Relying on a massive LED volume, a combined three dozen Unreal and Viz Engines, multiple new cameras, precise camera tracking and state-of-the-art technology that seamlessly stitches video together in real-time for the volume, the broadcaster will debut a combination of Extended Reality (XR) and Augmented Reality (AR) Sept. 11 during “Fox NFL Sunday.”

The studio will enable Fox Sports to transport viewers one moment onto the middle of Lambeau Field during a Packers update and the next take them outside Sofi Stadium—all while giving hosts a better way to tell the stories of games.

The new Los Angeles studio, while the broadcaster’s first AR-XR deployment for NFL coverage, represents the next step in its adoption of the technology, following the upgrade of its Charlotte, N.C., studio, to AR and VR technology for NASCAR coverage nearly four years ago. 

“AR and XR technology enhances the storytelling ability of our hosts,” says Zac Fields, senior vice president of graphic technology and integration at Fox Sports. 

For a segment called “On the Field,” for example, the technology will help hosts better break down plays. “In the past, you were somewhat limited. You have a handful of guys on the field trying to tell a story,” says Fields.

“If you can add items and manipulate things within AR, you’re not quite as limited. Now you can add in players, objects and routes that someone runs and the viewer can see that virtually in the XR space. That’s exciting,” he says.

By The Numbers
Work began on the new 5,000-square foot studio in Los Angeles at the end of last season. The centerpiece of the two-story structure is the LED volume, which measures 19 feet, 8 inches (H) by 46 feet (W) by 24 feet, 7 inches (D), and takes up about one-third of the area of the set. The LED volume, which was built and commissioned by NEP Studios, consists of three LED walls and an LED floor—a combined 5,130 square feet of LED display—that enables Fox Sports to change environments quickly as different show segments air. 

“[One of the] biggest design goals was to give unique segments their own identity. There are certain branded segments throughout our show where the hosts do different things,” says Fields. “The goal was to provide them with their own environments, their own unique functionality to tell their stories in a different way.”

Fox Sports developed much of the creative for the LED volume and also worked in concert with “out-of-house design studios” on some of the creative integrated into the studio. “They would help facilitate building an environment,” says Fields.

“Sometimes they would build functionality; other times we would build that functionality—things like generating graphics based on live data or any other sort of dynamic information that we then integrate into our studio,” he says.

Rendering relies on a combination of technologies. Eleven Viz Engines power the standard LED screens around the set while 25 Unreal Engines drive the XR rendering required for the LED volume as well as any AR rendering that’s needed, says Fields, adding that all engines used for the volume are 4K.

“One of the key technologies we are using is called GhostFrame [from Megapixel]. It allows multiple cameras to see their own image on the LED wall,” says Field. For this LED volume, four cameras can have their own view of and projection onto the LED volume at the same time.

To someone standing in the LED volume, the displays appear to have the pickup of the different cameras overlaid on each other. However, the technology makes it possible for each camera to see only its own image, thereby giving the director an accurate preview of LED volume shots from the four cameras before deciding which one to take to air, he says.

“GhostFrame is sort of like the secret sauce to making this work in a live broadcast environment,” says Fields. 

To support the use of AR throughout the set, seven cameras are tracked and support object tracking that allows for elements in the shot to be interactive. “We deployed stYpe tracking for the cameras as well as object tracking,” says Fields. “That allows us to not only place objects in AR, but also to interact with objects in 3D space.”

Wireless tablets will be used to give talent control over AR elements and telestration. In total, the setup supports 41 real-time graphics output channels.

One fear many broadcasters have expressed about adopting any sort of virtual technology for sets is what happens in the event of an engine failure. Fox Sports, too, had those concerns but has learned to live with the possibility based on its experience in Charlotte.

“Our Charlotte studio was our first virtual set, and we’ve been doing it quite a while now, almost seven days a week, most weeks out of the year,” says Fields.

Originally, the broadcaster focused on having complete redundancy for every rendering engine as well as an automatic failover. “What we realized was in the time that it would take to get that [doing the failover], you’re better off switching to another camera and using the other cameras until the problem is corrected,” he says.

In the event of a catastrophic failure, the “beautiful thing” about the Los Angeles deployment is there is also a practical set so the show can go on uninterrupted, he says.

Beyond the AR and XR, the new studio is equally impressive and massive. The structure includes 63,000 pounds of steel, aluminum, rigging hardware and mechanical components, and required over 53,000 man hours to build.

Only The Beginning
In Fields’ view, the new Fox Sports studio is only the latest advancement in a long line of virtual technology—one that’s poised to transform television going forward.

“I think this is a technology that you’re going to hear a lot about in broadcast’s future. There’s been an iteration of virtual sets. It started with virtual sets used for weather segments and grew into a whole other thing as the technology progressed,” he says.

As photorealism entered the picture so did a new generation of LED display technology that enabled the next advancement. 

“We’re now able to not only project incredible imagery, but the LED also provides this lighting on your subjects that creates a believability that hasn’t been able to be achieved before. That is why when this is seen on the air, I think people will really be impressed with the visual presentation,” he says.

FREMONT, Calif.—As Streaming Video Alliance began its Q2 2022 member meeting on May 9, the group announced the publication of the eXtended Reality Brief, a new document produced by the VR Study Working Group and welcomed new members ARK Multicasting, Ceeblue, SiriusXM Radio, The Football Association Premier League, and WarnerMedia to the association. 

The virtual event will span four days, May 9 to 12, and features presentations on important industry topics, as well as Working Group breakout sessions.

“There’s a lot of great progress happening inside the Alliance, as evidenced by new technical documents and a growing membership base. We’re excited to welcome ARK Multicasting, Ceeblue, SiriusXM Radio, The Football Association Premier League, and WarnerMedia as our newest members,” said Jason Thibeault, executive director at the Streaming Video Alliance. “We’re back in cyberspace for this week’s meetings with an excellent line up planned for our members, and we’re looking forward to the many discussions and collaborations that will take place.”

In an effort to analyze eXtended Reality (XR), the SVA’s VR Study Group has been examining how this technology is currently being deployed. XR is deeply ingrained in the consumer entertainment space, and in studying its current uses an opportunity has arisen for companies to provide immersive video experiences for the creators of premium entertainment and gaming content, the group said. 

In the newly released Brief on XR, the VR Study Group looks at how technology around XR is being leveraged today and discusses a number of use cases. The SVA’s eXtended Reality Brief is available here. 

Additional information is also available at a recent blog post that provides an overview of “The State of XR Video Experiences.”

NEW YORK—Hoping to tap into the rapidly growing demand for virtual production facilities, mixed reality experts Silver Spoon and production house Schrom have partnered to launch a new extended reality (XR) stage in New York. 

XR New York will provide content producers from the entertainment industry - including broadcasters, filmmakers, agencies and brands - with a professional level of XR production services and support, the two companies said. 

The studio will draw on the expertise of creatives who have worked on such projects as Fox’s “Alter Ego,” “Super Bowl IV,” and national campaigns for Papa Johns, Hardees, Carl’s Jr., Zaxby’s and Dunkin’.

The XR New York studio features include 35’ by 14’ LED walls with back, side, and ceiling panels which are able to be moved as necessary for easy placement. The studio will offer both Unreal Engine and disguise as part of its pipeline for the projects it hosts. The space includes a 100’ by 50’ stage with a polished and leveled floor, soundproofing, and drive-in accessibility. The facility also provides wardrobe and talent spaces, prop room and building, conference rooms, and a chef kitchen.

“At Silver Spoon, we’re always looking for new ways to expand the boundaries of content production through technology,” said Laura Herzing, executive producer, Silver Spoon. “We’re thrilled to be collaborating with Schrom to offer a much-needed resource to the creative industries in New York and to share our experience in virtual production with the wider community.”

Michael Schrom, director and cinematographer at Schrom, added that “our collaboration with Silver Spoon has created an especially exciting time for future productions. For Directors and Cinematographers, the XR studio will open up new dimensions and possibilities literally in front of their eyes…and their lenses.”

More information about XR New York is available at xr-ny.com.

MADRID—Brainstorm will demonstrate Brainstorm Suite 5, a major upgrade to its InfinitySet, Aston and eStudio extended reality (XR) and virtual production products, at the 2022 NAB Show, April 23-27, in Las Vegas. 

Scheduled for release on March 1, Brainstorm Suite 5 offers new and enhanced features that improve XR content creation and workflow and a tighter integration with Unreal Engine. The enhancements streamline virtual content creation regardless of whether that content will be used on LED walls or chroma sets, the company said.

“Brainstorm has been deeply involved with augmented reality [AR] and virtual production for decades now, and Suite 5 is the result of applying our expertise to the new display methods that broadcasters and filmmakers are introducing into their workflows,” said Brainstorm’s COO and engineering director Hector Viguer.

The new features will make it faster for users to create XR content, particularly when creating in-context AR in LED walls, XR set extensions and backgrounds for production of films and dramatic series. 

Suite 5 has an interface dedicated to creating XR installations. This allows for modeling any type of video wall, including curved, shaped and corner installations, and mapping the desired 3D content in such models. It also enables users to create virtual AR content that can be directly displayed and seen by the camera with the correct perspective at all times, it said.

Leveraging the Layers and Stacking features of InfinitySet makes it possible to map different renders with different resolutions in a canvas of any size and aspect, Brainstorm said.

The new, tighter integration of InfinitySet and eStudio with Unreal Engine enables fully editable Brainstorm scenes and templates within an Unreal project and vice versa. When creating AR projects within Unreal, this new capability offers many benefits due to Brainstorm’s advanced data-driven graphics and compatibility with broadcast workflows.

Together with UnrealControl, the tighter integration also enables editing Unreal Projects directly within InfinitySet’s interface with total ease and control of blueprints, objects and parameters, the company said.

Suite 5 also features a new, redesigned internal chroma keyer with a new mode that embeds the Unreal Engine chroma keyer directly into InfinitySet. Brainstorm Suite 5 is fully compatible with Unreal Engine 4.27 and will be with U.E. 5, it said.

Other new features include improved HDR workflows and better integration with robotic heads from manufacturers such as Panasonic or Sony.

“The advanced features of Suite 5 will allow any user to comply with any kind of VR/AR/XR requirement, regardless of how complex it is, … leaving them free to choose the production workflow they feel is best for their production, whether LED walls or chroma keying. We want to be agnostic so we can provide a solution for any requirement,” said Viguer.

See Brainstorm at NAB Show booth N2608.

More information is available on the company’s website.  

More information on the 2022 NAB Show is available here. 

LONDON—Extended Reality (xR) is now more easily available, as disguise has announced that it is releasing xR to the public as part of its r18 software launch. The technology made headlines with a Katy Perry performance during the finale of “American Idol” season 18.

Developed by disguise and backed by the Carlyle Group and Epic Games, xR integrates with LED, real-time content and camera tracking technologies to power immersive virtual environments. 

xR powers virtual production across live entertainment, episodic TV, TV and sports broadcasts, film and corporate events. With the public release of xR, disguise says it is reducing the barriers of entry to virtual production.

“The xR workflow is making complex things a lot easier. We can implement xR and AR into our disguise workflow and program complete shows including content and live inputs,” says Pim Elberse, Light & Video Programmer at i!-Studio and disguise xR insider. “We see a lot of future in xR—this will change our work in the future.”

In addition, the r18 software launch will include disguise’s cluster rendering feature, which was developed in partnership with Unreal Engine to deliver photorealistic scenes to large scale content displays. The r18 software also has full support for the ACES cinematic standard.

A new, free virtual production course is being made available on the disguise e-learning platform as well.

For more information, visit www.disguise.one.  

OTTAWA—China Media Group selected the Ross Video Voyager platform to help with its production of Chineses broadcaster CCTV’s New Year’s Eve broadcast, which featured Extended Reality (xR) features.

Per CMG, this was the first use of xR on Chinese TV. The set was comprised of a large LED display wall with an LED floor in front, which enabled graphics to be rendered and displayed behind and below talent and guests. Augmented reality components were also incorporated, with camera tracking used to make sure graphics moved naturally with camera pans and tilts.

To assist with these production elements, CMG chose to use the Voyager graphics rendering system from Ross.

“We couldn’t be happier with the results,” said Mr. Feng, technical engineer with CMG. “This was one of the most technically challenging shows I’ve ever worked on, but everyone was amazed at the final visuals which were absolutely stunning. XR isn’t just an alternative to a green screen—it’s a revolution that offers so much more creativity and immersion, and it’s being driven by developments in real-time rendering like the Voyager solution from Ross. We’ve already started planning the Spring Gala Festival show for CCTV—the world’s most widely viewed TV program—and we’re hoping to bring even more amazing images to our audiences thanks to our great partnership with Ross.”    

For more information, visit www.rossvideo.com.  

SAN FRANCISCO—I was fortunate enough to spend the better part of the pandemic working with some of the most talented and forward-thinking creatives in live television production on season 15 of “America’s Got Talent” on NBC. My company, All of it Now (AOIN) was hired by Fremantle to work with the show’s Screens Producer Scott Chmielewski, DMDS7UDIOS, to create and build live XR (Extended Reality) scenes for some of the season’s top contenders.

There were a lot of vendors involved in bringing this very, very ambitious show to life. DMDS7UDIOS ran everything live on set, my team at AOIN together with creative teams at Gravity in Germany and XITELabs in Los Angeles produced XR content for the season’s signature performances. This was no small task, as each of the season’s seven episodes featured two XR performances, and in many of these performances we managed the initial integration and technical handoff of assets to the DMD team who drove the onsite programming, calibrations, integrations and real-time rendering out to a state-of-the-art 60-foot wide curved LED stage.  

What made the creation of this much digital content manageable was having multiple design teams on board working in parallel in Unreal Engine. With source control, we were able to create branches for each designer to work in independently, and then merge their respective changes with the larger team whether the assets or scenes were coming from Gravity, XITE or AOIN. Source control provided a clear path to produce this quantity and quality of content in the timeframe we needed to hit repeated weekly deadlines.

Each week we would receive creative direction for each XR performance in the form of mood boards and concepts that came in from creative producer Brian Burke and Harriett Cuddeford from the talented Syco Entertainment team. We then had three days to submit our first iterations, and the remainder of the week to refine our scenes for Friday ingest and onto the live performances, just one week later.   

These were ambitious visuals. Rather than a few months for each scene, we had five days and we were constantly figuring out how to reverse engineer the initial creative concepts to maximize assets we could pull from the Unreal Marketplace and Quixel Megascans to synthesize into environments that would look great on television. The Megascans in particular played beautifully on screen—the forest and foliage tools gave us a level of realism in performance visuals that would have otherwise been impossible. One of my favorite performances of the season, Noah Epps in week four, used the Decagon arcades from the Marketplace assets. 

The hardest part about this show is that it’s live and performance-based, and there are constant on-the-fly changes. In some cases we had to adapt some scenes meant to be shot in XR, or performers would be swapped for use in a different CG scene. The teams were able to make both minor and major adjustments to scenes in a short amount of time, and sometimes even repurpose scenes from XR to rendered videos for non-XR performances. The tools in Unreal Engine gave us the flexibility to render out scenes dynamically and have the option of outputting real-time or rendered content.

The sheer volume of content required from this production made it practical to have dispersed creative talent. Our team in San Francisco could be working on butterflies, and XITE’s team on modeling, then handing off to Gravity’s team in Germany to work on trees and foliage, all in the same world for a given performance. The collaboration was extended with the show’s creative directors who sat in on daily review sessions where we would share Unreal Engine scenes on Zoom calls, and could iterate in real time without having any of the creative direction get lost in translation. 

Onset, the DMDS7UDIOS team worked with director Russ Norman to capture performances using four XR cameras and Stype Red Spy Fiber systems for camera tracking. Florian built virtual cameras and other helpful assets into an Unreal template so that he could give us an accurate camera plot that allowed us to block everything in advance, and know how to place assets in scenes in a more thoughtful way. This tool was very useful and avoided a lot of potential issues by the time it came to live rehearsals. The XR performances were shot on a 60-foot wide curved LED stage, which along with a highly reflective floor, posed certain creative challenges. We had to take the real-world reflections and the virtual world reflections into consideration on shoot day, and Scott was able to use live DMX data to control hundreds of virtual DMX fixtures and effectively manipulate lighting in virtual environments. 

The sheer scale of each of these XR performances, and the ability to create these fantastic worlds, makes this season stand out. The “AGT” team wanted to try this out a few years ago, but the technology wasn’t quite there yet to make this a practical option. Two years later we came back, and amidst the social distancing requirements due to the pandemic, performances were spread across multiple timelines, which made the production timeline more conducive to working in XR. It was a thrill and an honor to get to work under the brave creative supervision of Brian Burke and Harriet Cuddeford who came up with incredible concepts to build into XR performances.

This was our first full season episodic series done entirely in Unreal Engine for the XR performances, and we would have struggled to complete the XR portions of this show in any other way. We were heavily dependent on the ability to support multiple designers and automate their creative flow with source control, along with having access to premium pre-built assets in the Marketplace. We also needed the ability to roll back when a producer said “we liked what you did yesterday, can you revert to that version?” or if a performer would want to go in a different direction creatively on the day of live rehearsals. 

Working in Unreal gave us the unique flexibility to avoid being locked into too many creative variables while delivering scenes that transport the viewer in a whole new way. Producing live XR content in a real-time game engine feels like what surely will be the future of performance-based television programming.  

Danny Firpo is the co-founder of All of It Now Productions.

WASHINGTON—The Consumer Technology Association has announced the publication of its first-ever standard addressing augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies. CTA-2069, Definitions and Characteristics of Augmented and Virtual Reality Technologies introduces various terms defining emerging consumer technologies such as AR, mixed reality, outside-in-tracking, VR video and VR images, room-scale VR and X reality (XR).

“Our first AR/VR standard represents an important step in addressing key emerging technology areas,” said Brian Markwalter, senior vice president of research and standards, CTA. “The industry created this standard to build upon definitions created by CTA’s AR/VR Working Group that provide consumers insight on the broad range of technologies and experiences available. With this standard, the industry has created a blueprint to more effectively support AR/VR technologies and bring them to a broader market.”

[Read: Oculus Launches ‘Immersive’ Content Hub]

According to this year’s CTA Sales and Forecasts report, CTA projects 4.9 million units will be sold in 2018—up 25 percent from 2017—and generate $1.2 billion in revenues (up 18 percent). Increasing popularity among gamers and a competitive market for AR/VR accessories are among the drivers supporting the growth of AR/VR.

“Standardized, market-centric definitions are an important first step for the industry,” said David McIntyre, senior vice president, strategy and standards, Corporation, and chair of the CTA AR/VR standards group. “I look forward to increased industry involvement as CTA works on other areas of XR standardization in service of the industry and consumers.”

While the CTA’s standard addresses VR terminology, the IEEE is in the process of establishing the technical standards for AR/VR. The IEEE Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Working Group–comprised of device manufacturers, content providers, service providers, technology developers, government agencies and other parties relevant to VR/AR technology advancement–is working on eight IEEE standards projects in a new P2048 standards family for virtual reality and augmented reality.